Community: Real Life

Tuk to the hand


Ants and Jo

Taxi for two from Bangkok to Brighton? Ants Bolingbroke-Kent and Jo Huxter aim to cross 12 countries by tuk-tuk, and raise £50,000 for mental health charity Mind.
Entry: 3
Date: 03/06/2006

Here, the three-wheeling travellers face problems with Laos border control

Setta Palace Hotel, Vientiane

Ants writes...

Yesterday Jo, Ting Tong and I tukked over the Friendship Bridge linking Thailand and Laos and breathed a collective sigh of relief. Ever since we arrived in Thailand two weeks ago crossing into Laos has been our biggest perceived obstacle. We'd heard from a number of sources that Thai registered vehicles had been banned from crossing the bridge. There was also uncertainty as to whether you needed a carnet de passage to bring vehicles into the country. The consensus was that a carnet was unnecessary - they are very expensive and complicated to arrange so we had long ago decided against getting one - but we had heard from a few overlanders that life would be much easier if we had one. So it was with baited breath and butterflies in our stomachs that we eased down the gears and drove up to the border yesterday afternoon.

"Jo disappeared into the ominous sounding 'Room 6' at Laos customs, I selected Leftfield on my iPod and waited nervously."

Jo has been in charge of organizing all the paperwork for Thailand, Laos and China, so as she disappeared into the ominous sounding 'Room 6' at Laos customs, I selected Leftfield on my iPod and waited nervously. Leftfield was shortlived, however, as a bevy of Tourist Police, customs officials and bypassers were soon crowded round Ting Tong. 'Where are you from?', 'Where are you going?' 'How much was your tuk tuk?' - all the usual questions were fired at me. And then the familiar raised eyebrows and looks of 'Are you crazy?' upon learning of our destination. One lady spoke very good English and warned me that Route 13 is very mountainous and that we should avoid driving at night due to the Hmong rebels in the north. All things we have been told before. More interesting was her revelation that there is only one psychiatrist in the whole of Laos and that depression doesn't really exist here.

After about an hour Jo emerged triumphantly; we had been granted special permission to enter Laos, but had to wait until Monday in Vientiane in order to get permission to enter the other provinces. It seems that the Thai press cuttings Jo had showed the Laos immigration had worked their magic and rather than facing an unpleasant diversion, all we had to do was endure a weekend of city arrest in the Laos capital. Not exactly a hardship!


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