CampariO

Right next to it, a slippery, steep path leads up to a cave. I won't climb up there again. A slightly larger cave but no paths inside and very slippery. Going down became dangerous as the bamboo railings were not fixed well.

Today the weather was a bit better, so we rented a car with a driver (4000 Bt) and drove to Vang Vieng. After half an hour we were out of Vientiane and after another 90 minutes we reached Vang Vieng. The route outside of Vientiane is a good freeway with little traffic. Total about 130 km. Unfortunately, some of the sights were not accessible due to road construction, but we were still able to see a lot. 1st stop: the lagoon

The lobby is on the upper floor. The restaurant is on the ground floor but closed. So, I believe it is used by the staff for parking.

Still got it's charme, the people friendly smiling at you. Few buildings higher than 5 floors, though many shops emtpy/out of business. I miss the wooden restaurants down at the river, they disappeared already over 10 years ago. Beerlao tasted twice as good at these places. Bor Pen Yang, a bar/restaurant on the 4th floor of a building at the river road with a nice freelancer scene is closed as well. Now for rent.

Two pics from the afternoon and the dinner in the same restaurant we went yesterday. Proper wine, proper glasses. And a good service.

Had to withdraw 1,000,000 at the ATM, 2492 Bt deducted, which makes a rate of 1:400, plus 100 Bt ATM fee. So, take a lot of baht with you. I still have euros, they will probably have to go. Wanted to go to a posh French today, was closed. It started raining. So we looked at the 10 best restaurants on Tripadvisor. Hey, an Italian just around the corner fits. We go in, there are only 2 Indians inside. Mrs. CampariO asks me if we're at the Italian, but we were. Sit down, ask the Indian for a bottle of red wine. "We have." Me: "Can I see the bottles?" Reply: "Yes, in the shop across the road." I look amazed. Ok, I go over to a small shop, choose a bottle, pay for it and go back to the "Italian". There are now 2 small beer glasses on the table. "Do you also have wine glasses?" Yes, there are supposed to be some. One of the Indians is looking for them. We look at the menu. There is no ham or pork, everything is probably halal. "Do you have a corkscrew?" Inder puts the corkscrew in front of me on the table. I was expecting him to open the bottle. Still no wine glasses. I look at Mrs. CO, she shakes her head. We get up and leave.

Then a deserved break in one of the many bistros.

This morning then some sightseeing and shopping.

The hotel was rated 9 on booking.com. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed and the breakfast ("very good breakfast" according to booking.com) was delivered to the room from another restaurant. You could choose from 3 variants. Here's what Mrs. CO and I ordered: Plus Nescafe. We were disappointed. Luckily I had some travel provisions with me: cheese, salami and ham. So the baguette was at least put to good use. Let's see what else we can do, the weather isn't that good. A trip to Vang Vieng is planned, but maybe not until Friday when the rain stops.

Had a drink in another restaurant. Beerlao small for 13,000 kip = 24 Bt. Hoegaarden is there for 50 Bt. The cocktails cost 45,000 kip each = 83 Bt. But only had a few revolutions. Yoghurt with berries 18,000 and espresso 17,000, so around 30-35 Bt.

In the small side street then the first Beerlao and something to eat. Beerlao Gold tastes a bit like dark Lao. Then we sat back and had time to people watch But then it started to rain

First an oil massage for 80,000 Kip = 150 Bt. Then strolled a bit through the night market that was just set up and visited the promenade.

I had booked the Bloom Boutique Hotel in the center and only 350 m to the night market/promenade via Booking.com for 1600 Bt/night. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it has a nice lobby and the rooms and bathrooms are large. There are also smaller ones for less money.

The hotel (Royal Nakara) wanted 200 Bt/day parking fee, so I parked the car in one of the guarded parking lots at the border for 100 Bt/day. By tuktuk for 20 Bt/person to the border, stamped out and then by minibus (30 Bt) over the bridge to be stamped in Laos. Changed some money at the border (rate 1 Bt = 540 kip), according to the internet the rate was only 420. I have no idea what rate at the ATM will be. Bought a SIM card with 5 gigabytes for 80 Bt at the exchange office. I'm rich: Taxi drivers are already waiting, either by tricycle for 300 Bt or AC Taxi for 400 Bt to Vientiane. No need to negotiate. On the Thai side we were offered the transfer for 1500 Bt, my bid of 400 was rejected because petrol was too expensive and then their offer went down to 1000.

Short trip to Vientiane, Laos. Been here the last time in 2008 and 2012, not counting day trips for visa. E-Visa ordered a few days in advance, for about 1830 Bt. We drove to Chaiyaphum where Mrs. CO's family lives and stayed overnight. Then spent another night in Nong Khai. Dinner at Macky's Riverside Kitchen, was excellent.

Picked up passport today, which was ready before 1:30 p.m. Made a copy of the new extension, other documents were already prepared, received number 40, the 38 was just on. When my number was on the screen, someone with the number 44 pushed his way in front of me. The IO didn't like that and rejected him, repeatedly stating the current number. The guy made no move to back off, however, which resulted in the IO raising his voice and his eyes piercing. Only when I advised the guy to sit down did he do so and while my passport was being stamped the two exchanged death looks. Wanted to stay longer and wait for the 44, but then left after I had my re-entry 10 minutes later. I really feel sorry for the IOs having to deal with these guys on a daily basis. These are probably the ones who complain about Immigration service on the Internet.

Today I made the extension of my retirement permit to stay. Location: Jomtien Visa: Non-B that has already been extended once with the reason "retirement". Reason of Extension: Retirement with 800000 Bt on account. Time: Wednesday 2 p.m. Made an online appointment on the Jomiten Immigration website (click the link at the top left, then scan the QR code and then fill out the website). Wasn't necessary though as there were only 5 people in line outside the building. On Monday it was still very crowded because of the long weekend before. So if you have to go there after a weekend or on a Friday, it is better to make an appointment, then you can go straight through the door, bypassing the queue. What I prepared: 1st passport 2. Copy of photo page of passport 3. Copy of the last visa that was the basis of the last extension, i.e. the non-B 4. Copy of all extensions of my residence permit since this visa 5. Copy of entry stamp 6. Copy TM6 (departure card) on both sides 7. Copy of my re-entry permit that I used 8. Application TM7 2 pages printed on one sheet 9. Passport photo 4x6 cm glued to the application 10. Telephone no. and email written on the 2nd page of the application 11. Original - Bank Letter (certificate) stating my name, account no. and account balance. Done this morning, can also be from the day before in case you go to Immi in the morning. 12. Original - Bank statement detailing each account transactions for 1 year. Make a deposit or transfer etc. the day before so that the entry is up to date. If you make this payment on the same day as the statement, then this is not yet shown in the statement, though should not be a problem. 13. Original bank book 14. Copy of the bank book: the first page with the name and the entries from the last 12 months. 15. Copy of my Internet bill with my address on it. Alternatively electricity bill or similar or a rental contract with a copy of the ID card/passport from the landlord and the blue house book (Tambien Baan), signed by the landlord with a blue pen. 16. 1900 baht 17. All papers filled out and signed with a blue pen. Also the copies etc. Copy of TM30 (Notification Form for House Master, Owner or the Possessor of the Residence where Alien has Stayed) was returned to me. There is still the "Foreign National Information Form" that the Immigration Officer has and filled out for me and made the necessary copies. Then everything has to be signed again. I still got the note with "Criteria" for the next extension (800k Bt must be re-presented after 90 days, must not be undercut during this time) but this is not checked in the Jomtien Immigration as I have read from many on other forums. Next time when renewing the permission to stay you have to prove by bank statement that this was the case. But it may be necessary at some point. Tomorrow from 2 p.m. I can pick up the passport and apply for the re-entry permit. The immigration officer (helper?) was very nice, his female colleague was a bit grumpy because her customer didn't have the original bank letter (certificate) and was loudly annoyed at having to appear for the third time.

At Immigration right now

I signed my health insurance with an agent from APG Co., Ltd Insurance Broker who I call my friend. Reading some of the posts here I feel that many don't have a clue about the pitfalls of health insurance and just go by hearsay or some post from Vloggers. Unfortunaltely this thread is in VIP, but in case this community is really interested in some real informations, I could ask my friend to sign up and maybe the mods can bump him to VIP. Of course he is interested in selling, but the information he could give to all of you free of charge might be worth to consider? Or you can rely on the words of some consultant you met in a beer bar in Tree town.

You should be able to see it right now as insurances usually have some age groups. Of course there is inflation and special cost increase in case of things like Covid. In case your insurance doesn't have a group for above 75 or so, they will probably just kick you out, so better find a company that won't.

I am with Globality Health in Luxembourg, insured worldwide without the US. Only inpatient, cost me 170€ per month or 2040 € per year in the age group 55-59. Covers up to 2 million € per year.

Yes, I would recommend Rhompo for this. If can't find anything you fancy, cross second road and walk through Soi 7 and Soi White house. Just don't expect any stunners and put the beer goggles on. Bolt taxi: download the app, much cheaper than Grab taxi

Define a good bar. There are some gentlemen clubs in the Pratumnak area for daytime, the rest is more open beer bar stuff for nighttime. Jomtien has several bar areas: 1. Jomiten Complex: mainly gay bars 2. Between Jomtien Complex, VT7 and Jomtien Plaza Condotel 3. Some smaller bars in the first Sois 2-5 4. Soi 7 and Soi White House 5. Rompho market 6. Soi Bunkanchana 7. Soi Welcome Rompho market is my favorit place to shoot some pool with Mrs. CO after having dinner in the Oregano restaurant. Sometimes they have even some hotties there (pic from last week).

For those who don't get the joke, there is an Indian movie on Netflix called Gangubai. It is about a young girl sold into prostitution.