randersn

Thanks, guys.

Does anyone know how long a taxi ride from DMK to Swampy would take? I arrive at DMK from Udon Thani at 8 pm Friday night and my Asiana flight to the United States leave Swampy at 11:40 pm. I assume a taxi will get me to Swampy in plenty of time.

As a side note, how about the shuttle bus from DMK. Would that get me to Swampy in time to catch my 11:40 flight?

Thanks.

I often travel to Laos to visit my boyfriend/partner and we usually stay at least a few days in Vientiane. We've only been denied a room once at some forgettable guesthouse (don't remember the name), but have never been turned away at other places, such as Inter City Hotel and Lane Xang Hotel and a few other guesthouses at which we stay.

Coincidentally, we are celebrating our 4 year anniversary today. We were married in a traditional ceremony at his family compound with over 100 guests attending, including elderly members of his family who conducted the ceremony and many neighbors and friends from his village. Quite lovely, indeed. My partner has a very large number of gay and lady boy friends, his sister has a close girlfriend, and two of his best friends are a lesbian couple who have been together for a number of years.

I sometimes get the feeling that the number of gay people in Laos is vastly underestimated, and, as far as I know, they have no trouble living openly in Laos society. I've heard of only one incident of gay bashing, and that was of a lady boy who might have been too forward with the wrong kind of guy.

Anyway, I nor my partner have ever been discriminated against in Laos, except at the aforementioned guesthouse. (And, yes, there is a law that states that farang and locals may not cohabit, but it seems the law is rarely enforced.) The only stares we get seem to be from farang tourists. The attitude overall seems to be live and let live. I'm sure there are probably quite a number of gays who have had problems in Laos, but so far, to me and my partner, everyone has been accepting and friendly. Hope that sheds a little light for the OP, but there are probably others who can shine the light a little brighter.

When I dial my friend's cell phone from Korea, I'm getting a different party. I've never had this kind of problem before, just the ubiquitous busy signals and "call back service." Now, since last Thursday, I'm getting interminable busy signals, and the few times that I'm lucky to connect, I'm getting someone else. Since I don't speak Thai, I'm unable to ask what number I've actually connected to.

In the past I've dialed the Thai country code (66) + the cell phone code (60) + the six-digit phone number. I've always been able to get hold of my friend, and I've never connected to a wrong number before. He phoned me today and still has the same number. I know I'm not dialing wrong, either. Any suggestions? Is this possibly related to the recent phone problems in-country? Thanks in advance.

No, but call a mobile in Thailand from England every day and frequently get connection problems, either not connecting or my gf not being able to hear me but I can always here her.

Anyone else have similar problems?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, same problems constantly, calling from Korea--no connection, one-way hearing. But now a worse problem, I get busy signals almost all the time and when I do connect, I reach a different party, not the number I'm trying to call. I'm trying to call a cell phone, so I dial the country code (66) + the cell phone code (60) + the six-digit phone number, same as I've always done in the past. Unfortunately, I get hold of someone I don't know. Since I don't speak Thai, I have no idea how to ask what number it is that I've actually reached. Any suggestions or is this just part of the recent phone problems?