Breakfast in Laos

Breakfast in Laos

Baguette in Laos is beautiful, hard and fresh skin and nice soft bread inside. It’s nice in Vietnam or Cambodia as well, but not in Thailand. The other day I did #ChocRun to get chocolate, and this weekend I’ve done #BaguetteRun to Laos. I just couldn’t stop thinking about the beautiful bread…. xxx

It’s possible to go to Laos just for breakfast. I was in Vientiene 9.30 in the morning on Sunday to have baguette sand. It cost me about 1,000THB to get 2,000kip (10THB) baguette sand.

Here is how to get the breakfast in Laos.

Over-night train to Nong Khai from Bangkok 20:00 : 12 hours, 488THB

On Saturday, I had to work. I finished my work around 19:00 and jumped into the MRT to Hualangporn station. It was the last minutes ticket, so only 2nd class sleeper fan, higher berth were left. No lower berth. Sleeper berth train in Thailand is actually nice, a lot more than I expected, it is comfortable enough, bed is ok enough.

Tuktuk from Nongkhai station to the border : 10 min, 20 THB

The train arrives at Nong Khai station 8.00am. There are some tuktuk waiting, they take you to the border for 20THB. Sometimes on the way, they try to drop you at an agent to do visa service for you, but actually you can  do it by yourself little cheaper at the border, so better to ignore it.

Bus to cross over the border bridge : 5 min, 20THB (incl.overtime fee)

The border between Thailand and Laos is a bridge called “Friendship Bridge”. After you passed the Thai side immigration, there is a stand selling bus ticket for 20THB. Get it and jump on the bus, it’ll take you to the other side of the liver, Laos.

Get Visa : 0THB to… sorry, don’t know much about it

For me, with my Japanese passport, I don’t need visa. I think for some nationalities, it costs around 30USD or so.

Entrance Fee : 2,500Kip – 15THB

To enter Laos, they charge you “entrance fee”, just only 15THB.

Sonteu to the market, Talad Sao : 30 min, 20THB

When you get out of the immigration, you’ll see many taxi drivers trying to get tourist. Ignore them walk through to the right side, there is a bus stop, and you can get shared tuktuk or sonteu only for 20THB.

You are there for baguette sand! : 2,000 to 3,000 kip

Baguette

The sonteu arrives at the market called Talad Sao, and right beside the place selling baguette sand. Jump off the sonteu, give the driver 20THB, then get the baguette. It must be around 9.30, great time for breakfast. Small baguette sand with pathe stuffed costs about 3,000 kip.

This is beautiful. It worth paying 1,000THB for transportation even if itself costs only 10THB.

Well, breakfast is now done, that’s all how to get breakfast in Laos.

Over night trains to Bangkok leave Nongkhai at 18:00 or 19:30, you still have few more hours in Laos. Or if you stay one night there, you can have another breakfast in Laos :)

Here are some more to do. Vientiene is small. You can walk around the town in few hours, or rent a bike, easier.

Reading at cafes : as long as you like

The book saved by a monk on the road

In Vientiene, there are many little lovely cafes with nice coffee and wifi. It’s kind of places you spend few hours on your own just for reading books or relaxing. Most of the places have free wifi (or some charge you but not much).

Most of that kind places are for farang or tourist, but still cozy and nice. And even they are for farang, price is still cheap, the big bottle of beer lao costs 10,000kip which is 40THB, but coffee and sweets could cost more.

Chewy noodles for lunch : 6,000 kip – 30 THB

Noooooodle

I love this, I still don’t know the name of the noodle, I always order this by pointing the noodles. It taste like Japannese udon. The soup is clear and the noodles are little chewy and thick. It’s not like rice noodles or egg noodles, this is we don’t have in Thailand.

You can find this at Talad Sao or some other local noodle places.

Herb sauna and massage : 2 hours 200 THB

Massage

Beside Wat Sok pa luang, there are small locacl herb sauna place. They open around 13:00, so it’s good to spend time before you head to the border after lunch.

It’s very local place but tourists know there, too. Take sauna with local people, and wash yourself with the water from a big tank.

The massage is not too bad but not too good, it’s depends on the massage girl or boy. But after taking hot sauna, you can easily fall in sleep with the massage. The atomosphere there is totally local, open wooden lao style house under trees.

Sunset… at the riverside is not good anymore :(

If you stay one more night, I’d love to suggest sunset at the Mekong river side, but not any more. They are doing development and now what you see is like this.

Well, it’s time to go back to Thailand to get train back home. Leave Vientiene at 17.30, pass the border at 18.00 is safe enough to catch the 19.15 train.