udon thani consulate

The only Consulate to exist in Udon Thani was American, but it shut down in 1995. It only opened as a result of the U.S. presence there during the Vietnam War. A Western influence has been strong there ever since.

The building that housed the U.S. Consulate was taken over in 1997 by the American University Alumni (AUA) Language Center, and this institution has grown ever since.

I understand that it is possible to obtain a Study Visa in order to learn Thai at this school, and it is something I have considered as a possibility for me if I do manage to Retire in the reasonably near future.

Although I am 60 now, my Thai wife (Jack) wants to do her best to make a success of the restaurant she has taken over as of March 15 of this year. Also, she wants her two sons to obtain their high school here in Canada.

As a result, we as a family can not relocate to Thailand for some years yet. Jack’s youngest son is now only completing his Grade VII.

Thus, if I was to Retire within the next year or so, I could hardly relocate to Thailand on my own. However, I could conceivably go to Thailand to study the language for however long a session would be at AUA — even if they ran for as long as half a year.

Still, none of this may come to pass for me. Jack’s restaurant is going to have to do considerably better than it is now if it is ever to replace the income that would be lost if I was to Retire. My Pension would be quite small in comparison to my working Salary.

Meantime, I feel without much other recourse but to hope and pray, and bide my time as 2010 — what used to be my Retirement year — steadily wears on.

udon thani consulate

Bike Ride in Vientiane

matthewvaughan — April 16, 2009

Matthew biking around Vientiane, Laos – April 2009
Music: Bateau, by Les Trois Accords

I was in Vientiane, Laos april 6th through 9th. I took a plane from Bangkok to Udon Thani (in Thailand) and then a 1hr bus to the border at Nongkhai (200THB), another bus (10 minutes) over the friendship bridge (20THB), and a minivan taxi into Vientiane (300THB split between two people).

I was there to get a non-immigrant B visa at the Thai Consulate, but apart from the 8 or so hours I spent waiting around there filling out a form or two and waiting for various numbers to be called, I got to spend most of my time in the Laotian capital studying Lao/Laotian and practicing it with whomever was around. It’s really a short step over to Lao if you can speak a little Thai, so it was a sharp and fun learning curve for those few days. Now I’m back to Thailand. The video is pretty self-explanatory. Vientiane is a lovely town and – as you’ll know if you’ve ever been there – really really quiet for a national capital. It’s a great place to hang out, eat good food and learn Laotian. And really, what more could you want in a vacation*?

*Nothing, that’s what.

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Tags: Laos, thailand, Udon Thani, Vientiane

This entry was posted on Monday, April 12th, 2010 at 3:55 pm and is filed under General interest, People and Places, Schools, Udon Thani. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.