the border crossing fiasco... without a passport

Stranded at the border of Vietnam and Laos. No Passport. A twelve hour bus ride to get to the border. A striking communist building surrounded by mountains and a thick fog. Short little men wearing green uniforms and tall hats with a star marching around. No one speaks English.

This is how I got myself into this situation!

I was leaving Hanoi, Vietnam with my three girl friends, saying goodbye to the other four we'd been traveling with. The Italian on his way to Thailand, Frenchie who was going to China, and Beth and Mike my friends from Seoul who were going to meet us in Laos the next night.

I'd stayed in the room with the two boys, but they were staying another night so I didn't have to actually check out. Therefore I never got my passport back from the front desk, although I did ask her for it, but i think I got distracted or she did, I don't know!

SO I'm at the border, in the middle of nowhere and I don't have my passport. I didn't freak, I was just thinking, I need to get this back ASAP. The other people we were with were panicking more than I was! I left my group and my girlfriends and went to figure out my next step.

I went over to the little coffee place and asked to use the phone, and this guy let me use his cell phone. I told him that I would give him some money. It is a miracle that I got in touch with the hotel, and then got through to my friends Beth and Mike who were staying there also. I said I would meet them at the border at 630am when they arrived the next day!

When the guy told me that i didn't have to pay him to use his cell phone, I got all teary because he was being so kind to me when I was having such a rough go!

Now, where am I going to stay for the next 24 hours? Well there is a hotel down the street I hear from my new found friends that work at Customs. One of them walked me the 100m down the road to the "hotel" if we can really call it that.

It was an old communist customs building that had haphazardly been changed into a hotel by dividing a couple rooms, slapping a filthy bed and a piece of crap desk in there and we're all set. I don't know if I have high standards... I don't think that was the case though. It was the most disgusting place I have ever stayed. No question.

So I sat in my filthy room and wandered down to the public toilet every once and a while when I wasn't too scared of the dogs pacing outside my door. I read almost my whole book, ate about two pounds of pistachios and was very very bored. I was so lucky that I had brought some food, because there was no where to buy anything, and the food they were preparing in the kitchen was a little frightening.

24 hours later...

I got up at 545am to go up to the border to meet Beth and Mike's bus, she saw me and yelled out the window to give me my passport! We were both so relieved!

So from there on I was fine and made it to the capital of Laos- Vientiane pretty unscathed by the whole experience!

It only took me 48 hours to get to Laos, but it was worth it!

The moral of this story is- Don't go anywhere without your passport.

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