Bus – Traveling Mark

Long But Scenic Bus Trip from Cusco to Lima

I commenced what was to be the 22 hours long bus ride from Cusco to Lima on Friday at 1:30pm. The checkout at Margarita Hostel was at 10am, which I thought was really aggressive, but found out that it’s a common checkout hour for the majority of hotels and hostels in Cuzco.

Photo: Scenic Mountainous Terrain on Road Between Cusco and Lima

To avoid incurring additional charges I checked out at 10am, and headed down to the bus terminal. Since I had a few hours until the departure of my bus, I popped into one of the nearby restaurants where I ordered “almuerzo” (lunch menu). I picked a table close to a power outlet on the wall, and plugged my laptop in it, thinking I would spend the time I have until the bus arrives by doing some work on the computer.

To my surprise, the waitress demanded that since I use their power outlet, that I pay for the power usage on top of the food I ordered. I was ready to leave when she said that, but after she clarified that it would be just a Sol more, I said what the heck, and agreed to give her the damned Sol for the power I’d use.

It was after leaving the restaurant when I came across the festivities in celebration of El Señor de Huanca.

The Civa bus left on time, but it was full to the last seat. I had a chubby guy sitting next to me (there are a lot of overweight people in Peru as their diet is rich in carbohydrates), who had foul odor to him and snored a lot. While I could not have done much about his odor, I did not put up with his snoring and each time he disturbed me with it, I disturbed him by poking him to interrupt his snore.

Photo: Another Bus on Road Between Steep Hills

The beginning of the ride, at least until the night fell on the country and I could not see much anymore, was through the mountainous terrain of the Peruvian Alps, which were just spectacular. The progress was slow, as we were slowly gliding down winding road into the valleys, before climbing up equally winding road up on hills, to do it over and over again. It was one huge canyon after another and driving through them was as scenic as it gets.

That explained why the bus ride would last the predicted 22 hours, because you truly can’t pickup much speed on those steeply inclined roads full of sharp turns. Having secured a front row seat right above the driver, I had the panoramic views of the country we were driving through. Unfortunately, pictures taken through the tinted windows during a very bumpy ride are doomed to lack in the overall attractiveness no matter what.

Photo: Yes, We Descended Down the Windy Road on Opposite Side of Canyon

Having to spend 22 hours on the overcrowded bus was however no fun at all. I got no sleep and very little rest. Luckily, 5 hours before the projected end of the trip, when we stopped in Ica and unloaded some of the passengers, two pretty Venezuelan girls took the seats across the isle from me, so I spend the rest of the journey chatting with them.

Photo: The Only Image I Took with Venezuelan Girls on Civa Bus Turned Out Blurred

That made the rest of the trip more enjoyable and pass faster, however the projected 22 hours journey ended up being 23,5 hours long, because of heavy traffic causing jams across much of Lima. It’s never fun when you’re stuck in a confined place for 20+ hours and then your transport barely moves because the traffic is so congested, it can’t move.

I knew my friend from Lima was waiting for me at the bus station, so realizing that not only will I not arrive in time, but I would be an hour or more late, was only adding to the anxiety. So when I finally did arrive, after almost the entire 24 hours on the bus, getting off that thing and giving a real life bear hug to my internet acquaintance felt amazing.

Here’s the video of the section of the trip:

Bus Trip from Puno to Cuzco

After returning from the trip to pre-Inca ruins at Sillustani, where the sun was frying the visitors alive, I found myself back in Puno. I had my half trout meal for 8 Soles, and went to wait for the bus to Cusco (interchangeably spelled “Cuzco”) at the terminal.

Photo: The Last Picture of Puno and Lake Titicaca I Took Before Leaving

Scheduled to leave Puno at 10pm, I had to withstand 4 hours of bone-chilling nighttime after the sun set at 6pm, before I got on the bus. Luckily, I had a pretty good seat, but was unfortunate to have a snorer right behind me. He made everything worse when he took his shoes off and his stinky socks turned the entire couch into a gas chamber for the rest of the trip.

We arrived in Cusco at 5am. The 7 hour journey was nothing fun, but was not that bad. Cusco, being also at high elevation, is likewise cold at night, but nowhere near Puno cold. I waited at the bus terminal until 6am, so I could walk the streets in search of a hostel during daylight.

Photo: Bronze Statue of Inca Chieftain Near Bus Terminal in Cuzco

A friend from Lima recommended me to check out Pariwana Hostel, so I looked it up on a map and headed there on foot. It took me about 30 minutes to cover the distance from the bus terminal to the downtown area, only to find out that Pariwana is unreasonably expensive for my taste, with beds in dorms shared among 12 people costing 35 Soles (around $10 US), while a room with a matrimonial bed cost 185 Soles (around $56 US) per night.

Similar to Miraflores in Lima, these are the type of prices I’d expect to see in Western Europe, not in South America. I turned on my heel and headed back down the streets in search of something more economical.

Eventually I booked a room in Hostel Margarita located on Avenida El Sol, which is the avenue leading all the way up to Plaza de Armas. At a cost of 30 Soles per night I was happy with the room, even though it did not have a private bathroom and the shared bathroom had no doors, so anyone could walk in on your showering at any time, and there was no toilet paper at all provided for use by the guests.

The hostel was also being repainted from the outside, so there was a lot of construction site type noise, but that only lasted during the day. At night, the hostel was reasonably quiet and I was able to get much needed sleep. I also liked that after truly freezing nights in Puno, the night in Cuzco, albeit still cold, was significantly less cold so I did not spend the entirety of it shivering.

Battling High Altitude in Puno

Having checked in late at night, once I woke up from the cold night at El Lago Hostel, I went out into the sun filled streets of Puno to unfreeze my bones from the shivers dominated night. The first goal was to find a different hostel to move to, as El Lago simply did not provide reasonable value for the price, and the incessant, night-long screaming made any chance of a restful stay an impossibility.

Photo: Sheep Herder Takes Up Morning Road in Puno, Peru

I moved to Hotel Inka Tours. Not only was the price for the hotel 35 Soles, ie less than at El Lago Hostel, the room was much nicer, the bed more comfortable, the bathroom cleaner, the internet worked and the staff did not make the common area of the hotel a party place for the night.

With the new room for the upcoming night secured, I moved my things over and headed out to the streets of Puno to battle the city’s high altitude on foot.

Photo: Plaza de Armas in Puno with Cathedral in the Background

Plaza de Armas (every city in Peru appears to have a downtown square called Plaza de Armas), was over 2km from the bus terminal near where I was staying, so it took a bit of a nice walk through the city to get there and snap a few pictures of the cathedral and the nearby buildings.

On the upper side of Plaza de Armas proudly stands the Cathedral of Puno, also known as the Basilica of San Carlos Borromeo. The baroque cathedral is the main church in the city of Puno. It is under the ownership of the Catholic Church, and was declared a Cultural Historical Heritage of the Nation of Peru in 1972.

Photo: Iglesia de San Carlos Borromeo in Puno

The cathedral is made entirely of stone. The idea for a cathedral of stone reportedly arose from a miner from the area called Miguel de San Román. Indigenous master Simon de Asto was put in charge of building the cathedral – a construction that ended on May 25, 1747.

Photo: Catedral de Puno, Otherwise Known as Basílica de San Carlos Borromeo

From Plaza de Armas, I headed up on the nearby hill on top of which I saw a statue. The unobstructed views from the hill promised opportunities for pictures of Lake Titicaca and the city of Puno itself.

Even though reasonably fit for long walks, ascending the 60 meters high rocky outcrop known as Cerrito Huajsapata in the altitude close to 4 km (3,839 meters above the sea level) was no chore. The shortness of breath was a frequent reminder that I have just arrived in this elevation and my body is not used to it yet, so I need to keep that in mind and take things easy.

Photo: View of Lake Titicaca from Cerrito de Huajsapata

Moreover, kind of like express kidnappings are a well documented threat in Arequipa, Puno is known for its hills being locations of frequent armed robberies of foreigners, so heading up to any of the lookouts is a potential risk for every tourist.

I decided I would not be risking it to the higher hills further out, and will be happy with the one nearest downtown so I don’t end up robbed or worse.

Photo: Police Stationed on Cerrito de Huajsapata

Luckily, the uphill climb in the high elevation city was the only challenge I encountered. As a matter of fact, once up, I saw three policemen nearby, giving the impression of the city having been aware of the bad rep its lookout hills are getting and began stationing police in some of the more popular ones.

Photo: Met These Peruan Girls on Cerrito de Huajsapata

The information sign at Huajsapata Hill stated that Huajsapata is the Quechua word meaning “the highest part of the crag“. The statue on top of the hill is of Inca Monco Copac, the founder of the Inca Empire, who according to legend, was commanded by the Sun God to emerge from the waters of Lake Titicaca.

Photo: Statue of Manco Capac on Cerrito de Huajsapata

The ancient inhabitants of the high plain known as the Altiplano believed that the underground caves beneath Cerrito Huajsapata led to the Koricancha Temple in the city of Cuzco.

Photo: City of Puno and Lake Titicaca Seen from Huajsapata Hill

Overall, I enjoyed exploring Puno on foot, and although I didn’t suffer any of the more severe symptoms of altitude sickness, the high altitude of the place made breathing a challenge at every step and even the lightest physical activity resulted in quick shortness of breath.

Bus Trip from Arequipa to Puno at Lake Titicaca

I stayed in Arequipa for a week. I liked the climate, the city and the surrounding scenery with the dominant Misti Volcano. I didn’t like that frequent and well documented express kidnappings make taking a taxi a super risky business, so I got by without, but overall I truly enjoyed my stay. But after a week of being an Arequipeno, it was time to move on. I decided to head down south to Puno – a city on the shores of Lake Titicaca, located at the elevation of 3,830 meters above sea level.

Being quite familiar with the downtown core of Arequipa, I checked out of Hotel Diplomats at around 10:30am and took a 30 minute walk to the bus terminal. Several operators sold tickets to Puno, so I chose the one whose bus was leaving the soonest. On the map, Puno didn’t seem all that far, so I expected the bus ride to take maybe a couple of hours. I should have seriously looked more into it, instead of assuming the distance as the crow flies would somehow be indicative of the time it would take to get there.

Photo: Alas del Sur Bus Company Services Between Arequipa and Puno

I rode with the company called Alas del Sur. Having mistakenly expected a few hours long bus ride, it was just a local type of nothing-fancy bus. The departure was at 11:30am.

The ridiculous thing about the Arequipa bus terminal was that as always, the hygienic services were charged for – a cost of 50 Centabos, and you were issued a ticket permitting you the use of the bathroom. I got to say that was a first for me.

Photo: Arequipa Bus Terminal Ticket for Use of Toilets

Next ridiculous thing was that there was a 2 Soles terminal tax imposed on everyone looking to depart with a bus from the station. It was kind of like an airport fee you get charged for as part of taking a flight somewhere. After Arequipa, I’ve encountered the bus terminal fee a few time at other terminals in Peru. Peru is ridiculous like that.

Photo: Arequipa Bus Terminal Service Fee

An even more ridiculous thing was that everyone boarding a bus was taken a mugshot of. Even though I’m a citizen of a European Union country, the GDPR was useless to me in Peru. Needless to say, after Arequipa I realized that the mugshot taking in order to be allowed to use a bus you have paid for is a common practice in over-the-top Peru.

The bus left as scheduled at 11:30am, and I truly enjoyed the scenery as we went along. The vegetation-free, arid hills, with towering volcanoes often bearing snow covered caps, were spectacular on every turn.

Photo: Road Sign Warns of Wild Roaming Vicunas

A couple hours after leaving Arequipa we passed through the national park Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca with multiple hoards of wild vacunas roaming about. There were plenty of them on the vast planes of the area, but they were always at a distance from the road, and taking a reasonable picture of them from a moving bus was a challenge.

Photo: Wild Roaming Vicunas in Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca

Somewhere around there I also spotted my first cloud I’ve seen since leaving Ica for Nazca. This part of Peru receives very little precipitation so despite cold nights, days are sun filled with clear blue skies and nothing obstructing the sun for months on end.

Photo: First Cloud in Peru I've Seen Since Leaving Ica — Photo: First Cloud in Peru I’ve Seen Since Leaving Ica

As the sun got lower, we passed by Laguna Lagunillas which I thought was the beginning of Lake Titicaca, but it was still far from it. The hours were passing by and soon enough it became very clear to me that we’re not getting to Puno during daylight. As a matter of fact, by the time we arrived in Puno, it was already past 9pm, making me truly regret not looking into how long the trip to Puno would really take. Had I known I’d waste all daylight if I take a bus during the day, I would have waited in Arequipa to take an overnighter instead, and arrive in Puno in the morning.

Having truly messed up on that, I had no option but look for accommodation in the city I did not know late at night again. What made matters worse was that because of the high altitude and the proximity to the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, nights in Puno are bone-chilling cold.

Luckily, a number of hostels near the bus terminal provided enough opportunity to secure a room rather quickly. The cost for what you get was however off the charts. The problem was then further compounded by the fact that once I paid for a room at El Lago, I realized the internet in the hostel was spotty, frequently cutting off so every simple task took a very long time to complete.

The rooms in the hostel were not heated, so the incredible cold of the night outside made any possibility of having a decent rest overnight a challenge at best. Likewise, the shower water was only a little warmer than fully cold, having only been warmed up by the daytime sun. Needless to say, taking showers in cold water when you’re shivering to begin with was an adventure in its own right.

The hostel also did not provide a roll of a toilet paper, but instead just a few sheets torn off from a roll. At 40 Soles per night, it was definitely one of the worst deals for the money I’ve had in Peru. But then again, I found Peru to be expensive in general. Especially when value for money is concerned.

The worst part of staying at El Lago, however, was the constant noise from incessant screaming and loud talking by the guy at the reception with his mates. Earplugs were of little relief against the party-night type banter in the place.

Nevertheless, the brutally cold night didn’t kill me and come morning, I was ready to truly hit it in Puno.

Trip to Arequipa from Palpa by Way of Nazca

While the experience of finding and soaking up the energy of the ancient Solar Clock in Palpa was exhilarating, it lasted until the sun went down, which meant the conclusion of walking around and the return back to the hostel.

The following day was Monday, so I went out to town in hopes the only tour office I have come across would be open, so that I can find out about the options to take a tour to other sites where Palpa geoglyphs can be found. Unfortunately, the office was as closed and deserted as it was on Sunday.

Everybody I asked told me that because Palpa gets few tourists who come to stay in one its few hostels, the tours to Palpa are organized by agencies with offices in Nazca. Nevertheless, Nazca tour agencies mostly receive tourists looking to see the popular Nazca lines, so the less popular Palpa lines, while on offer, only see limited interest.

Being almost an hour away, returning to Nazca so I can take the tour which would bring me back to Palpa, and would thus cost a lot just to cover the time and gasoline spent for the hour long trip each way seemed counterproductive, so I made the executive decision to wrap it up in Palpa.

Photo: Plaza de Armas in Nazca Has Lawn Decorated with Copies of Geoglyphs

I took the 4 Soles local bus back to Nazca, where I booked an overnight bus trip to Arequipa. The bus with Palomino was leaving at 10pm, and was scheduled to arrive in Arequipa at 8am the following morning. The cost was 70 Soles for the seat on the upper deck. The lower deck, where the bathroom was located, had fewer seats that cost 90 Soles each. I got me one upstairs.

I had a few hours to kill in Nazca before the ride, so I wandered round the streets of the town, checked out a few shops, bought some crude minerals from a man with a lot of knowledge man about their properties, and had dinner in one of the restaurants.

The Palomino bus was however delayed by almost an hour. Once I got on my seat, I realized it’s gonna be a tough ride because next to me was an overly obese man, whose monstrous fat folds overlapped deep into my seat. He was also the only snorer on the upper deck. Whereas almost everybody else was quiet the whole night, except of course a privileged single mother who spent the first hour and a half talking exceedingly loud on her phone, had this slob of fat not been on the bus, it would have been a pleasant ride. Because of him, however, not only was the ride very uncomfortable in how restricted I was the whole time, but he also made any decent attempt at unwinding impossible with his sloppy snoring.

Nevertheless, even though sleep deprived and super antsy, I did arrive in Arequipa the following day, where the cloudless sky with beautiful sun and gorgeous mountain peaks towering over the city quickly cheered me up.

Photo: Misti Mountain Towering Over Arequipa

Getting to Don Det Island

When I was buying my bus ticket from Kratie, Cambodia to Don Det, Laos I had no idea the boat transport from the mainland to the island would be included in price. I thought the bus will simply deliver us to the jetty from where we can conveniently hire a boat to get us across, but to everyone’s surprise, none of this was necessary.

The turn off to Don Det wasn’t far from the border. We only went for a few minutes before the bus got off the highway and steered through narrow dirt road to drop us off at the spot that was very close to the jetty. About half a dozen backpackers and one local got off the bus. That local guy asked each of us to hand him over the bus ticket we’d purchased and asked us to wait until he’s made arrangements to get us across the Mekong river.

Photo: The Mekong River As Seen from Don Det

This was a positive surprise as I was already getting ready to start negotiating with the boatmen but there was no need. Instead, I got a chance to chat with the other guys and savor the feeling of being free.

Laos vs Cambodia

The difference between Cambodia and Laos became instantly obvious. For one, none of the locals jumped any of us as we were getting off the bus. We were all able to peacefully collect our backpacks and figure out the next step without hosts of touts pressuring us and breathing down our necks from all sides.

Secondly, even though there were many villagers scattered around, none of them stared us down. They were simply minding their own business, allowing us to mind ours. We had a few minutes to spare, so I popped into a nearby convenience store (small hut with a few items for sale) and asked them if they would accept US dollars for a bottle of water I wanted to buy. I had no Lao currency on me but this was a no issue for the woman running the shop.

All it took was a ride across the border and fake smiles full of shady purposes were gone. They were replaced with genuine, warm and welcoming ones. It was a breath of fresh air to be approached by a local man who would simply want to ask us how the ride was and welcome us to his country, without attempting to scam any of us. It was the third time leaving Cambodia for me and it was the third time I felt like I got out of the gas chamber to breathe the free air again.

The deal was sealed – there are so many nice people who would make your travels enjoyable all over the world, and each day in Cambodia strips you of a chance to meet with them. From now on I only wanted to travel through the countries where there are nice people so deep in my mind I already knew – there will be no going back to Cambodia for me.

Boat Ride to Don Det

All of us who got off the bus at 4,000 Islands were backpackers so all of us were headed for Don Det. Don Det is where most backpacker friendly, budget guesthouses are located and it’s also where 4,000 Island’s nightlife (for what it’s worth) is at its highest concentration. Don Khon and Don Khong are the islands offering more peaceful stay with more upscale accommodation options.

The boat they packed us on was small and barely had us all fit along with our backpacks. It was one of those tiny fishing boats for one or two persons, only the owner added a few planks to bridge the sides so passengers could sit but it was a squishy experience. Of all the boats that were docked at the jetty, we were told to board the smallest and the furthest one. To get on it, we had to prance across several boats with roofs which gently tested our balancing skills. Keep in mind we all carried our backpacks and had to crouch down to squeeze through tiny space under the roof of a boat which was loosely on the water, hence moving with each person who stepped on it.

The boat ride itself was scenic enough to make us all forget that we had to sit with our knees under our chins only capable of making limited turns as each of us tried to record some video of the mangroves and islands we passed by. It only took a few minutes to get us across and soon we got to feel firm ground below our feet as bikini clad girls walked by headed for their chalets. There are no beaches on Don Det, but what’s there to hold you back when you’re on an island in a tropical country and it’s a nice, sunny day?

Don Det is very touristy these days. Many former fishermen now specialize in offering transport service between mainland and various islands because that’s where easy the money is. Tour operators and transportation companies have agreements with boatmen so if you end up buying a ticket to Don Det and then away from there, it will include the cost of the boat transfer so if you asked me how much a boat ride alone was, I wouldn’t be able to tell.

Below is the brief video from the boat that took us across from the mainland Laos to Don Det of Si Phan Det (4,000 Islands):

Cost of Transportation in Laos

One thing in Laos frequently used by travellers that’s far more expensive than anywhere else in South East Asia is transportation. You’ll be able to cover twice the distance for half the money in other SE Asian countries, including seemingly more expensive Malaysia, than in Laos. The cost of transportation was what was killing my wallet the most while I was in Laos. Songthaew (back of a truck) is a less expensive option, but it is significantly less reliable, much slower and incomparably less comfortable to a point that unless you carry a really tiny backpack and don’t mind sitting squashed with your knees tucked tightly under your chin while dozens of chickens peep hung off of the carrier bar next to your head for upwards of 8 hours, then this little saving is not that great of an option.

Photo: Buses Used in Laos Could Be Aged and of Lesser Quality, But Using Them Will Cost You More than in Other SE Asian Countries

Since Laos has been on a map of individual travellers for a few years now, decent transportation options comparable to those found in the more developed neighbours are nowadays widely available, however they are significantly more expensive than what you would pay for when covering the same distance or traveling for the same length of time in other SE Asian countries.

While cost of transportation in Laos is high as it is, unless you buy your inter city ticket directly from the provider (aka from the booth of the company running the bus), you will also end up paying the tour agency fee which will bump the already high total cost even higher up. Most travel agencies will sell the ticket with 30% – 50% markup which is brutal.

For example an air-conditioned (albeit squishy, with no leg room) overnight bus from Vientiane to Luang Prabang costs 115,000 Kip (about $14 US based on 2010 exchange rates) when purchased directly from the bus company but if you buy the same thing from a tour operator in Vientiane, you end up shelling out 150,000 Kip (about $18,50 US) or more. Though the latter will also include tuk-tuk transport from your guesthouse to the bus station, tuk-tuks can be easily individually arranged and should cost no more than 10,000 Kip. In this case the tour agency charges extra 30% on top of the ticket price.

Luang Prabang is about 390 km from Vientiane and the journey by bus takes about 8 hours to complete (includes a few stops along the way). For comparison purposes, Cambodian Siem Reap is 544 km from Sihanoukville. Overnight bus trip with lots of leg room takes about 10,5 hours to complete (with a few stops) and costs $16 (September 2009), inclusive of a tuk tuk pickup from your guesthouse to the bus station. Similarly, Thai island of Phuket is about 840 km from Bangkok. To cover the distance, the overnight bus takes 12 hours to complete with only one stop along the way, however even though it’s more than twice the distance compared to the Vientiane to Luang Prabang bus trip, the cost is only 495 Baht (roughly $15,50 US) and you get to travel in a much more comfortable, modern bus than in Laos.

The cost of transportation in Laos took me by surprise. No matter how you spin it, covering the same distance or travelling for the same amount of time will usually end up costing you much more than it would in any of the neighboring countries. And you definitely won’t be getting what you’re paying for as buses serving Laos are older, louder, dirtier, and offer less comfort and leg room.

Laos Visa on Arrival Coming from Cambodia

It used to be that if you wanted to enter Laos from Cambodia, you had to go to the Lao Embassy in Phnom Penh and apply for visa in advance. While Cambodia upgraded their Voeung Kam/Dong Kralor border crossing facility a few years ago to offer visa on arrival, it took Laos a few extra years to follow suit. When I first came to Cambodia, the Lao visa on arrival option was not available but by the time I was ready to leave and head to Laos, this became an option. At least so I’ve heard from a few reports on the internet.

Unfortunately, I have not personally met anyone who got their Lao visa on arrival when entering Laos from Cambodia nor have I gotten a definite YES from any of the bus operators running the bus service between the two countries. I didn’t want to spend extra two or more days in Phnom Penh just so I could secure myself with safe passage to Laos (not a place I would want to spend any more time than I have to), so I decided to take the risk and count on those unconfirmed reports that Laos visa on arrival is now available at the Voeung Kam/Dong Kralor border crossing.

When an Aussie couple who also didn’t have the visa boarded the bus headed for Laos I was on, it made me feel a whole lot better about the whole visa on arrival situation. Until they got on the bus at Stung Treng, I was the only passenger without Lao visa in his passport.

Luckily it definitely is possible and I can now confirm that Lao visa on arrival coming to Laos from Cambodia is now definitely available at the Voeung Kam/Dong Kralor border crossing as I have personally gotten myself one that way. It took less than 5 minutes to have the visa issued during which you wait at the first tiny window on the Lao side of the border. Second window has a different guy whose purpose is to stamp the visa the first guy issued for you. Both visa issuer and visa stamper will insist on a bribe.

Because it was Sunday, the visa stamper guy insisted on a mighty bribe of $2 per person. He was pretty pissed about the fact that he had to be there on the weekend which was reflected in the tone of voice he used when demanding the bribe. The visa issuer guy, on the other hand only bumped the price of visa by $1 compared to what is listed on the websites.

That’s where my biggest beef came from – I don’t know what exactly Laos has against Canada, but for some reason, if you’re a bearer of a Canadian passport, the cost for the visa is much higher than citizens of other countries have to pay. Even Americans have to pay significantly less than Canadians and unlike them, we (Canadians) didn’t even bomb the living beejesus out of Laos during the Indo-China War.

Whatever the reason, the cost of Lao visa for bearers of Canadian passports (whether applied for in advance or obtained on arrival at the border) is the highest of all. While Aussie guys only had to pay $31 each for their visa on arrival ($30 visa fee + $1 bribe), I was asked for $43 ($42 visa fee + $1 bribe). The man behind the small window wrote the amount on a small piece of scrap paper which he then handed to each of us after we handed him the passport.

Unlike most other visas (visas other countries issue), Lao visa on arrival I got had no mention of validity. I had to ask the people on the bus who believed it was 30 days. Either way, I didn’t want to overstay, so I marked the date in my calendar to make sure I leave the country before it’s too late and promised myself to make the most out of this trip as unless Lao officials get over themselves and start charging Canadians a reasonable amount, I’ll think twice before applying for Lao visa again. There’s no reason whatsoever to be so anal with us. We’ve never done anything to them, so why Canada?

Crossing the Cambodia Laos Border at Voeung Kam/Dong Kralor

The Laos bound bus I boarded in Kratie had only about 10 people on it. Everyone was kind of minding their own business while on the bus, but we struck a conversation during mandatory snack breaks. I’ve heard Lao visa on arrival was available on the Voeung Kam side as of February 2010, but I’ve never actually met anyone who could confirm they got one while crossing the border so I was a bit apprehensive about it. The fact that everyone else on the bus aside from myself already had Lao visa (they applied for in advance at the Lao embassy in Phnom Penh) didn’t make it any easier on me.

Two more backpackers, an Aussie couple boarded the bus in Stung Treng and took a seat right across the aisle from me. They had just finished exploring Ratanakiri, the province I decided not to go to so I asked a bit about how they liked it and what they thought of it. While the guy said he enjoyed the scenery, the girl didn’t like the province at all.

Stung Treng was our last stop before reaching the border crossing at Dong Kralor. There was nothing but a barrier across the road and a small shed on both Cambodian and Lao sides. A true middle of nowhere, with no signs of civilization or any humans involving activity other than the border check huts. The bus dropped us off at Dong Kralor, all of us got off along with our luggage and went to go through the exiting procedure on the Cambodian side.

Bribes on Cambodian Side of the Border

There was one Cambodian inside the border crossing hut and one outside of it. They both worked as a team with demands for bribes. The guy inside would show his palm and say: “One Dolla” while the man standing outside would follow in commanding voice: “Pay one dolla”.

We were all coming from Cambodia so we were all already used to being scammed on every step which resulted in an obedient shell out by the most of us. There was one Dutch fellow who was the most vocal of us all and resisted the scam to the last minute but he was eventually forced into opening his wallet the same way as the rest of us.

I thought that perhaps we should have discussed this beforehand and made a pact that we would all stand up for ourselves as one and then they’d have little leverage to work with. After everyone but me and the Dutch guy were past the immigration and headed towards the Lao checkpoint, we both knew that if we remained adamant, we would get through without paying the bribe, but that wouldn’t go over well with the guys already in the bus whom we’d force into waiting. As I expected the bus driver to be a part of the scamming mafia, he would probably decide to leave if we were to “hinder” the bus by demanding the passage without bribes. But if all of us united against this abuse, the driver would have no option but to wait and the immigration dudes would also have to give in to the group that outnumbered them.

Bribes on Lao Side of the Border

There is a bit of a walk to do after the Cambodian booth to the Lao booth which would constitute actual border crossing. The bus was already waiting for us at the Lao side as it got across while we were dealing with the scammers on the Cambodian side of the border. Bribe demands on Lao side were even worse than on Cambodian side, though.

Luckily for me, the Australian couple that boarded the bus at Stung Treng didn’t have Lao visa either so I wasn’t the only one applying for it. Lao immigration booth had two windows on it. First window was for visa on arrival, the second was to stamp our passports and allow us an entry to the country.

The guy stamping passports demanded two dollars per person for a stamp. That made his bribe 200% higher than the Cambodian one. While I was waiting to get my visa on arrival, I’ve heard the people who already had their visa express their displeasure with unusually high bribe demand.

When asked why he’s demanding so much, the man behind the small, low laid window said that it was the mandatory weekend charge (it was Sunday). He bitched that he had to be at the border crossing on the weekend so he demanded a $2 bribe instead of a more common $1 one.

When my turn came to get a stamp, I already knew what awaited me, but I was still surprised by the way the bribe was demanded. The pocketbook sized window was located where normal sized man’s waist is and all I saw was a hand come out of there, tap the wall and a commanding voice from inside said nothing more but: “Two dolla!” It was said in a voice of an order, not a request. The tone of his voice literally translated into: “Don’t mess with me boy. I’m not gonna ask twice. Hand over two bucks or else!”

Aside from annoying demands for bribes, crossing the Cambodia Laos Border at Voeung Kam/Dong Kralor is an easy and pain free matter. There is no heavy traffic (at least not on Sundays) that goes through this border crossing and if I were to guess, other than the regular bus service between Cambodia and Laos, there are not many days during which this border crossing sees independent travellers with their own means of transportation.

Cambodia has been offering visa on arrival on the Dong Kralor side for a few years but to go to Laos, one needed to apply for visa beforehand. This has changed recently and visa on arrival is now available on the Voeung Kam side for travellers heading to Laos.