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"The Rounds" January 30,
2004
Mekhong Kurt * * * * * * * * * * Laos Visa Run I made an overnight visa run to Vientiane this past Monday and Tuesday, and all in all, it was a pleasant trip, despite the Thai International flight being slightly late in pulling away from the dock then taking 15 minutes to taxi, wait in line -- a first in my many times taking off from Don Muang Airport -- then FINALLY getting airborne. (You've just gotta love the airline industry's definition of "on time." If the plane pulls away from the dock anytime in the first 15 minutes after its advertised departure time, the flight is "on time" -- in airline parlance. Similarly, "arrival time" isn't when you get to the dock, but when the wheels touch the tarmac, with a similar 15-minute window. In effect, one could take off 15 minutes late leaving then be another 15 minutes late arriving, for a total of 30 minutes late, and *still* have the airline boast the flight was "on time.") To get gripes out of the way right off -- the trip went excellently once I cleared the airport -- the taxi system since I last visited the dusty capital has changed: now one *has* to take an "official taxi," booking it through a desk inside the terminal, similar to the system here in Bangkok. The fee for the short ride into the central business district -- 5 to 7 kilometers, depending on which part of of downtown you're visiting -- is a relatively outrageous 200 baht. Before, I never paid more than 60 baht, often as little as 40 baht. I flat refused to pay. A driver outside the international terminal suggested I try at the domestic terminal, which I did. A driver there agreed to the 100 baht I was willing to pay, and he settled it with the desk man there. And the driver is central to why my trip went so well. A nice man named Malaythong, he speaks good English and is very friendly. He took me directly to the Thai consulate so I could apply for a visa, and waited while I went through that drill (about which more later). Done applying for a new visa, I had him take him to my hotel, and agreed to have him pick me up the following afternoon at 12:45 P.M. to take me back to the consulate to get my passport. He didn't ask for a tip, but he was so nice I added in a 20-naht one anyway.
Thai
Consulate in Vientiane. Ignore the date -- I At that point I didn't know that Laos Airways has changed its flight schedule to Bangkok; it now has 2 flights daily, the first at 1:00 P.M., the other at 7:00 P.M. When I called to confirm my ticket the next day, thinking the flight would be leaving at 4:30 P.M., the lady informed me of the current schedule. (Thai's and Laos' flights are code-sharing ones, so I had flown up Monday morning on Thai's 8:15 A.M. flight to be able to get to the consulate before the noon deadline to submit a visa application if you intend to pick the visa up the following afternoon, which you can do from 1:00 P.M. onwards.) At that time I didn't have the driver's card, so I couldn't call him, but in any event I wanted to go to the consulate at 1:00 P.M. anyway. The visa application process itself went nicely. First off, I was charged just 1,000 baht for a 60-day tourist visa -- not the advertised (here in Bangkok) 1,900 baht. Secondly, the consulate has moved, again, and the physical setting is MUCH more comfortable than the last premises were. The process does remain a bit cumbersome, and confusing if you don't know what to do, so I'll outline it here. You go to the guard's booth hard beside the only pedestrian gate and get an application. Then you enter the grounds and go to your left to an open pavilion, where there is a long table at which you can sit to fill out the application form. Then you take it back to the guard, who issues you a number on a small card and takes your passport and returns your application. Later the guard will tell you to go on inside, and you enter the gate and go to the building on your right (the only building apart from the guard booth). Once you're inside, a worker will eventually call your number, at which time you go to her, turn your number in, and submit your application. Later, another lady will call you to come pay your fee and tell you to come back after 1:00 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. A cautionary note: you have to have the application *completely* filled out before the guard will accept it. I had wanted to speak with a consular officer before ticking what kind of visa for which I was applying, hoping I could apply for a non-immigrant one, but that wasn't possible. And I've heard (but don't know for an absolute fact) that if you turn in an application and for any reason are denied the kind of visa for which you have applied, you lose the fee -- period. Therefore, be sure to know ahead of time for what kind of visa you qualify, unless you're happy losing 1,000 baht! Let me also tell you how to get to the new location. Get to the Morning Market, south of Victory Gate -- an obvious landmark resembling the Arc of Triumph in Paris; indeed the gate was built by the French in their last gasp as a colonial power in this part of the world. Head north towards Victory gate and skirt around it to the right. You'll pass a side street running off perpendicular to your right; go past it to the next street, which runs off to your right at a bit of an angle. Go up that street; you'll see a pagoda in the distance straight ahead. Start watching for the consulate after passing the Ministry of Finance and National Treasury (housed in the same building) on your right; the consulate is on the left. Tuesday afternoon Malaythong met me as scheduled and took me back to the consulate, where I was able to pick up my passport and new visa from the guard booth after standing in line about 20 minutes -- not bad, considering I was about number 35 or 40 in the longish line. Done, I asked Malaythong if he were free for the afternoon, which, happily, he was. I had him take me to my friend Mr. Thonglo's copy and print shop on Samsenthai Road, the middle of 3 east-west roads running through the central business district. I had gone to Funny Pub the night before to try to see my other friend, the lovely Miss Nicky, only to find the bar out of business. I didn't notice, in the darkness, that Mr. Thonglo's shop (he also owned the pub) had been subdivided into 2 shops, one an Internet cafe, the other a photo studio. I went into the studio to see if I could get any information about Mr. Thonglo, but no one could speak English, so I enlisted Malaythong's help. He not only was able to learn where Mr. Thonglo had gone but also to get his telephone number and call him to tell him a foreign friend was coming to see him. We went the 7-8 kilometers northeast of downtown to Mr. Thonglo's open-air market that he finished building about a year ago. After missing him for 2 years, it was great to see him. I spent a happy 1½ hours with him, made happier at the end when he told me Miss Nicky is working in a bar. He didn't know the name of it, only that it didn't open until 8:30 P.M. -- this was about 4:00 P.M. -- but said he could tell the driver where to go so I could leave a note for her on the door. Mr. Thonglo didn't recognize me when I first arrived -- I'm over 30 pounds lighter and beardless since I last saw him. But once he realized who I am, he leapt up and gave me a big bear hug, much to my delight.
Mr.
Thonglo and me in front of the main So after our wonderful visit, Malaythong and I took off to find the bar where Nicky works. Mr. Thonglo had forgotten to mention there are 2 bars just 2 doors apart, and we first went to the wrong one, but the gentleman there suggested we try the other one, which we did. I wrote a brief note on one of my name cards and was trying to figure out where to leave it; the gap between the door and the door frame was quite large, and I was concerned the card might fall and go unnoticed. But then a very friendly young man opened the door and asked if he could help me. I asked him if Nicky worked there, and was delighted when he told me not only that she does, but that she was there then, in the back eating. He called her out, saying only some foreigner was there to visit her. It had been about 1½ years since I had seen her, so I was really pleased. On the flight up I had been thinking about her and Mr. Thonglo, sadly resigned to the notion I likely wouldn't see either one of them ever again. But thanks to the good offices of Malaythong, this visit -- my 30th or so -- to Laos turned out to be my very best one ever. (You can call him on 021-240-680 [land line] or I *think* 0205-614-766 [mobile phone] -- he told me the government had introduced another digit, "5," in mobile numbers in Vientiane, but his card doesn't have it. If that doesn't work, maybe someone there can tell you where to insert the "5.")
Nicky and me in her bar. Need I mention the incorrect date -- again??? Nicky is an interesting young lady who has made a success of her life in an impoverished country where opportunities are few and far in between. I first met her in October of 1996, a few weeks after her 18th birthday in September. She was working as the cashier and manageress of what was then called Image Pub, Mr. Thonglo's bar behind his print and copy shop. She also worked for him during the day, in those days, as his Girl Friday. Nicky was taking English lessons then. Maybe 2 years later I was up after a rather long break and asked her how her classes were going, only to be surprised when she told me she had had to choose between continuing English classes or computer classes, as she couldn't afford both, and that she had opted for the latter. I asked her how much her fees were for her English classes, and was astonished when she told me 6,000 kip -- then equivalent to about US$8.00 -- for 3 months of group lessons. I asked her if I could give her the money, to which she reluctantly agreed. I gave her enough to take 6 months' more lessons. Now she has an American fiancée, whom I've not yet had the pleasure of meeting, though I hope to as soon as he will be coming to this part of the world so he and Nicky can file their application with the Laotian government for permission to get married. Though he's unable to live in Laos full-time, Nicky's English has improved dramatically, from good to very, very good. And now she's studying French, a smart choice given the strong French presence that continues to this day. Nicky has also finally gotten into the Internet world, and now has an e-mail address, and knows how to surf the web and use instant messaging, etc. So I told her please not make me fly up to kick her butt through failing to let me know when she and her fiancée marry, an event I certainly don't want to miss. It is young people like Nicky who make me glad for my years teaching in university. With life holding very little out to her, she is making a successful and happy life for herself. Some of the more cynical may think she wants to marry an American just to get the chance to escape, but the fact is that she's not at all unhappy in her native land, which, despite all its problems, has afforded her the opportunity to build a life beyond one of ignorance and poverty. She told me she and her fiancée hope to open a small business in Vientiane, with the ultimate goal of making enough money he can go there to live full-time instead of "commuting" back and forth from America. Having gone through the drill of marrying a native of Beijing in the relatively early years of China's "Open Policy," I can sympathize with anyone marrying a native of a Communist country. Communist authorities don't make such marriages easy, that's for sure, and the ones in Laos are no exception. It took another acquaintance of mine there, also an American, over a year to get permission to marry his wife -- and the intervention of the senior American government diplomat then stationed there for her to get a passport so she could leave the country with him to visit his family in New York. So, I already respect Nicky's fiancée, sight unseen. And am greatly looking forward to meeting the young man. Let me say a bit more about the rest of the trip. Late Monday afternoon I left the Douang Deuane Hotel, where I have stayed every single time I've visited Vientiane, and walked to an open-air pavilion restaurant on the north bank of the Mekhong River to watch the sunset. The weather was absolutely perfect -- about 25ºC/77ºF, with stunningly blue skies and low humidity. I wrote postcards to my Grandmother, Mother, and Sister as I watched the sunset over the Mekhong. Out of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, I delighted in the experience. [Incidentally, the Douang Deuane Hotel has 3 lines: (856-21) 222301-3. The fax number is (856-21) 222300. The e-mail address is DD_Hotel@hotmail.com, though the reservation address is http://www.bookings-asia.com/la/hotels/douangdeuane. All the rooms are identical; they have 2 twin beds, are air-conditioned, and have telephones and cable television (though the television choices are quite limited). They also have hot water -- and, gloriously, a tub in every room. (I love to wallow an hour or two!) The hotel is located on Norkeokoummane Road, just about dead center east-to-west in the central business district, about half a block north of the Mekhong River; it's an excellent location. Dozens of restaurants are within 10 minutes' walking distance, and they include. for instance, excellent Italian and French eating establishments -- the French left a superb dining tradition behind.] Darkness fallen, I decided to walk down the road to the Lane Xabg Hotel to try its restaurant; a friend of mine here stayed there 2-3 years ago and raved about the hotel and the restaurant. My experience was a little different. I went into the Salongxay Retaurant (or "Salongsay," depending on which sign you're reading) and ordered fish cakes and stir-fried vegetables. Initially I decided to be different, for me, and have a gin and tonic or gin and soda. First the waiter told me they were out of tonic, then, when I tried to order the latter, he said they didn't have any gin. So I asked if I could have a vodka and soda, which he said I could. Another waiter came along shortly and asked me what I wanted, telling me they were out of vodka. I verbally reflected that I had tried to order 2 drinks thus far without success, naming them, and he politely interrupted to tell me he could bring me a vodka and tonic. Realizing he was just doing his job, I ordered that. The fish cakes came along shortly, and were excellent. They were steamed, and wrapped in banana leaves. I didn't eat much fish before I moved to Asia in the mid 80's, but let me tell you, these folks do know a gazillion ways to prepare both freshwater and ocean fish -- a heck of a lot of them delicious to any palate. When I was growing up, about the only fish I regularly ate and enjoyed was fish sticks -- I was raised in the Episcopal Church, so Fridays were "meatless" until I was in my late teens -- and fish filet sandwiches, a lá Long John Silver's, McDonald's, etc. Then I hit the Asian land mass -- and have been devouring fish ever since. The stir-fried vegetables never appeared, but given there was no bill for them, I let it go. In any case, I wasn't really hungry, having, unusually for me, eaten earlier in the afternoon. In the event, I ate only one fish cake and a few of the cucumber and tomato slices served with the order, and found that to be enough. The service was very attentive, and the restaurant itself was nice. I wanted to take some photos, but discovered my batteries in my digital camera were exhausted, so no joy there. While I was eating a band came in, ultimately numbering 8 (but first 3 came in together, then the other 5 came along one by one over the next 20 minutes or so); they played traditional Laotian music on traditional instruments, including a sort of xylophone and a flute, as well as 2 or 3 stringed instruments and drums. The music was hauntingly beautiful, especially when the lone lady member of the band sang; her voice was high-keyed, melodious -- and enchantingly lovely, as, indeed, she herself was. The restaurant was clearly popular. When I first arrived, about 7:00 P.M., there were perhaps a dozen customers; shortly there were nearly 50, mostly in parties of several people, though 2 or 3 couples happened along. It was evident that everyone except me were regulars, as they were greeted with obvious recognition by the staff. Salongxay Restaurant is well worth visiting, despite the bumps in my own experience. Vientiane is a very quiet, peaceful place, a perfect spot for decompressing from life in the madness of Bangkok. In fact, party-goers may find it too quiet now that the authorities have imposed new regulations governing bars, which can't open except 7:00-11:00 P.M. daily -- actually, 10:30 P.M. is the legal closing time, but the police grant a 30-minute window after that for people to finish up and pay their tabs. Curiously, bars in hotels can be open right around the clock, if the owners so desire. I'm not quite sure of the logic of that, but, then again, I long ago quit trying to put "Communist government" and "logic" in the same sentence! * * * * * * * * * * Incorrect Trink Link I recently reported that Bernard Trink of "Nite Owl" fame now has his own website -- but I incorrectly listed his URL. The correct one is http://www.idontgiveahoot.net -- not ending in a ".com" extension. Further, the alert reader who spotted my error reported the same site name but ending in a ".com" has nothing to do with Trink, and that the site looked suspicious to him. I took a look, and I have to agree. By the way, you can contact Trink via a form on his site; his direct e-mail address is bt@idontgiveahoot.net, though to find that out I had to fill in the form, choose him as the recipient, then click the "Send" button; the "Your message has been sent" page that came up listed the e-mail address. Do support Trink -- US$12/year is cheap. By the way, I found the link to the short piece TIME magazine had in it's Asian edition in December. The link is about a mile long, so just click here. Because of the nature of my own site, I have felt compelled to returning to scanning The Bangkok Post for some news, since even with as much overlap as there is with The Nation, sometimes they have different stories. However, I don't buy the paper any longer, looking at house copies in restaurants and bars. The reader is Dave Earnshaw; he has his own site that is quite good at http://www.daveearnshaw.com -- and, yes, I checked the link before writing this, checked it twice in fact. I hope you'll take a look at Dave's site. * * * * * * * * * * Avian [Bird] Flu Strikes Asia Again Avian flu has struck the Orient again, with a scattering of cases reported from China south. The World Organization for Animal Health has a web page here containing information about this latest outbreak. Besides the obvious health concerns the disease raises, tourism really doesn't need another hit, especially with a few reported cases of SARS (3, all in China, as far as I've heard). A friend who returned to America a few days ago called a mutual friend still here and said the airlines were getting hit with many cancellations for March and April already. Just as with the SARS outbreak last year, I feel if the cancellation reports are true, people are panicking way too soon. Asia has a third of the planet's population -- and only a tiny handful of Avian flu cases. If there were a true regional pandemic, I could see canceling -- heck, I'd probably leave myself in that case. But there's nowhere near such a scenario. Thailand's poultry industry has been hit, and hit hard. Chicken is a major export -- and the source of a substantial amount of foreign currency. Chicken is also a major food source domestically, and anecdotal evidence suggests people are shying away from it for the time being. As, indeed, I'm doing. The government has ordered the destruction of tens of thousands -- maybe up into the millions by now, for all I know -- of chickens. Putting extra financial pressure on Thai chicken farmers is the fact there is not any compensation scheme in place, though there is talk in government circles of working something out. So, the ripple effect is already being felt. The farmers and their families are hurt. Undoubtedly, people in meat-processing plants, agricultural transport, etc. are or will be affected. Then there are workers in the feed industry -- no chickens, no demand for chicken feed. Even restaurants could be affected, especially ones such as KFC outlets. And all those ripples are entirely or mostly completely apart from the tourism industry. At this point, I will continue to encourage people to come to Thailand, and to take sensible precautions. But don't be intimidated out of your travel plans. Terrorism, 2 wars, and the SARS scare have all dealt serious body blows to the tourism sector. I hope Avian flu doesn't deal yet another. * * * * * * * * * * Odd Aviation Security Story Thai International enforced a somewhat odd security practice when I flew up to Laos on my most recent trip. I forgot to leave my 3½-inch blade pocketknife at home. Two years ago when a friend and I went to Udorn Thani by air, my friend had to leave her barber scissors to be checked into by the aircraft crew, and she got them back. Not so for my pocketknife; when I asked how to go about checking it in, no one seemed to know. The knife was cheap, so I told them not to worry and left it with them. But the real oddity was that when I received my meal, I was given metal eating utensils: a dinner knife, a fork, and 2 spoons. While the knife was barely serrated and had a blade no longer than my pocketknife's, it was metal, and perfectly capable of inflicting serious, even fatal damage. As were, for that matter, the fork and spoons. Perhaps the difference is that Vientiane is a foreign destination, while Udorn Thani is a domestic one. * * * * * * * * * * ABAC University Graduation Ceremony My daughter's graduation with her bachelor's degree safely in hand from ABAC University January 30th went well. The weather cooperated magnificently, with perfect temperatures and bright blue skies. (Thank goodness, since everyone except the graduates themselves had to stay outside, as I carried on about last week!) I was able to get some nice photos of a beaming Aom. Here's just 1 sample.
Aom
Happy to Have Her Bachelor Degree Safely in Hand! (That's it just barely
visible I suspect Aom was a bit disappointed her Mother, Auntie, and half-Brother didn't come, but 1 cousin, 3 of her girlfriends, and I did, so she wasn't alone, either. Even given the barring of anyone other than the graduates themselves inside for the ceremony, I was surprised to see how many graduates appeared to have no one around old enough to be their parents or other important adult figures -- though that mitigated the disappointment I felt for Aom's sake. It was very nice, and I'm glad I went. * * * * * * * * * * I'm going to stop for this week, despite having just a few stories, because of the length -- over 4,000 words already, and the print-out on A4 paper already runs to 13-14 pages, even with 1-inch margins. * * * * * * * * * * Comments Again
Invited: Khun Ae Number Two The subject of my most recently added photo galleries has taken a keen interest in reactions from you to those galleries; this link will take you to the 3 sets of photos here to date. Having known Khun Ae for several years, I am not exactly the most neutral assessor of the quality of her pictures, though I sure can't see how anyone could ever claim her to be unattractive! Please feel free to browse through her galleries and send her an e-mail: MekhongKurt@BangkokAtoZ.com -- subject = Khun Ae Number Two. Khun Ae has already gracefully agreed to let me add more photos of her over the coming weeks and months, so her fans can be looking forward to seeing those. [Written Sunday, January 18, 2004] * * * * * * * * * * E-mail Change Notification Sign-up Sign-up here for e-mail notification when I add or change something on the site. Just go to the sign-up page. * * * * * * * * * * Where Is *Your* Name??? So you've been a slacker and still haven't signed up for the free BangkokAtoZ.com Updates Mailing List??? ;-) Well, get with the program and sign up right now to be notified via e-mail whenever we add something to the site -- that way, you don't even have to visit the Updates Page to see if there's anything new -- we'll let you know by e-mail. If you want to sign up, just go to the sign-up page. I'm pleased to say that more and more of you are signing up, and I urge all of you not to hesitate! * * * * * * * * * * Where is *Your* "Traveller's Tale"??? Got a "Traveler's Tale"? -- send me a line! Just send me a *query* note at MekhongKurt@BangkokAtoZ.com. * * * * * * * * * * Linking to BangkokAtoZ.com If anyone reading this has a website and would like to place a link there for BangkokAtoZ.com, you can copy-and-paste the banner and text link below into your site; they are live links to this site's homepage:
I'll appreciate an e-mail telling me the URL of where you placed it. If you want me to put a link on BangkokAtoZ.com for your site, do tell me where you have placed our link, and I'll give you a link in a comparable position, of the same nature (i.e., banner-for-banner, text-for-text). * * * * * * * * * * Until next time -- Mekhong Kurt Return to the Table of Contents.
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