8 hours 45 minutes

rot daang > bus > tuk tuk > bus > took took

Chiang Mai, Thailand > Huay Xai, Laos

Not too long of a travel day, but an interesting one - per usual for border crossing days.   It was quite a few steps to cross over from Thailand to Laos.  I love that the name of the bridge that took us over the Mekong - the natural border between Thailand and Laos - is called the Friendship Bridge.  And I also love riding tuk tuks (or took tooks) depending on what country you are in.  Patience was a virtue at Laos immigration: we were two of about 8 people crossing over and were still there 1.5 hours.  Laos has a very chill culture which we settled into nicely by enjoying their local Beerloas while just hangin' around immigration waiting for... who knows what.