Diana Joana: 2 Days in Vientiane

As I had mentioned previously, I spent 2 days in Vientiane last week to apply for my non-immigrant visa. Last Wednesday, Fortune Cookie and I took a 6:30 pm train to Nong Khai, which is the Thai city right at the border of Thailand and Laos. We had 2nd class seats instead of 2nd class sleepers, so it was very difficult for us to fall asleep.

Here's a picture of Bangkok's Hualamphong Train Station:

When we got to Nong Khai, we took a tuk-tuk to the Friendship Bridge, which links the two countries. We got out passports stamped and waited for the bus for an hour. It was cold! Then we were crammed into the bus that crossed the bridge pretty quickly. After the initial entry into Laos, we applied for our tourist visas, which cost $35. Then we rode a mini-truck that dropped us off at the Thai embassy in Vientiane. Lots of stops and transfers!

After submitting my visa application, we headed for out hotel, the Intha Hotel (which by the way was listed as Dork Champa No. 2 online so it took awhile for us to find it) to take a nap.

Here's a picture of the lobby:

I have bad reviews for this hotel. Our room was gross. There was no separate shower area, so whenever we showered, the toilet would get soaked. The bathroom door wouldn't close completely so the carpet ended up getting soaked as well. There were bugs flying around, and the sheets were stained. Eww! Never again.

Aside from that, however, Vientiane was very nice and pleasant. It's a very chill, laid-back city. There's not really much to do.. but the food! Oh, the food! I wanna go back there just for the food, and we will!

We went to three great restaurants and one awesome cafe.

On our first night, we had dinner at Le Cote d'Azur.