After some frustration, we finally work out the fasted and cheapest way to get from Thakek, in Laos, to Northern Thailand: we've just crossed the boarder, over the shiny new Friendship Bridge which connects Thakek to Nakhon Phanom in Thailand, and have booked ourselves a flight to Bangkok from its tiny airport, using Nok Air. We'll have to spend the day in the airport (we are holding out for a Mac Donald's or a Subway... or even... a Krispy Kreme) but from there we can fly straight to Chiang Mai. Simple.

...no truly, so far it really has been simple. Clearly the people at the boarder have no idea what they're meant to be doing: we sneakily asked for a 30-day visa (rather than the standard 15-day land-entry allowance), and got it! See, if you don't ask you don't get.

Nakhon Phanom

It's weird to be back in civilisation. The contrast with Lao is instantaneous. Just our hotel, is all new and shiny. Don't get me wrong I LOVED Laos, with it's relaxed and rustic lifestyle, but having some creature comforts once in a while is rather nice.

Its almost hard to put your finger on what exactly makes this city more developed than those in Loa. I suppose because Loa and Vietnamese influences are strong here; for example, though just about every person you see tending their fields is ethnically Thai, many still wear the conical Vietnamese-style straw hats. It might simply be that Thailand feels more 'developed' (even when its 'developed' still isn't all that swish), while Laos feels like it is 'developing'. Oh, and in Laos we didn't get sung to by the Entertainment, in English, during our dinner...that must be it!