Tourist visas for Thailand are free, and last for thirty days. If you overstay your visa, you get charged 500 Thai Baht per day and are required to pay before you can leave the country.
On Saturday, I borrowed one of the community bikes (motorcycles) and rode to Laos for lunch, and to get my visa renewed upon re-entry into Thailand.
It's about an hour and thirty minutes to the border, and mostly highway driving. This was my first ride outside of the village where I've been practicing.
I left the bike in a parking lot on the Thai side of the border and rode a bus across the Thai/Laos Friendship Bridge, which goes over the Mekong River. After Lunch, I made my way back across the border and went back to Udon Thani. Traffic was pretty heavy on the way back through Udon, and while it may seem chaotic and dangerous, I think I would feel more comfortable on a motorcycle in Thailand than in America. Drivers here are more aware, probably because there are so many bikes here. I've not seen one accident since my arrival.
3 comments:
It seems to me that you have to learn a different way to drive. But there was just an interesting article in, I think, the Atlantic Monthly about how too many signs and traffic signals might actually cause driver to pay less attention to actual conditions.
But frankly, it would scare the bejesus out of me.
What did you have for lunch?
dude, awesome picture!! It looks like you're having an amazing time, I'm looking forward to seeing you again. Take care.
Great work.
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