Golden Triangle visa run

Good afternoon all.  Last week (Wednesday) I drove up to Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai to do a quick back and forth to Laos.  Needed a new 30 day "visa" while I find time to sort out my new OA visa (based on marriage).

Drive up was easy enough.  Left in morning and go to the crossing around 2PM.  (Last year I had used the Friendship Bridge crossing, but this time my wife wanted to try to boat crossing at Golden Triangle.)  My wife and I were the only non Chinese people waiting in line (a very long line) to leave Thailand.  There was no Thai line at Immigration, so when I caught the eye of a Thai Immigration officer, he came over and told my wife, me and the 2 kids to go to the head of the line. 

(The Chinese were not impressed!)  

Cleared Immigration and went down to the boats.  Paid 200Baht for all 4 of us to go across.  Wife and kids cleared Laos Immigration no issues.  However, my passport was (oddly) very closely looked at - granted I have lots of interesting visas.  Paid 1,500 Baht for a Laos visa. 

This is the interesting part.  

Outside Immigration we couldn't find a single person who spoke anything other than Chinese (don't ask me which dialect).  Even the signs were in Chinese.  It was like we crossed from Thailand directly into China!  We managed to find a taxi and went to get something to eat.  The restaurant only had menus in Chinese!  And still no one spoke any English or Lao (which is why my came along).  It as all very surreal.  We ended getting some french fries for the kids and then decided to go back to Thailand.

200Baht again for the boat crossing.  Thai Immigration, again, all Chinese with us pushing to the front.  The Immigration Officer who stamped us in was happy and friendly (he had just gotten a birthday cake from his coworkers and my kids were singing Happy Birthday).  He did remind my wife that I could "probably" do this crossing 3 more times before "being questioned".  

All in all, it was an easy day.  Just really funny to not see anyone from Laos in Laos!  (LOL)