Ask WhoIam anything about living in Vientiane, Laos

[roamer590]

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.

[WhoIam]

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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.

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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]