Chapter 29. TOUR DE GOLDEN TRIANGLE (4th STOP - LAOS - DON XAO ISLAND)

The sign says, "Don Xao - 266kms"

Just in case you're wondering, it's 266kms to China. Damn we were so far up north we would have walked to China if we had brought our passports. Save the airtickets.

Docking

Ticket

We each paid 20 Baht to enter into a border Laos village by the river. I wonder who gets the money eventually. 20Bahts may not appear to be a lot, but multiply that by (200 visitors a day) and by (30 days a month) = a substantial amount.

Laos Flag (note the finger)

Their flag looks really simple. Their kids must had a great time drawing their national flags in school. Unlike certain countries *ahem* that needs 14 lines, a star and a cresent.

Is there a said amount of points on the crescent? I can't remember.

Villages and Huts

The entire village consists of wooden huts that houses souvenir stalls. It appears tourism is the main source of income for these villagers.

Tried some Laos Beer

The Laotian (I think it's pronounced as such) are almost identical to Thais in terms of looks. I took this opportunity to change some Laos currency.

Yeah I collect currencies. (10Baht = 1000Laos $) And I thought Baht was small. ;o)

Cobra wine

Mr. Guide told us that we could try the different varieties of wine that's available. We trotted along sensing nothing amiss. Snake wines?

Cheh! Nothing special.

Ginseng (Left) and Cobra (Right)

Cobra wines? Been drinking it since I was 7.

It wasn't till we saw the next few types that our blood froze.

Gecko/Lizard wine

I actually found this quite appalling. It's like those lizards that cling on top of my ceiling, whose tails will break & wriggle non stop if you try to kill them.

To drink something that has lizards fermented in them, yucks! But considering it's white, looks clean might as well give it a try.

*gulp* Hmm... not that bad. *Takes a look at lizard*

*blueh*

Snake wine

Up close

Next we have the snake wine. Quite a few snakes inside, I wonder if they're put in alive or dead? But anyway the snake wine is still bearable. It taste very strong and practically burns its way down my throat.

Highlight of the wine tasting

Guess what is it?

Its tiger's penis. WTF right? Don't ask me why it's all pointy and stuff. The owner said it's good for men in bed. "I'll have 2 please!"

This is even stronger than the snake wine. I could feel my throat lining getting thinner as it's burnt by the liquid. Very hot.

But anything for its medicienal effects. ;o)

Another signboard

The entire island is practically packed with signboards. Obviously for tourists to take photos and "claim" that you've been to another country.

Laos Custom

But we don't "claim", we actually set foot on another country. You see, we got our passports stamped. (If only we've brought our passport) ;o(

Passport chop

In the end we got them to stamp on our entrance ticket, which is now safely between the pages of the passport. haha

Post office

You can also buy postcards to send back to your family and friends. Boasting about your country hopping. ;o)

Heading back

I like this pic

Heading back to mainland ;o)


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