Border Crossing Shennanigans

We drove for five hours to get to the border crossing at Chang Khong. Here we would cross the river to its counterpart in Laos, Huai Xai.

For everything you might here about getting ripped off or hussled by devious street traders or taxi drivers in this country, the reality is fairly banal. The opposite, however, is true of the border crossings business at these places.

We paid the visa fee, which costs more for someone from Ireland than someone from the US or UK. Is an Irish man more difficult to process than our English brethren? Perhaps they had hired an additional armed guard, hidden in the bushes, to keep me under control while they stamped my visa.

Then we had to pay the overtime wages for the crossing guards at both sides. And there was a lot of travelers crossing with me that day all contributing the required 10 Baht. Their wages must be colossal - right up there with Irish power plant workers and prison officers. Not to mind the fact that it was only 4 p.m. and they were already on overtime. I don't know about you but I think socialism has worked out well for the people of Laos.


Thinking we were out of the woods, some days later we had to pay a further $10 "exit fee" so I could be allowed to leave Laos. I won't even get started on what I think about this ...