Escape from Bangkok?

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Neil- Bangkok. The journey continues. Today our only goal was to obtain visa's for onward departure to Laos. Easy you would think. We just needed to get to the Laos embassy, hand over our passports and pretty picture, job done!

Han- Jesus H Christ! At this point I would like to say to the Lonely planet writer who reccomended going to the Laos embassy as a cheaper option - Have you actually ever done it? Have you ever actually managed to get a Khao San taxi driver to use his meter? ALL drivers are commisioned to take tourists to TAT offices where visas cost extra to cover service/retirement funds etc. NO KHAO SAN DRIVER WOULD TAKE US TO LAOS EMBASSY!

N- Bastards

H- In a moment of pure stubborn-ness, knowing that the taxi drivers were trying to extort us for 400b, we made our own way to the embassy using
a) tuk tuk to train station = 120b
b) train to Makkasan = 4b (4 baht!!!)
c) 20 minute walk in random direction (almost certainly getting heat stroke & certainly getting laughed at by drivers) during which time we got lost.
d) Metro train from god knows where to Huay Kwang where we were reliably informed we would find the embassy. Didn't. = 40b
e) Tuktuk to embassy (reluctantly) =70b

N- I'd like to add that none of our tuk tuk or taxi drivers had ever heard of the Laos Embassy, like us not having heard of Scotland!

when we got to the Embassy, we were welcomed (probably as the only westeners to have made the impossible journey beyond tourist agency in decades) and swiftly visa'd up!

H - All's well that ends well, the taxi (on a meter) that we got back was 150baht - cheap cheap! and we have found a new cheap beer called 'cheers' which tastes ok but may result in extra breasts etc. Hmm Moobies for Neil!

N- We feel that we have won this battle and are ready to fight again tomorrow for tickets to Laos from train station - if we can find a taxi who know's where the train station is! Bastards!

H- With the exception of the last taxi we got who we tipped heavily, I would have to say Taxi drivers here are like mosquitos. I've never met one I didn't want to slap. Argh!!!!! Anyway, NiK & Claire should be meeting us back in Bangkok tomorrow before they fly home. Cheers o'clock anybody?

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