Many guests travelling to or from Gecko Villa combine a stay at our country pool villa with a visit to Vientiane or Luang Prabang in Laos, given the proximity of the Thai / Laos border. Here we list some travel options from Udon Thani  to Vientiane.
Train: Train 69 leaves Udon Thani at 07.14 and arrives in Nong Khai at 08.25. Delays are frequent. From Nong Khai train station, you can transfer to the bus station to head over to Laos. There is also a once daily train service from Nong Khai to Thanaleng, which is in Laos but about 13 kms from Vientiane.
Bus: There is an international coach service from Udon Thani to Vientiane, although we would only recommend this if you have your Lao visas issued prior to arrival in Thailand. If you have these, this alternative is fairly straightforward and inexpensive (approx THB100 per person.) Buses generally depart each way at 07.00, 09.30, 15.00 and 17.00 If you plan to get a Lao visa on arrival, you can take a coach from Udon to Nong Khai. A shuttle bus runs from the bus station across the Friendship Bridge to Laos every 20 minutes throughout the day ( fare about THB30).  It stops at Thai immigration 5 mins after leaving the bus station, where you need to get your exit stamp,  then crosses the Friendship Bridge to arrive at Lao customs & immigration some 10 mins later (a visa on arrival is available for Laos at this border point).  You now remove your luggage from the bus luggage hold and go through Lao customs.  Then take a tuk-tuk to your chosen hotel.
Car: Private Thai vehicles are not allowed into Laos  without a special license. This means you need to get to Nong Khai in one vehicle, go through the various passport and customs controls, take a third party bus across the bridge, go through Lao immigration, then take another bus or taxi into Vientiane. Guests of Gecko Villa  may book a fully licensed car in advance for the transfer between Gecko Villa and Vientiane (in only the one vehicle, and without border  issues.) This is the quickest and most independent option but is more costly, at approx THB3,500 each way.

"Tung men khoi si tuek lai, khoi koh bo yorm jon"

This old Lao and Isan maxim literally means "Though I may be poverty-stricken, I refuse to be a pauper."

It underlines the spirit of the region, where villagers have traditionally fought drought and floods in an agricultural society, yet retained a positive outlook on life and a spirit of conviviality and optimism in tightly-knit, fun-loving communities. Whilst the pauper accepts his or her destitute lot and turns to charity, the spirit of Isan is one of struggle and hope.

The resilience that resonates in the maxim is reminiscent of, yet in counterpoint to, another more traditionally Thai saying, describing how the speaker has become a scapegoat, angry yet almost resigned to the fact that he has been exploited: "I did not eat the meat, I do not wear the skin; yet I carry the bones around my neck".

At  Gecko Villa, we believe that encouraging responsible tourism is a fitting tribute to a land where the pauper's oath remains unsworn.

The Northeast of Thailand, or "Isan", was formerly part of the Kingdom of a Million Elephants (Lane Xang) - or in other words, was part of Laos. It was the French colonialists who helped demarcate the new Thai-Lao border at the frontiers of what is now known as Isan. So it is not because we eat “laap” and sticky rice and too many searing chilies that we speak oddly – it is for historical reasons!

The dialect spoken here is, fundamentally, only a "dialect" for geographical and political reasons - as elsewhere it would be called the Lao language (although admittedly over the years certain minor discrepancies between the two have emerged.) Whilst attempts were made to assimilate the Northeasterners more closely into the Thai population, with the use of the Thai alphabet and the homogenizing employment of central Thai in schools, the lilting Lao tones still linger languorously on our tongues!

Whilst visitors to Thailand will often delve into a Thai phrasebook and dabble in Thai, the chances are high - wherever they may be - that the "first' dialect of the interlocutor will be Isan or Lao. So you may like to amuse yourself and your hosts by using a Lao phrasebook instead. When used with Isan natives, this will elicit giggles and delight. When used with Thais from other regions, they will simply be as confused as if a Thai visitor to London started communicating in a heavy Scottish accent.

At Gecko Villa, we do our best to speak English but will be happy to teach you both Thai and Isan or Lao phrases. As an example of the difference between Isan/Lao and Thai, here are a few words in English with their Isan and Thai counterparts:

I - Koi -  Phom/Chan (male/female)
You -  Jao -  Khun
We  -  Hao -  Rao
Not/No -  Bo -  Mai 

What? - Ee-Yang -  Arai

Can you speak Lao/Thai? - Wao Lao Dai Bo?  - Phuut Thai Dai Mai?

Never Mind - Bo Pen Yang - Mai Pen Rai

Tasty - Saep -  Aroi 

Whilst as a Westerner you are a "Farang" in Thai, you are a "Bak SeeDa" in Isan. For a Thai you are a guava, for those in Isan you are a Mister Guava in our dialect. Perhaps the scoville units have gone to our heads after all, and the Thais of Isan are the ones separated not by one, but by two, common languages.