Learning Thai

Well, we're safe and sound back in Thippawan with permission to stay in Thailand for two more months! Woo-hoo. No, we're grateful each time we are allowed a few more months, however, it was discouraging that we were not able to get our Type O business visa. We were waiting until the last minute before we left to receive the paperwork from the English Language Center where Tom hopes to teach. However, when the lawyer met us at the bus station he told us there was a problem with the paperwork for his company. He proposed another solution which may have enabled us to get the visas but which would have required some dishonesty on our part (it's a long story...).

Some pictures of our trip to Laos (for this visa run we had to actually stay out of the country and apply for a brand new visa instead of doing a quickie renewal).
It all started with an overnight bus trip which was blessedly uneventful except for quite a bit of tossing and turning by all of us. We waited a few hours at the border for the next bus over the new Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge, with two stops for paperwork along the way.
That day we did some crashing and sleeping in the hotel and then found a little place by the Mekong River for dinner. This was the amazing view across the river toward Thailand from our table....

Claire sucking down the clay pot soup - see that squid dangling from her spoon? Points to Claire for downing the
oh-so-chewy legs!

Eliza listening to the story of Joseph in our hotel room. Tom and I did a lot of praying and thinking on this day and felt at peace about our decision to not try to obtain visas based on bogus paperwork. Claire asked anxiously if "we were going to lie."

Tuesday we attempted to apply for a business visa at the Thai consulate. Our inadequate paperwork was quickly brushed aside and we were told almost immediately that we would only be able to get a two month tourist visa. We were expecting it, but it was still disappointing.

More pictures of Savanaket....

Typical street scene (love that the restaurant is called the Four Seasons). We did find another French restaurant in town that was quite nice and enjoyed a really, really great meal, our favorite part being the fresh homemade rolls! It was interesting to observe the lasting difference that colonization by the French has made in Laos.

Tom met this man making Buddha images at one of the wats in Savannakhet. They use some type of mold to make the body and then attach the arms later. These will be coated with gold paint and purchased by individuals who will then donate them to other wats.

Eliza hiding in a cupboard in our hotel room. The girls were super troopers through all the waiting and riding in buses, and paperwork.

On our last morning in Laos, Tom and Eliza went to check out the That Inh Hang Stupa. We didn't really know much about it at the time, but it was apparently built in the 16th century and is one of the most sacred places in that part of Laos. Eliza's favorite parts were the 30 kilometer round trip ride in a tuk-tuk and field full of cows beside the stupa.

We loved this video of Eliza, the Buddhas, and Laotian boys. (Special thanks to YouTube and the Thai government for working out their differences and restoring YouTube service to the country.)

After another trip back through the border and another round of paperwork, we killed a few hours in a Chinese market on the Mekong and then took the overnight bus back to Bangkok and arrived at 5:00 this morning so we're having a groggy day around here.
- Candice & Tom