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

[Gawmp]

LHG - do you know if those dongles work with tablets?

[LonelyHmgGuy]

LHG - do you know if those dongles work with tablets?

YES... if your device supports USB technology, I know Apple tablets do for sure.

[Gawmp]

YES... if your device supports USB technology, I know Apple tablets do for sure.

good to know...

[lindavue]

Regarding What I USED for INTERNET Access....

In Laos, you can buy USB Dongles. The USB Dongles (for the none techie people) are wireless adapters attached to Laptops or PCs. The Dongles are sold by UNITEL or BEELINE, the wireless phone carriers of Laos. These devices cost about 400,000 kip or about 50 US Dollars and you pay for usage as you go. The cost is about 10,000 kip per day, but the speeds are extremely slow... only about 56 kb per second. Like the old dial up days in the USA.

For late night or really early morning usage, it is bearable. But during the day, you're better off sending smoke signals.

Your second option are the Internet Cafes in town, when you can get to them. They have decent speed and cost about 8000 kips per hour, or 1 US dollar.

Hope that helps!

LHG

good to know for next time... I had my laptop but then didn't find anyone who knew much about it so basically i was out of loop till i got into thailand....

[AOZ]

Yes I'm back... I left on April 20th and Got back on May 12th. I certainly did meet lots of cousins and someone very special.... all i can say is AMAZING!! lol

how exciting!  so are the hmong guys there proper in hmong?  puas zoo ua vaiv thaib? 

es koj tus special person ntawd... ah hum.... did you get married there? hehehe

[lindavue]

how exciting!  so are the hmong guys there proper in hmong?  puas zoo ua vaiv thaib? 

es koj tus special person ntawd... ah hum.... did you get married there? hehehe

Haha funny...Yes i would say they are some talkers and zoo ua vauv kawg...and that they are very good with their words and pick up lines..... and No i Did not get married there but maybe one of these day.

However, someone did still a kiss from me.... I will write my whole experience when i get back from the gym and explain to you how good them hmong nplog can sweep you off your feet.

[AOZ]

Haha funny...Yes i would say they are some talkers and zoo ua vauv kawg...and that they are very good with their words and pick up lines..... and No i Did not get married there but maybe one of these day.

However, someone did still a kiss from me.... I will write my whole experience when i get back from the gym and explain to you how good them hmong nplog can sweep you off your feet.

wow.  so all the women and men there have more game than our sons and daughters here eh? 

what was the best pickup line thrown at you?

i was just thinking that someday....don t' want to rule out any options... for my daughters or sons to go marry a vauv/nyab from there who is proper in hmong. 

so how do you differentiate the sincere ones from the rest?   

[lindavue]

So here's my whole experiance during the long 3 weeks that I was in Laos and Thailand. Please excuse the spelling or puncuations and grammar (as you know im not as a good writer as LHM)

April 20th, 2013

The night before leaving on my trip I was not able to sleep at all. I keep thinking of what I would be doing, who I would be meeting and what it would be like and rushing and trying to scatter everything I needed for the trip. On this trip, I packed at least 10 brand new outfits along with 2 sandals, 1 canon camera, 1 sony camcorder, 1 Hero black edition, my makeup bag with all my jewleries and toothbrush and personal use stuff, 1 coach purse for my sister's bday, 1 stuff animal for my niece. On the other hand my mom already have like 4 XL suitcase packed with clothes, and gifts for relatives. As the time was getting closer to leave to the airport around 5pm, I was already jumping with joy. Check in to MSP and arrived in Seattle around 8pm. Took the shuttle to our hotel since we don't officially leave the States till the next day in the evening.

April 21, 2013 - April 22nd, 2013

Woke Up around 5am to get ready and relax for the long journey. Took the shuttle to the airport around 9am, checked in, rec'd boarding pass and was boarding the plane around 2pm to Narita Japan. This is the longest and most exhausting flight I have ever been on. The flight was around 13 hours and I was jet leg by the time we arrived in Japan. I enjoyed the entertainment on the plane but wish there was wifi. I watched mostly all the new movies that came out. Also the snacks and food was not what I thought it would be. Mostly ate the desserts and fruits. The meals was not good at all but I did enjoy the ice cream provided.

April 23rd, 2013

Finally arrived in Japan around 4pm. I'm glad my mom needed wheelchair assistance so my parents and I moved thru the security lines very quick and didn't have to wait at all when we got to Narita, Japan. We had a 2 hour layover and finally last plane trip to Bangkok. It was about a 6 hour flight and finally arrived at 11pm. Waited for my sister and her daughter to arrive and meet us there.

April 24th, 2013

Finally my sister arrived at 2am at bangkok airport and we decided to wait till 6am to take the MRT Sub to Hualomphong train station to go to Laos. our train didn't leave until 8pm that night so we walk around the area and inside the train station had stalls and stores to shop around while we wait. I suggest if you are carrying light and not travelling with alot of people, the train station is a cheaper way to get into Laos. I personally like it. We got 2nd class seats where there was AC and pull out beds to sleep for around $30 per person. I wanted the first class seats where you have your private room but it was all booked and was a little bit more. The schedule said we should be in Nong khai around 8am but just to let you know they make quite some mini stops and usually takes a bit longer to get there. We finally arrived in Nong Khai at 10am where we waived a tuk tuk for 20 baht per person to a local travel agency where we paid around 500 baht to get us over to the friendship bridge. Another way u can do for cheaper is take the connecting train to thanaleng which crosses over the friendship bridge to Laos and quicker and cheaper, but because we had lots of luggage we had to take that route....


TO BE CONTINUED.

[LonelyHmgGuy]

So here's my whole experiance during the long 3 weeks that I was in Laos and Thailand. Please excuse the spelling or puncuations and grammar (as you know im not as a good writer as LHM)

April 20th, 2013

The night before leaving on my trip I was not able to sleep at all. I keep thinking of what I would be doing, who I would be meeting and what it would be like and rushing and trying to scatter everything I needed for the trip. On this trip, I packed at least 10 brand new outfits along with 2 sandals, 1 canon camera, 1 sony camcorder, 1 Hero black edition, my makeup bag with all my jewleries and toothbrush and personal use stuff, 1 coach purse for my sister's bday, 1 stuff animal for my niece. On the other hand my mom already have like 4 XL suitcase packed with clothes, and gifts for relatives. As the time was getting closer to leave to the airport around 5pm, I was already jumping with joy. Check in to MSP and arrived in Seattle around 8pm. Took the shuttle to our hotel since we don't officially leave the States till the next day in the evening.

April 21, 2013 - April 22nd, 2013

Woke Up around 5am to get ready and relax for the long journey. Took the shuttle to the airport around 9am, checked in, rec'd boarding pass and was boarding the plane around 2pm to Narita Japan. This is the longest and most exhausting flight I have ever been on. The flight was around 13 hours and I was jet leg by the time we arrived in Japan. I enjoyed the entertainment on the plane but wish there was wifi. I watched mostly all the new movies that came out. Also the snacks and food was not what I thought it would be. Mostly ate the desserts and fruits. The meals was not good at all but I did enjoy the ice cream provided.

April 23rd, 2013

Finally arrived in Japan around 4pm. I'm glad my mom needed wheelchair assistance so my parents and I moved thru the security lines very quick and didn't have to wait at all when we got to Narita, Japan. We had a 2 hour layover and finally last plane trip to Bangkok. It was about a 6 hour flight and finally arrived at 11pm. Waited for my sister and her daughter to arrive and meet us there.

April 24th, 2013

Finally my sister arrived at 2am at bangkok airport and we decided to wait till 6am to take the MRT Sub to Hualomphong train station to go to Laos. our train didn't leave until 8pm that night so we walk around the area and inside the train station had stalls and stores to shop around while we wait. I suggest if you are carrying light and not travelling with alot of people, the train station is a cheaper way to get into Laos. I personally like it. We got 2nd class seats where there was AC and pull out beds to sleep for around $30 per person. I wanted the first class seats where you have your private room but it was all booked and was a little bit more. The schedule said we should be in Nong khai around 8am but just to let you know they make quite some mini stops and usually takes a bit longer to get there. We finally arrived in Nong Khai at 10am where we waived a tuk tuk for 20 baht per person to a local travel agency where we paid around 500 baht to get us over to the friendship bridge. Another way u can do for cheaper is take the connecting train to thanaleng which crosses over the friendship bridge to Laos and quicker and cheaper, but because we had lots of luggage we had to take that route....


TO BE CONTINUED.

Very Cool... keep them coming. I can hardly wait.

Just a few Questions for your... if you dont mind. How much was your tickets? Which Airline? Do you or your parents speak Thai? For someone not fluent in Thai, is it possible to take the same route you took, going to Laos via Thailand?

Thanks and keep the blogs coming.... We're all waiting to hear about your special guy!

[lindavue]

Very Cool... keep them coming. I can hardly wait.

Just a few Questions for your... if you dont mind. How much was your tickets? Which Airline? Do you or your parents speak Thai? For someone not fluent in Thai, is it possible to take the same route you took, going to Laos via Thailand?

Thanks and keep the blogs coming.... We're all waiting to hear about your special guy!

We bought our plane ticket directly from Delta around December for $1100 each. My dad can speak thai a little bit but I'm not too worry in thailand because most of the people there can speak english or understand english better than in Laos. And Yes you can take that route to Laos. Like I said previously. Taking the train is not as expensive if you wish to save some money, but its up to you if you don't mind a longer trip into Laos and not carrying alot of stuff. I would take the train vs the bus. It has a bathroom and sink (the asian way) but from what I heard if you get the first class you have your own sink plus a western bathroom to share in on that train cart. There is breakfast available if u want to buy. Pillows and Blankets are provided however there are different class so book it early if you want better class seatings. If you want to be really cheap then just buy the seat which is lesser. Did I mention I hate the border, too many people and getting in line and if  my mom wasn't carrying all those luggage i would gladly just paid couple of $ to take the connecting train into laos which is bit less hassle. On the other hand we paid a travel agency in Nongkhai to take us right to the border into Laos and so we exit the Thai border without getting out from the car. We were drop off at the border in Laos where my mom's sister was on the otherside waiting for us already with their car. let's just say if you been to the border of Mexico, its similar.

[LonelyHmgGuy]

We bought our plane ticket directly from Delta around December for $1100 each. My dad can speak thai a little bit but I'm not too worry in thailand because most of the people there can speak english or understand english better than in Laos. And Yes you can take that route to Laos. Like I said previously. Taking the train is not as expensive if you wish to save some money, but its up to you if you don't mind a longer trip into Laos and not carrying alot of stuff. I would take the train vs the bus. It has a bathroom and sink (the asian way) but from what I heard if you get the first class you have your own sink plus a western bathroom to share in on that train cart. There is breakfast available if u want to buy. Pillows and Blankets are provided however there are different class so book it early if you want better class seatings. If you want to be really cheap then just buy the seat which is lesser. Did I mention I hate the border, too many people and getting in line and if  my mom wasn't carrying all those luggage i would gladly just paid couple of $ to take the connecting train into laos which is bit less hassle. On the other hand we paid a travel agency in Nongkhai to take us right to the border into Laos and so we exit the Thai border without getting out from the car. We were drop off at the border in Laos where my mom's sister was on the otherside waiting for us already with their car. let's just say if you been to the border of Mexico, its similar.

Lindavue,

If I have not told you so... thank you, thank you for sharing your experience with us. It is both refreshing and educational to hear about your story, taken from a woman's point of view. Perhaps, when you're done with your story, it will encourage the ladies of PH to venture out into the world too.

There is a quote from The Hobbit that says "The world is not in your maps and books. It's out there." And I  should hope that we all can live by these words.

Lastly, I truly hope that someday everyone will have the means and opportunity to experience what you and I have experienced.

Yours Truly,

LHG

[lindavue]

Continued from April 24th 2013

So once we got to the border and crossing to the other side, first you get in line to get your passport and visa check, they check your luggage thru their xray and then finally a final check by the gates and then your finally stepping on Laos ground around 11am. Let me say it was super HOT and at that time i'm already sweating when i finally got thru the check. I can see my niam tais and her family already by the gates waiting patiently for us and I rushed over to get a hug. Finally at last we were in LAOS.... my first thought was "this is it!" lol. So once we got all our stuff we drove to Vientiane Talat Sao (mall). They are in the process of expanding the mall to make it a bit bigger. We stop there to eat first before heading to lav 52. First dish there I had was Papaya! I think from aside of all the papaya i had in Laos, the one at the Mall was the best... and with sticky rice. Had fresh young coconut drink and logans, lychees, mangos, and bananas.

After shopping at the Talat Sao we then left to lav 52. I think it was like a 45 min to 1hr drive. We went to my niam tais daughters motel where we stayed there. For those who have been there probably knows the place. I don't remember the name of the place but its a motel with a nightclub. We bought some food at the market in lav 52 to make later for dinner. That night we had chicken with my mom's favorite bamboo. We had finish eating dinner and I had brought the dishes to the kitchen to wash and the little hmong boy came and grab it from me and said "muaj kuv mam ua os". And I was suprise and told the little boy I was gonna do it but then he took it off me and washed it. I asked my cousin who he was and he replied that the boy was a worker who served beer and clean and washes dishes for them. the little boy's older brother couldn't come so he made the little brother come and work for him.

So going back to my cousins nightclub/bar/motel. I felt very bad at how the place is run with Prostitution and child labor. I understand that it's a easy way of making a living but i felt very disgusted and really didn't want to stay there but it's family so I had to just bear it. That night the weather cool down, the music was on full blast with lao and thai songs. You can see all the girls putting on makeup and dressing up to start their shift. There are at least 5-6 prostitutes waiting out by the gates waiting for business. Seeing girls going and coming out from the motel room. I saw Hmong Meka, hmong nplog and nplog trying to get prostitutes for a quickie with the girls. There will be some hmong og's as old as my grandpa there wasting their money on these prostitutes. I feel bad for those hmong meka who goes and look like dogs. I understand if they go and visit laos or relatives but when you know u have a family to support save yourself some face and do better. I don't blame it on the guys for the most part but I guess its just a way of living to get quick money for the girls. I asked my cousin why these girls became prostitute and they said that most of the girls are usually from the tojsiab who were sent there to make money to send back to their families and some just like the money. The girls will then make the money for themself and just provide my cousin the fee for the motel and beer. Whatever they make they keep. The girls live in a room that is in the corner and is provided with food for some part I guess. The bar closes at 12pm and all the girls are then lock back up in the corner of the house and the gates are closed and lock.

To be continued

[AOZ]

So going back to my cousins nightclub/bar/motel. I felt very bad at how the place is run with Prostitution and child labor. I understand that it's a easy way of making a living but i felt very disgusted and really didn't want to stay there but it's family so I had to just bear it. That night the weather cool down, the music was on full blast with lao and thai songs. You can see all the girls putting on makeup and dressing up to start their shift. There are at least 5-6 prostitutes waiting out by the gates waiting for business. Seeing girls going and coming out from the motel room. I saw Hmong Meka, hmong nplog and nplog trying to get prostitutes for a quickie with the girls. There will be some hmong og's as old as my grandpa there wasting their money on these prostitutes. I feel bad for those hmong meka who goes and look like dogs. I understand if they go and visit laos or relatives but when you know u have a family to support save yourself some face and do better. I don't blame it on the guys for the most part but I guess its just a way of living to get quick money for the girls. I asked my cousin why these girls became prostitute and they said that most of the girls are usually from the tojsiab who were sent there to make money to send back to their families and some just like the money. The girls will then make the money for themself and just provide my cousin the fee for the motel and beer. Whatever they make they keep. The girls live in a room that is in the corner and is provided with food for some part I guess. The bar closes at 12pm and all the girls are then lock back up in the corner of the house and the gates are closed and lock.

To be continued

wow.  thanks for sharing.  it's very sad that these girls have to resort to such to support themselves and their families. 

so do you think your relatives who own this motel.... i mean... is it more like a brothel?

[lindavue]

wow.  thanks for sharing.  it's very sad that these girls have to resort to such to support themselves and their families. 

so do you think your relatives who own this motel.... i mean... is it more like a brothel?

I dont think so because its up to the girls if they want to do it or not. The funny thing is that because we were hanging out there...the people thought I was one too...lol

[AOZ]

lindavue, i wonder what LHG has to say about this prostitution.  i'm sure he stayed of hotels like this. 

could have taken advantage of that opportunity to ask for $$$ from those men and give to those girls.