Yes, Leo will go to Bangkok on his own again in a few weeks. We don't have 72 hours to spare at the moment, so I guess he'll just have to wait until we're settled into Vientiane, and he can go then. Still stupid...

Yes, I plan to cross the border legally. I'll get a 15 day tourist VISA upon entering Laos, and already have a 1 year business VISA lined up.

Basically last and only preperation left is figuring out how to cross that Nong Khai border without issue. I've contacted several immigration lawyers, and all have said they're unable to help. Next step is to contact local immigration directly, request leniency, and hope to hell I can somehow get a 3 day emergency VISA. I really don't feel like travelling on the highway without a VISA in my passport, because if I hit a checkpoint before getting to the order, it's technically 1 year in Thai jail. I'm blind plus will have the dogs with me, so going to jail isn't much of an option.

And no, I'm not going back to Canada without Leo. I decided that on September 17th, 2016 to be exact. That's when I was in the hospital just upon going blind, Leo and myself didn't really even know each other at the time, but for some reason he did a u-turn at that Laos border and came back to take care of me instead of going to visit his family and friends. That's when I promised both him and myself that the next time I'm on a plane to Canada, he'll be on the plane with me, and I intend to make good on that promise. It's his life dream to visit Canada.

However, it will be a good 4 month before he has a Canadian visitor VISA in his passport. About a month to gather all necessary documentation and get it translated into English. Then the posted processing time from the Canadian government is 38 business days, so say 2 months. However, due to his background, I highly doubt he's just going to sail through the application process, so let's say 3 months processing time. I'm confident I'll be able to get him a VISA, but I also know what I'm in for.

Again, people love to complain that Canada just lets anyone and everyone in, and that's simply not true. It's actually very difficult to get into Canada.