Episode III

So I'm sitting in my hostel boudoir - chillin' out, maxin, relaxin, all cool. When all of a sudden the young man I have come to identify as Charlie Lye bursts in (a slight exaggeration, given his laid back nature Charlie does very little bursting but it's more appropriate for the situation at hand) with the news that we have two days to get out of Thailand.This would be where the 'Stupid' element of this blog's title comes into play. As it transpires the visa obtained through travelling into Thailand by train is half the length of a plane visa, the kind of thing more astute travellers may well have researched. It is of paramount importance to us that we be in Bangkok on Charlie's birthday weekend, not least to catch our flights to the 'Nam, so our only option was an impromtu visa run (you just have to leave it a while then go again to have a clean visa slate - like persistently scamming a person with amnesia). Through these panicked circumstances we shortly found ourselves aboard a bus to Vientiane, Laos. I should say there was one particularly crazy night in Bangkok before this journey but I'm waiting for the next video to explain as Charlie has a lot to be called up on, it'll be a bit like when Nixon went on David Frost after Watergate.

The bus journey was actually alright, although dragged a bit at 15 hours, it put me in mind of the coach journeys to school trips back in the dizay. In a way it was a lot better than the school ones, as there was far less agonising over who to sit next to and absolutely no interference from authority crazed supply teachers. To get into Laos you have to cross what is known as the Friendship Bridge, deeply ironic - as we crossed the Friendship bridge I was reminding Charlie of mistakaes he made in the aforementioned crazy night and we have never been further from friendship.

As it turns out Vientiane is a right nice town, chilled out to the point of slow motion, with many a travel opportunity for the young ragamuffin on the road. One of these opportunities we have taken advantage of is a trip into the jungle. Apparently the jungle is massiv, plus they have fun and games, so we'll be venturing out next week in the hope of some kind of inner peace. So you can look forward to footage of us terrified, covered in insects and praying to any kind of higher power for a fucking McDonalds. Ah, the simple life.

Stay tuned for more visual antics and textual wittering over the coming weeks, providing we dont find ourselves yet again hastily avoiding deportation.

Peace

Joe