Trouble On The Border

On Thursday Deb and I crossed into Vietnam via one of the more remote border crossings from Laos. We had heard stories of people running into problems at some of the remote borders but weren’t too concerned. In our interest to get off the tourist track, also known as the banana pancake route, the intention has been to see more of the real Laos before it turns into another Thailand. Tourism is really on the rise and things are changing rapidly.

We started at Na Hin which is known for a nearby cave and potential trekking possibilities. Our original plan was to do some hiking and possibly visit the cave. Upon our arrival, the previous day, we found the hiking to be quite limited and Deb had no interest in floating a boat through a dark cave. With my time running out and many more sights on the agenda we had decided to press on to Vietnam.

We started our trip to Vietnam in the back of a covered pick up type truck that serves as a bus of sorts. An hour later we arrived in Lak Sao. Nothing touristy about Lak Sao. It’s a dusty town with one busy intersection. The single redeeming factor is a dramatic mountain backdrop. It has a border town feel with trucks loaded full of goods headed for Vietnam. As soon as we arrived we searched for the bus station and found it in a dusty lot surrounded by a market.

It made the most sense to head to the Vietnam city of Vinh for our first night. The only option was a worn out 15 passenger bus that was being loaded to the hilt with produce and various goods. The bus looked ok so we paid the inflated 3x locals price for a ticket and waited to leave in an hour or two. We kept a close eye on the bus to make sure it didn’t run off without us. We suspected it would only be carrying 4 or 5 passengers because so much stuff was being loaded but in the final moments before we departed about 20 people appeared out of nowhere and got on. The most worrisome was a group of young Vietnamese men in their 20’s who were sauced on local Lao Lao whiskey. The worst one of the bunch sat right next to Deb reeking of booze. Deb said not to worry. She could handle it.

The drunk kid wasn’t obnoxious for too long before he passed out and Deb just shoved him the other direction. His friends got a good laugh out it. With the ring leader out the others relaxed and became surprisingly good company. We picked up a few more people along the way and made our way up to the mountain border. The bus was jam packed.

The border was shrouded in misty cloud and quite cold. When we arrived we all got out and headed to Laos immigration to check out of the country before proceeding across a small river into Nam. Deb handed over her passport and got it back quickly but with mine there appeared to be a problem. I sensed the real problem is that I’m American and can’t do a darned thing about the $ tattooed on my forehead.

The immigration official flipped through the pages like something was missing but nothing was. He acted confused and gave me blank looks. None of the immigration officials acted like they could speak a word of English but the fact is there was absolutely nothing wrong with my visa or passport. The official took me aside and gave me a perplexed look. I pointed to my visa and the appropriate stamps. My visa had been voided and I told him he just voided it but he still acted like there was a problem and didn’t understand. I was led to another office to meet with a different official. Deb and I were worried so she ran after the only man on the bus who spoke any English. He reluctantly agreed to help and fortunately became my interpreter. He told Deb there wasn’t really anything wrong they just wanted money.

So, there I was with a voided Laos Visa that they voided but no exit stamp. I was literally being held at the border. I explained through my reluctant interpreter what I had been doing in Laos. I actually had two Lao Visas due to my failed attempt to get a visa for China on the China border. I gave them a clear story but they just turned the China thing against me and were confused why I didn’t have any kind of stamp from China. The bottom line was that it was all a bunch of crap and I was being robbed on the border. My reluctant interpreter took over. He explained what was going on and to wait in the hall. Meanwhile the officials just kept flipping through my passport. The whole thing was quite unnerving. I didn’t know what to think.

When the interpreter came out he said they wanted $200 USD to fix the problem. My immediate reaction was more of outrage than anything. I didn’t have $200 USD because I had already spent $70 on two previous Laos Visas. I told him I had a $100. The interpreter went back and returned to me saying that if I couldn’t pay there was a problem. I may have been outraged but fear began to take hold. I started to think there might be a potential for me to appear on the TV show Jailed Abroad.

Deb was keeping a low profile which was wise but also kept on top of what was going on. The other bus passengers were really patient and seemed concerned. I decided it wasn’t worth fooling around anymore when the interpreter had to leave. I got some more U.S. Dollars from Deb.

The one other guy working on my side was the young 20 something Laos conductor from the bus. He had been in the background watching everything and knew what was going on. I communicated to him that I had $200 and wanted to take care of the problem as soon as possible. From that point on it was all hand signals and I stood in the background with my mouth shut. He took $100 and told me to hold the other $100.

I don’t know what he said but he handed the immigration official $40. The official waved his hand. He forked over another $20. The money went in a drawer and the official slowly got up to hand over my passport to another for an exit stamp. My passport got stamped and was handed back to the conductor. He waved me on and we literally ran out of the building via a back hall exit and hustled over the border. He gave me a big expression with a”whew” and handed back the remaining $40 dollars. I tried to give him $20 for the help. Heck he could have kept the $40! But he wouldn’t take it. I thanked him profusely as we met back up with Deb.

When we crossed the Vietnam border the conductor signaled for us to give him the passports and we stood in the background as he handled it. We didn’t have any problems entering Vietnam.

With all of the traveling I’ve done I guess I was bound to eventually run into a situation like the one I found myself in. The experience was stressful and somewhat scary because you’re in a foreign country, can’t speak the language and are essentially at the mercy of the border officials. However, 99% of the time all a corrupt border official wants is money. They’re good at messing with your head and making you think the problem is more than it really is. That’s how they get people to pay. I suppose many would just fork over the $200 and get out of Laos but someone more bold, clever, or lucky may come through such a bind without paying at all. Somehow I got out of a $200 problem with $60.

All said it’s kind of a shame that I left Laos on such a sour note because my overall opinion of Lao people is very good. Based on my experience I consider them to be the most trustworthy in S.E. Asia. They’re very pleasant, easy going, and friendly.

After the border crossing we continued down to Vinh for the night but weren’t out of the woods yet. We switched buses and drivers shortly after arriving in Vietnam. When we got to Vinh we assumed the bus would drop us at the bus station but it just stopped along a busy street. Deb and I were not sure whether or not to get off and the driver told us to stay on. Once the others were away he drove around a corner and Deb sensed we just needed to get off and grabbed our packs. That’s when the driver demanded more money. I started yelling at the driver that we already paid and Deb yelled at me to get off. We jumped off with the driver shouting as we walked away.

Amidst dark streets and no one speaking English we found our way to a good hotel, food, and 25 cent draft beer. Needless to say, it was a rough day but the cheap Asian beer helped take the sting out of the scam.