USA to Bangkok (Thailand) & Vientiane (Laos)
USA to Bangkok, Thailand --- 22 & 23 January 2002
Virginia and I flew from Newark International Airport by Northwest Airlines at 9:20am
Tuesday 22Jan02 and after plane changes in Detroit and Tokyo arrived in Bangkok’s airport
more than 26 hours later at about 11:30pm Wednesday 24Jan02 local time. From the
airport we took a one-hour taxi ride (470 Baht) to the Bangkok Centre Hotel, which we had
reserved through Royal Exclusive Travel Co., Ltd. over the Internet (900 Baht). The hotel
was good and diagonally across the street of Bangkok's main train station.
Bangkok, Thailand --- 24 January
We spent most of the morning in the hotel recovering from our flight and awaiting delivery at
the hotel of the train tickets we had ordered from Royal Exclusive Travel.. In the
afternoon we took a 15-minute walk to the boat dock at the Sheraton Orchid Hotel and took
an express book up the Chao Phraya River and then on foot visited Wat Po,Wat Phra Keo, the
Grand Palace, and the University.
At 8:30pm we left Bangkok by first-class sleeper train overnight to NongKhai, on the Thai
side of the Mekong River bordering Laos. Our first class a/c sleeper compartment had a
lower and an upper berth and a small sink; toilets were at the ends of the car.
NongKhai, Thailand & Vientiane, Laos --- 25 & 26 January
After arriving by train in NongKhai about 8:00am we took a minibus to the nearby
Friendship Bridge where we got our Lao visas ($20 and two photos each), then a half-hour
taxi ride to the Lani Guest House in Vientiane. The guest house ($25 per night) is a French
colonial building surrounded by a garden, yet less than a ten minute walk to the center of
town.
Virginia and I flew from Newark International Airport by Northwest Airlines at 9:20am
Tuesday 22Jan02 and after plane changes in Detroit and Tokyo arrived in Bangkok’s airport
more than 26 hours later at about 11:30pm Wednesday 24Jan02 local time. From the
airport we took a one-hour taxi ride (470 Baht) to the Bangkok Centre Hotel, which we had
reserved through Royal Exclusive Travel Co., Ltd. over the Internet (900 Baht). The hotel
was good and diagonally across the street of Bangkok's main train station.
Bangkok, Thailand --- 24 January
We spent most of the morning in the hotel recovering from our flight and awaiting delivery at
the hotel of the train tickets we had ordered from Royal Exclusive Travel.. In the
afternoon we took a 15-minute walk to the boat dock at the Sheraton Orchid Hotel and took
an express book up the Chao Phraya River and then on foot visited Wat Po,Wat Phra Keo, the
Grand Palace, and the University.
At 8:30pm we left Bangkok by first-class sleeper train overnight to NongKhai, on the Thai
side of the Mekong River bordering Laos. Our first class a/c sleeper compartment had a
lower and an upper berth and a small sink; toilets were at the ends of the car.
NongKhai, Thailand & Vientiane, Laos --- 25 & 26 January
After arriving by train in NongKhai about 8:00am we took a minibus to the nearby
Friendship Bridge where we got our Lao visas ($20 and two photos each), then a half-hour
taxi ride to the Lani Guest House in Vientiane. The guest house ($25 per night) is a French
colonial building surrounded by a garden, yet less than a ten minute walk to the center of
town.
Vientiane has a population of 150,000
and is the capital of the country, yet it
has a small-town atmosphere with plenty
of trees, no buildings higher than two or
three floors, and light traffic. We
visited Wat That Luang (which appears
on the Lao flag), two or three other
Buddhist temples, and the National
Museum located in the former Royal
Palace. We also spent some time in the
Talaat Sao Market, where Virginia
bought a wristwatch and I a shirt.
and is the capital of the country, yet it
has a small-town atmosphere with plenty
of trees, no buildings higher than two or
three floors, and light traffic. We
visited Wat That Luang (which appears
on the Lao flag), two or three other
Buddhist temples, and the National
Museum located in the former Royal
Palace. We also spent some time in the
Talaat Sao Market, where Virginia
bought a wristwatch and I a shirt.
Virginia at Wat That Luang, Vientiane, Laos.