Going to Laos... For Dummies (Like Me)

[MenyuamHmoob]

Awesome pictures bro! It looks like you had a great time! If i do decide to go this year, I will definitely PM you, since I dont speak a lick of Laotian at all. lol. 

[SleeplessBeauty]

Thanks for sharing LHG!   I didn't think you would..

Lawv cov zaub ntsuab at the market ntxim qab ua luaj.

Quite interesting and funny seeing so many people in the river at the New Year.

[PRINCESS.]

Sweet pictures dude!! Thanks for sharing.

[LonelyHmgGuy]

My dear PH Brothers and Sisters,

I hope this letter finds everyone and finds everyone well. I pray you and your families are in good health and having a great time.

PH has become like a second family to me and honestly I missed speaking with you all. So, today, I have decided to come back for a visit and to chat about life with everyone for awhile.

It has been exactly 3 weeks since my return from Laos, 21 days since my return to my home and my lonely existence. How do you pick up your old life again and do the things you once did? How do you go on living your life, when so much has changed, when in your heart, you know that things will never be the same again? Some memories and some experiences were etched too deep into my heart; there are just some things that time can not mend…. Things that have taken hold of me. 

I miss May tremendously; there is just no two ways about it. I miss the touch of her soft hands, I miss the sunlight in her hair. I miss the sound of her voice; I miss the smell of her hair. I miss everything about her. May has gotten a hold of my heart and my soul and I don’t know where to go from here. Everyday, I can only thing of ways to get back to May. I am constantly online, looking for pictures and videos of Nong Hai and Laos, hoping to catch a glimpse of May. Every chance I get, I am looking for airline tickets, checking out dates for when I can take time off from work.

I don’t want to sound dramatic but what is wrong with me? I was never like this; I don’t like NOT having any control of my life or my feelings. I am on the phone with May every night and every weekend. It would seem my whole world now revolves around May.

Perhaps I will seek professional help.

Yours truly,

LHG

[couchpotato]

LHG,

Thanks for sharing pictures (finally!).  You make me want to visit Laos again. It's definitely a beautiful country.

In regards to May, if you miss her that much, you might as well marry her. I think the paperwork process is tedious, so get started now. Good luck!

[lilly]

No I'm not arguing against you bud...but FYI I don't use wikis (they're not a credible reference source according to APA/MLA standards because it's an open-ended source--meaning anyone can adjust it).

I've used cheapoair and onetravel many times. It's just their insurance is balony. If you miss your flight in an event of a family death, missed connecting flight, etc-insurance was suppose to cover it. (yes it's in the fine-print). Well a customer service rep with an east indian accent was trying to charge me $2300 USD for a ticket I already paid $1600 for. He said since I missed my flight, I can't just catch a flight to Paris, then SFO. He wanted me to pay a whole 'nother ticket. (I fly around the world 4-5 times per year. This year alone, been to Thailand 4 times).  Anyways, I hung up on him and he called me back after I declined his offer. (I was in the middle east and my AT&T roaming rates were $5 USD per minute. (which I already told him to seed things ups) I was flying Air France. And damn the French--don't work weekends so I couldn't reach them either. Luckily I was able to get ahold of KLM (AirFrance partners) and paid $350 USD to re-connect with them. So now I never use CheapOair. I just use their search engine to find who's the cheapest airline and use them directly. A 1000 USD ticket will charge up misc fees and make it 1300-1500 or something too.

Wow, great info to know.  Thanks for sharing.

[lilly]

I find that when traveling in Asia, it is better to book directly with the airline. And just in case something happens and you need to change your flights, Asian airlines have much better customer service than Western airlines.

Shade has a pretty good checklist. 

One thing I would definitely advise is to get a card with your hotel address on it in the native language whenever possible. That way if you ever get lost or are too tired to find your way back to the hotel, you can simply hand the card to the taxi driver.

Last, don't forget your Lonely Planet book! 

Love all these nice tips!

[PRINCESS.]

My dear PH Brothers and Sisters,

I hope this letter finds everyone and finds everyone well. I pray you and your families are in good health and having a great time.

PH has become like a second family to me and honestly I missed speaking with you all. So, today, I have decided to come back for a visit and to chat about life with everyone for awhile.

It has been exactly 3 weeks since my return from Laos, 21 days since my return to my home and my lonely existence. How do you pick up your old life again and do the things you once did? How do you go on living your life, when so much has changed, when in your heart, you know that things will never be the same again? Some memories and some experiences were etched too deep into my heart; there are just some things that time can not mend…. Things that have taken hold of me. 

I miss May tremendously; there is just no two ways about it. I miss the touch of her soft hands, I miss the sunlight in her hair. I miss the sound of her voice; I miss the smell of her hair. I miss everything about her. May has gotten a hold of my heart and my soul and I don’t know where to go from here. Everyday, I can only thing of ways to get back to May. I am constantly online, looking for pictures and videos of Nong Hai and Laos, hoping to catch a glimpse of May. Every chance I get, I am looking for airline tickets, checking out dates for when I can take time off from work.

I don’t want to sound dramatic but what is wrong with me? I was never like this; I don’t like NOT having any control of my life or my feelings. I am on the phone with May every night and every weekend. It would seem my whole world now revolves around May.

Perhaps I will seek professional help.

Yours truly,

LHG

Prepare paperwork to bring her to the States homie! Marry nwg kag xwb mas!

[lilly]

What the? lol. China is completely different from China town.  China has plenty to see and experience besides the Great Wall. Each province has something unique to offer.

The exchange rate for Taiwan is about $30 TWD to $1 USD. I think for Hong Kong it's about $7 HKD to $1 USD. I forgot to mention that both these places are easy to navigate, especially in Hong Kong since they speak English and the signs are in English as well. Taiwan is harder to navigate outside of Taipei but still doable if you aren't afraid of making a fool of yourself. 

And I am not going to either place, at least not for a while. I was just replying to summerberry. 

LOL to first paragraph.

[MenyuamHmoob]

LHG, if you truly feel the way you do, just get married with her and bring her here to the states.  It shouldnt be too big of a problem, given that you do have a stable job and/or income.  Dont listen to any of the bad stigma that everyone (ahem ahem...ladies) here in the US have put on marrying someone in Laos.  The heart knows no place or time, it only knows how to feel.  (if that makes any sense).  Until then, im sure May and you can cope with mising each other thru phone calls and webcam (maybe?).  Good luck to you and May, as it will surely be a hard route.

[lindavue]

I had a great time in Laos, got back home on Sunday last week... planning on going back in September.... will post up some pictures and vids..

I enjoy the new experiance and appreciates how lucky i am to be here... this adventure really gave me a new insight and new life to look forward to.

[LonelyHmgGuy]

LHG,

Thanks for sharing pictures (finally!).  You make me want to visit Laos again. It's definitely a beautiful country.

In regards to May, if you miss her that much, you might as well marry her. I think the paperwork process is tedious, so get started now. Good luck!

Archor... thanks for stopping by and thanks for the advice. I will have to agree with you... Laos is very special and very affordable, much more affordable thank a week on Maui.

I do miss May... I will keep you updated if anything happens.

LHG

[LonelyHmgGuy]

Prepare paperwork to bring her to the States homie! Marry nwg kag xwb mas!

GNAM... thanks for the encouragement! I am that close to doing it!

LHG

[LonelyHmgGuy]

LHG, if you truly feel the way you do, just get married with her and bring her here to the states.  It shouldnt be too big of a problem, given that you do have a stable job and/or income.  Dont listen to any of the bad stigma that everyone (ahem ahem...ladies) here in the US have put on marrying someone in Laos.  The heart knows no place or time, it only knows how to feel.  (if that makes any sense).  Until then, im sure May and you can cope with mising each other thru phone calls and webcam (maybe?).  Good luck to you and May, as it will surely be a hard route.

MenyuamHmoob.. . I know what you mean about the Stigma and the stereotypes. I would lie if I say those things don't bother me, but deep down inside they do. At the same time, I am a wreck! I truly miss her and miss being with her. Hopefully I will get to go back soon... until then, the PHONE is my best friend right now.

Thanks again for the encouragement bro!

LHG

[LonelyHmgGuy]

I had a great time in Laos, got back home on Sunday last week... planning on going back in September.... will post up some pictures and vids..

I enjoy the new experiance and appreciates how lucky i am to be here... this adventure really gave me a new insight and new life to look forward to.

LindaVue -

Very cool. I was just thinking about you the other day and your trip. When I was in Hanoi, I wondered where you might be or if you were close by.

Anyways... I agee with you about Laos. For those that have not gone, it is truly an experience and a magical place. I am so glad you had the chance to go and also that you had a great time there.

Please post pictures and tell us about your trip... from a women's point of view, I would love to hear what it was like!!!

LHG