Over the Mekong...

Our last morning in Laos was spent eating a pancake and getting stamped out of the country (legitimately this time, with no "One Dollar" demand). We then scraped all of our last Laos Kip together to get the boat across to Thailand, we were left with the equivalent of 9p which was lucky as Kip are not exchanged anywhere other than Laos it seems. The boat across the Mekong took about 3 minutes, the last part being the shortest of this mammoth border crossing. We arrived with no Thai Baht, so once we had had our passports stamped in we walked the 2km into town.

The difference between Laos and Thailand was instantly apparent. Thailand seems to have much more money, shown by the rows of shops with brand names and cars everywhere, not just scooters. We stumbled into a much needed air conditioned bank where Phil caused chaos, mucking up the system! A friendly desk clerk took pity on him and guided him through the whole process of getting change. We continued our walk to the bus station and got a local bus to Chiang Rai with a bus load of friendly locals, somethings don't change!

After checking in to a guest house/bakery we headed out for lunch and to explore this new country. Chiang Rai had a Clock Tower, lots of shops and not much else. The night bazaar was good fun though with loads of stalls sprawling over the streets near the bus station. After dinner we collapsed into bed, tired after our 2 big days of travel, but we'd made it, country number eleven.