Not leaving Thailand quite yet

When I went to the local bus station there were only 2 bus routes and neither went towards Laos. So I took a bus to Mae Hong Son, which is in north eastern Thailand. Im glad I did because this is much less touristy and a really nice place. Tomorrow Im going to catch a bus to Ma Sa Riang (about 4 hours south). After that Im going to catch a bus to Chaing Mai (second biggest city in Thailand) then to Chaing Rai. From there Im probably going to cross into Laos and take a boat down the Mekong River to the capital of Laos. I heard that you can get a free visa stamp in the capital that allows you to stay in Thailand for 2 months without having to leave. I dont plan on staying here that long because I want to check out other countries, but its nice to have the option. Most of this probably doesnt mean much to anyone reading who doesnt have a map of Thailand in front of them, so sorry about that. I dont think that the majority of people that come to Thailand take this path but it seems pretty cool.