After crossing the border, we officially entered Laos and left Vietnam behind. However, we could not simply continue our journey because we still had to go through the immigration process on the Laos side. We prepared our passports and belongings and started the process before we could finally continue toward our next destination.
The immigration process in Laos turned out to be quite complicated. We faced several problems and had to go through many steps, which made the whole process take much longer than expected. It was honestly a little tiring and confusing, but we had to be patient and follow the procedures. In the end, everything was finally completed at around 11:30 AM. It took a really long time, right? Well, it was quite complicated!
After finishing the immigration process, we got back on the bus and could finally relax again. Our next destination was Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. Since we were still traveling, I had a simple lunch consisting of two slices of bread with jam. It was not much, but it was enough to keep me going during the journey.
At around 7:00 PM, our bus stopped at a place to eat and rest. At first, I only planned to use the restroom because I did not have any Lao currency yet, so I could not buy anything. Thankfully, the mentors bought dinner for us. I got a large bowl of chicken pho, which was perfect after such a long journey. We were able to continue the trip with full stomachs and a little more energy.
Finally, at around 11:00 PM, we arrived at the Vientiane bus terminal. By that time, we had been traveling for approximately 30 hours by bus from Hanoi, Vietnam. Everyone was extremely tired. We gathered our belongings, got off the bus, and transferred all of our luggage to another bus that would take us to our accommodation in Vientiane.
On the way to our accommodation, we made one more stop at a 7-Eleven. The mentors got off the bus to buy ice cream and bread for us. However, there was an unexpected problem: around 80% of the bread they bought contained pork or pork-based ingredients. Since we could not eat it, most of the bread ended up not being eaten. At that point, though, I think everyone was simply too exhausted to think about it too much.
We finally arrived at our accommodation at around 12:30 AM. As soon as we arrived, we put down our belongings, quickly organized a few things, and went straight to sleep. After traveling for around 30 hours, going through two immigration processes, dealing with the long journey, and changing buses, we were completely exhausted.
And that was basically our first day in Laos. It was definitely a very tiring day, but at the same time, it was an unforgettable beginning to our second country. From crossing the border to finally reaching Vientiane, it was a long and challenging journey.. but hey, that's part of the backpacking experience!
