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  #41  
Old 08-22-2007, 11:01 AM
roamer590 roamer590 is offline
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Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

[ QUOTE ]
roamer,

[/ QUOTE ]
Yo whatup sabaidee.

[ QUOTE ]
rwhat are you doing in laos?

[/ QUOTE ]
Ah yes my favourite question. (mom, thats not you is it?)

-Im helping disabled street-children to rehabilitate from drugs and learn english.
-I contribute blood to 3 different hospitals each month, including a vet clinic.
-Im relishing the rich culture in this forgotten land of lore and culture and whatnot.
-Im taking in the buddhist way of life, freeing myself from the western cultures rat-race.
-Im just constantly thinking about how supercool and alternative I am for living here.
[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Or maybe it was actually like this: [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

-Im grooming up young virgin lao girls from poor families whose most valuable asset in this world is their daughers flower, to believe i will marry them, then I [censored] them and move on.
-Im trying to kill myself by speedracing an old rickety chinese motorbike at night, in rain, without helmet or even shoes, crazily drunk and high on whatever drugs are available.
-Im playing MTT poker all night and sleeping all day.
-Im buying heaps of $1.50 DVDs and watch them one time then leave them gathering dust, even though i could rent them for $0.50.
-Im recklessly tearing up earths layer of ozone with my grossly excessive and selfish airconditioning.
-Im just constantly thinking about how supercool and alternative I am for living here.


[ QUOTE ]
what visa do you have?

[/ QUOTE ]
Just the $25 one that u get at the border, which is valid for a month. If you wanna extend this at the immigration office, its $2 a day, so the best solution for me is just crossing the border into thailand and back, buying another $25 visa. I then also get to do some shopping and other stuff in Nong Khai, which is about an hour from here by bus/tuktuk.

[ QUOTE ]
you get kip out of the atm or usd?

[/ QUOTE ]
Only kip, which sucks. And you better know where you are going if you wanna take out alot of cash. Me myself needed a few hundred $$ yesterday, but the ATM i was at only gave 10.000kip notes, so that was 100 banknotes for 1 million kip (ca$100), then I went to another ATM and cashed out another 1million, but this time it was 50.000 notes so I got only a small stash of 20 freshly printed notes per 1million kip (which is maximum per transaction). It really makes a difference to get 20 fresh banknotes as opposed to 100 old stinky dirty ones.

Bring some $100 bills with you if u come, nice to have some backup cash.

------------------------------------------------------------
What I came here to post before getting distracted by that little Q%A session:

So today, the guy came and installed internet at my place. I got deal that gives me unlimited upload/download for $50 a month, but at a limited speed of 128-192kbps or something. anyway its more than fast enough for playing poker and surfing. A huge improvement from my GPRS connection.
The setup fee was $30 and I paid a $150 deposit for the equipment (modem, cables and a 10ft antenna on the roof) So far so good [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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  #42  
Old 11-13-2007, 01:15 AM
roamer590 roamer590 is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2006
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Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

WhoIam... good news for you [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Laos Considers Tuk-Tuk Ban

By Jamie Lee

VIENTIANE (Reuters Life!) - Tuk tuks are to Southeast Asia what horse-drawn carriages were to Europe centuries ago, but the iconic and ubiquitous three-wheeled auto-rickshaw could soon disappear from Laos.

Vientiane is home to about 3,800 vividly painted tuk tuks that ferry both tourists and locals around the bustling city.

Similar to the tuk tuks of Bangkok, these motorized rickshaws are cheap and convenient, but now some city officials want them off the road by 2010 to curb traffic congestion and accidents, as well as modernize the city's transport system.

The tuk tuk ban has yet to be approved by the government, but more than 30 new public buses are due to start operating in Vientiane soon, a sign many tuk tuk enthusiasts said could point to the end of an era.

"The tourists like tuk tuks. They are cheap and are the traditional vehicles of Laos," said Bouaxeng Phetsalath, manager of Vientiane's Tuk Tuk Association. "Maybe they think they're not beautiful any more."

"The tuk tuks are everywhere in Laos," added city resident Thongamala Sayavong. "Without them, I feel like I'm not in Laos." Handicap International Belgium, a non-governmental organization that tracks the number of road accident victims in Laos, fears the ban could actually worsen traffic in Vientiane as more people would rely on their own mode of transport.

"If the ban takes place, it will lead to even more motorcycles and cars on the road," coordinator Christa Weichert said.

Of the hundreds of road accidents in Vientiane each month, only a few involve tuk tuks.

http://www.topix.net/world/laos/2007...auto-rickshaws
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  #43  
Old 11-13-2007, 02:50 AM
WhoIam WhoIam is offline
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Vientiane
Posts: 2,152
Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

I don't have a problem with tuk tuks, I just think the drivers should be shot. From the second I walk outside, the air is filled with people shouting "TUK-TUK!" at me. I used to be polite but now I just say "no" with mixture of disgust and contempt. Half the time I still get the inevitable "you want something? Marijuana? Lady?"

One of these days I'm going to completely loose it and start screaming "Look goddamnit, if I wanted a [censored] tuk tuk I would go to one of the many tuk tuks by the side of the road. Since I'm walking by your vehicle without saying anything, no, I clearly do not need a [censored] tuk tuk." This would be while I'm stabbing him. Don't even get me started on when guy number 10 in a line of 10 tuk tuks yells out "TUK-TUK!" after he's just seen me turn down two other people ten feet away. That's right [censored], there was something so incredibly [censored] compelling about your tuk tuk that I couldn't wait to jump in it. Or maybe those ten feet of walking totally exhaused me to the point where I couldn't even conceive of walking to my destination.

Ok, serious answer time. There's no way this gets approved. There's no alternate service apart from a few taxis that are actual cars and these just try to charge white people ridiculous fees. The locals need tuk tuks for transportation, especially things too big to fit on a motorbike. The big tuk tuks ("jumbos") serve as shuttle busses and run fixed routes. I have seen more buses recently, but by "new" they mean "new to Vientiane." These things are over 30 years old. Traffic isn't much of a problem except for a few areas at rush hour.
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  #44  
Old 11-13-2007, 12:46 PM
roamer590 roamer590 is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 131
Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

AFter spending 3 months in cambodia earlier this year and then coming back to laos, I always wondered why there aren't motobike taxis here- So much more convenient even more comfortable.

Btw.. u should be reading this forum also.. Thaivisa.com, the good old community for anything thailand related has recently opened a southeast asia subforum and there are plenty laos expats around there.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showforum=123

btw man.. .rent a motobike when u go on visa run.. its like 20 minutes out to the bridge, a pleasant ride and u can park it safely at the lao side while u go nuts in thailand for a few hrs.
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  #45  
Old 11-13-2007, 07:30 PM
Audi Audi is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2004
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Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

WhoIam, are you still in a long-term hotel?

roamer, how did you find your apartment, and what sort of deposit was required? How widely available are short-term rentals for tourists?
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  #46  
Old 11-14-2007, 12:54 AM
WhoIam WhoIam is offline
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Vientiane
Posts: 2,152
Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

[ QUOTE ]
I always wondered why there aren't motobike taxis here- So much more convenient even more comfortable.

[/ QUOTE ] I was thinking the same thing yesterday after I posted on tuk-tuks. I can only assume that the tuk-tuk lobby is too strong or something similar. This would be an easy business to set up since everyone already has a motorbike and a cell phone. Plenty of Thais earn extra money as motorbike taxi drivers while having another job. If anyone wants to stake me I'll start this up.

[ QUOTE ]
Btw.. u should be reading this forum also.. Thaivisa.com, the good old community for anything thailand related has recently opened a southeast asia subforum and there are plenty laos expats around there.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showforum=123

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks, I used to browse through the forum when I lived in Thailand and will do so again now that it pertains to me. I found it funny that they don't allow discussion of all the things we talk about here: gambling, prostitutes, circumventing internet filters, etc.

[ QUOTE ]
WhoIam, are you still in a long-term hotel?

[/ QUOTE ]I'm still there, mostly because I can pick up a usable internet signal until 7pm 6 days a week and this is very rare here. Broadband is very expensive and internet cafes, while cheap, suck to spend long periods of time in and are often less reliable than the random network I can get.

The reason I don't have an apartment is that I'm going back to the US around Christmas for an undefined period, probably 2-4 weeks. I'm still only 90% sure I'll want to come back to Vientiane to stay long-term so I don't want to get locked into a lease. Assuming I come back I'll be looking to get something in the $400/month range, which depending on exact location, should get me a gated 2-3 bedroom house near the city center and a live-in maid. I'll probably end up spending close to this for internet expenses [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
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  #47  
Old 11-14-2007, 05:32 AM
roamer590 roamer590 is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 131
Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

[ QUOTE ]

roamer, how did you find your apartment, and what sort of deposit was required? How widely available are short-term rentals for tourists?

[/ QUOTE ]

Was an ad in vientiane times, a daily newspaper.
these apartments are $150-$200 a month, I think I paid 2months deposit.
If there are empty units there should be no problem at all to rent for just a month or something. In my contract there is nothing that says i cannot move out at the end of this month if I want.
I am incredibly lazy, if you put some time and energy into it you can probably find way cooler and cheaper places. There are even agents that can help you find a place suited to your needs.

In short, no problem [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Whatever ur needs you will surely be able to find something.

[img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

damn im tired, mtts round the clock are killing me. sleep now. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]
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  #48  
Old 11-14-2007, 10:14 AM
bpc009 bpc009 is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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Posts: 694
Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos


So you can't internet at your hotel or anything either? I'm looking to move someplace in SE Asia for 5 to 6 months, but I will need to play poker while there. Is Laos out? Is Thailand the only option?
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  #49  
Old 11-14-2007, 05:32 PM
Farfenugen Farfenugen is offline
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Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

Yeah, could you expand on the internet situation in Laos?

I'm a low limit grinder so I would definitely want at least somewhat consistent access. Is this very hard to find? You mentioned it was very expensive. Do you know how much?
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  #50  
Old 11-14-2007, 05:50 PM
Farfenugen Farfenugen is offline
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Default Re: Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

How is the street food? Safe or is it better to stay away?
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