Days 383-386, December 15-18, 2011
Can I be brutally honest right now? My main reason for blazing past Pakse after the 4000 Islands was so I could get to Vientiane and apply for my Thai visa and receive it before the weekend. I did not want to get stuck in the city over the weekend waiting for my passport to be handed back to me from the Thai Embassy.
Funny how things don’t always work out the way you planned it.
Vientiane, Laos
Day 378, December 10, 2011
There is only one land border crossing between Cambodia and Laos and for the longest time it was a painful one to cross. While most other land crossings into Laos would have visas available on arrival, this particular one did not.
That all changed a few years ago and according to the owner of a restaurant in Kratie, it has had the effect of boosting business like crazy. More travelers are making the journey in that direction as it has become easier and more convenient. It is not without its challenges though!
My return to Ho Chi Minh City was really just to sign up for a tour into the Mekong Delta that would also end up taking me into Cambodia. I figure that it would be easier to do the border as a group than on my own. Plus, if I did it on my own, I still wanted to do the Mekong Delta and that would require coming back into Ho Chi Minh City anyways.
My time in HCMC was pretty laid back. I spent much of my time kicking back in the Vietnam version of Starbucks, Highlands Coffee. Iced coffee was amazing there and I ended up getting lots done on my Geocaching KMZ file(still not done but it’s building slowly). I was in the city when Vietnam beat Laos to win their Grouping in the Southeast Asia Games for football. I also took in a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet show. I had no idea what was happening but it was still cute and fun.
Vietnamese Water Puppet Theater
The following takes place between Tuesday, March 15 and Thursday, March 17, 2011
Unfortunately for Canadians, Americans, and Australians, we need a visa to enter Brazil. Double unfortunately, we need one BEFORE we arrive at the border as, unlike many countries, Brazil does not hand out visas at the border.
Normally one would get one back at home before they even leave for their trip. However, the Brazil visa needs to be used within 90 days of being issued and, seeing as I’m already over 107 days into my trip, it wouldn’t have been possible to do so.
Now here’s the definitive procedure in procuring a visa for Brazil while in Argentina.
