Chiang Kong, the ticket nightmare
Trip Start
Mar 10, 2007
1
25
153
Trip End
??? ??, 2007
Chiang Kong,
Thailand
Saturday, April 28, 2007
being lazy, well partially that, but i have been in places where
Internet is not available, in fact electricity is scarce.
Chaingrai:
So on day two in Chaingrai i went to the day market in town in
search of food after lazing around for a while, however i was
disappointed to find out that it was just adirty smelly enclosed arena
of dodgy looking smelly foods and cheap knockoff versions of crap you
don't want anyway. Didn't eat there, but instead i got soo hungry i went
into some crappy Chinese 'restaurant' where the chicken curry was soo
bad i was afraid to eat the chicken, and I'll eat anything. Not a great
day so far!
Things however did perk up from
there as at the tourist info place they informed me i could get a 30 day
visa for Laos in the border, so i wouldn't need to go to bangkok again,
yay! When i was sitting outside two of the girls from the office also
came out to talk to me and asked if i minded if they joined me at the night bazaar in the evening, which obviously i didn't. (HE'S A PLAYA, HE'S A PLAYA)
Only kidding, it turns out they are studying English and the tat job is part of their internship. So obviously they wanted the opportunity to practice English as thats what they study, but it was cool for me to eat and talk with them, and they ordered me loads of Thai dishes, and paid for them.
AH, the effects of Beer Lao
Was a great night overall.The next day went from bad to worse. I arrived in Chiang Kong fine and got a tuk tuk to easy trip (travel agents) and even got my visa sorted ok. However when i was waiting for my visa they said 'why don't you check your email, its free?' 'hmmm, yeah why not' i thought. Mother fuckers! First email, from STA travel, in reply to an email i sent earlier in the week about moving my flights back. Basically, despite me asking this about 1 MILLION times, and each time being reassured it would be ok, it turns out that my flight cannot be pushed back to the dates that i wanted and so are essentially useless to me. And where is the nearest STA office for a refund, Fucking Bangkok, but my visa is stamped and i have to leave Thailand today! No STA in any other part of s-e Asia either, well not that I'll be near anytime soon. Numerous expensive phone calls and faxes to STA bangkok inform me then that they cant even give me a refund or new tickets, sta reading have to bloody do it! They then tell Corrin ( thanks for your help here corrin) that i have to send the tickets back to them, and that they cant even issue me e tickets, and my new tickets would have to be shipped to me! What a stupid idea. So now i have to send the tickets home, Corrin is gonna get them refunded (thanks again corrin!) Then I'm gonna buy some new ones here, or not come home (sounding like a better option).
Anyway, sorry to moan, but i then crossed the border ok, got into a guest house, then went for my first meal in Laos, Buffalo lap with sticky rice,with two girls i met in my guest house. Eating rice with your hands, with a beer Lao, and sitting in a restaurant overlooking the Mekong made a fine start to my adventure in Laos!
