Border Scams

Carolyn and I have made it to northern Laos, after a few days in Southern Laos which was a welcomed respite from the border town of Stung Treng in Cambodia. Stung Treng is a sketchy border town, which we wanted to get out of as soon as we arrived after our all day bus ride.

Unfortunately, our last experience in Cambodia was tainted by 2 seemingly nice men, who sold us tickets to the border, and then tickets to the next city in Laos and a boat ride to Don Det, part of the Four Thousand Islands in Southern Laos. Even though we eventually arrived, it left a sour taste in our mouths after such wonderful experiences in Cambodia.

In the end, it was kind of our faults, since the first gentleman that sold us the "tickets" and then we found out, he wasn't even authorized to sell tickets. He managed to get the ticket book and write us out tickets all the way into Laos! Then, the following "kind" man helped us to the border and then tricked us. So I guess: fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice, shame on us!


Regardless of the added expenses, the trip into Southern Laos has been amazing. Its very relaxed and beautiful. The Lao way of life is quite slow paced and took a little while getting used to, but its refreshing to wait, even though it may be 45 minutes or so before you eat. I posted 2 pictures from Don Det/Don Kohn (part of 4,000 Islands) and I will post pictures of our entire trip as soon as I get organized!