Planes, Trains & Automobiles

We are on an 18-hour overnight train from Bangkok to Hat Yai in the south of Thailand so I am catching up on Laos.

We flew from Angkor and Siem Reap to Pakse in southern Laos. This guaranteed us a visa on arrival. The dual turbo prop Lao Airlines plane was on time and comfortable and they served us a light meal on a one hour flight which was sweet.

Pakse was nothing special and after initially checking into a hotel, we renegotiated and bought overnight bus tickets to Vientiane. This was our original plan because it was significantly cheaper than flying to Vientiane but we didn’t think we would be skipping town quite so fast.

Instead we …

Brian and I have a policy of not giving money to beggars. You have to have a policy to deal with the countless number of beggars you find in these poorer countries or you’ll go broke or mad, or both. We don’t know who the money’s going to (sometimes adults will send out kids and babies knowing they’ll get more money), and we don’t want to promote begging; so no to beggars. I’d say we’re about 95% successful at not giving in (and I’ll admit, that 5% is because I’m a sucker for little kids, especially if they’re asking for food). In Seam Reap we were able to help out those who need it and stick to …