Thailand Arrival

I have safely arrived in Thailand, but what a harrowing adventure it has been....
The original plan was to go from Kunming in the Yunnan province down to the "banna" region and take a cargo boat down the Mekong River to Thailand--basically the same place that I am at right now.
Problems began in Kunming when my cell phone was stolen in the enormus Bird and Flower Market. At that point I had decided that it was probably a much better idea to just stay in Yunnan and not go further south. I quickly recanted this concept and decided to abandon the comforts that I suddenly developed in Kumning and bought a bus ticket for banna that night. The ride from Kunming to Banna was long and difficult. The road was washed out in several areas--I was trapped in a tight sleeping bus for 9hours as I made the journey south. In the morning, upon our arrival, I headed directly for Mai-Mai Cafe, which has the most up to date travel information for the region. It was a little early--8am, so I ordered breakfast, a lovely omlette with bacon like pieces of meat, black mushrooms and onions--all in all a lovely feast. I then asked the waitstaff about getting the boat down to Thailand and she informed me with a frown that there was no ships until the 6th (tommorow) because of the Chinese New year. Sad.
I was really looking forward to making it to the Mekong river and relaxing.
I would not be allowed to relax at all.
I had travelled on the sleeper bus with a guy from Harvard who was studying Chinese at Beijing University. He saw a couple of friends of his from college, one who was heading to Laos in half an hour. Another friend of thiers, Jen, had recently done the trek to the other side of Lao, near the Thai border and said it was fairly easy to accomplish.
With that said, I was on my way with them. We booked a ticket heading for Lao (it is called Lao by the native people -- I was told that the French Bastardized it by adding the S) In a matter of moments, we were on the bus to Lao. This was a fairly amusing, but very long ride through the south of China on what we thought was going to be a bus, but it turned out to be a Toyota like minivan--packed with rice and locals going from town to town--read--it took a long, long time to get from point A to point B--but it was done.
We stayed in a boarder town for the night, still in China. Prostitutes and massage parlours everywhere--it will hopefully be the last of dodgy chinese food I have for a long time. The next morning we went to the bus station and boarded another, larger minivan for the border--which was about 1.5 hours away. We cleared customs much quicker than I thought we would--no checking for anything from the Chinese government--which was quite amazing considering the amount of heroin that passes through the region.
Once in lao, things changed quickly. Buildings give way to huts--Chinese food turns into grilled squirrel ([pictures later)
Once we arrived in lao, it was another 1.5 hours of bumpy roads and difficult travelling until we reached the town. Once there- I lost my travelling buddy. She was staying at the border for a couple of days and then moving into the dense forests of Lao. I quickly booked a ticket to get to the other side of Lao--I needed to get to thailand--no need to spend extra time.
We arrived at 2:30pm.
The bus to the Thai border was supposed to leave at 3pm, but there were not enough people to make the journey, so we had to wait for the bus to come from the capital city to connect it before we could leave.
"But it will be here at anytime"
5hours later (and 3lao beers) it finally arrived. After much negoitation, my pack was tossed on the top of the bus, with the slaugherted pigs and chicken crates and we were on our way.
This was the most harrowing experience- I have ever EVER EVER had. Mountain passes made of clay, road washouts--all in the middle of the night--the scariest roller coaster ride for 6usd and 9 hours of terror. It was amazing-an experience I am glad that I did, but will NEVER try that again.
We arrived at 330am on the other side of the Mekong from where I am now. I cant tell you right now how nice it feels to be here. What an amzing journey--but one that I am not likely to repeat for quite some time.
There are many more details to tell, but it will have to wait for another time. I have three and a half hours here and want to see as much as possible before heading to Bancock to watch the Superbowl and enjoy the 90 degree weather.
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