Nong Khai to Vientiane Visa Run

[dirtydog]

From Khon Kaen passing Udon Thani and onto Nong Khai is a 180km journey, all have nice main roads of 2 lanes on each side.

Nong Khai and The Friendship Bridge is where you want to end up, The first picture is taken on the banks of the Mekhong River, in the distance you can see the Friendship Bridge, the main road here is where all the locals come to eat of an evening and to be entertained, the place does seem to have an abundance of restaurants where you have to cook your own food, never really seen the point of that myself but it seems quite popular in Asia.
The "Meeting Place", is probably the most popular expat hang out in Nong Khai, probably due to the farang food that is available, Pizza, Burgers etc.

More Visa Runs and Border crossing Points can be found here (Thailands Border crossing points)

In Nong Khai main town centre you will find a load of Visa agents to get you a visa for Laos, if you use an agent it will cost 1,800baht to 1,900baht, save a bit of money and do it yourself I reckon is the best bet, although if you have your Thai wife or girlfriend it's probably a good idea for them to get their border pass there, for the border pass into Laos they charge 100baht, they can get a border pass at immigration for 30baht but this is a bit of a pain, all they need is their ID card and 1 photo.

From the Thai Border at Nong Khai it is 22km to Vientiane.
The Friendship Bridge closes at 10pm.
Vientiane does have a Thai consulate but are not very cooperative in giving out multi entry visas of any sort, and even cause problems with non immigrant visas if you don't have every bit of paperwork needed.

[dirtydog]

This first picture is the road heading to the Thai immigration offices.



Anything to Declare? then this is the office you want, NongKhai customs.



One of the 3 Thai immigration offices is in the back right hand side of this picture, after stamping out of Thailand You hang around here waiting for the 20baht bus to take you across the bridge to Laos, children below 12 go for free.
The bus is obviously not aircon, still what do you expect for 20baht...



More Visa Runs and Border Crossing Points can be found here (Thailands Border crossing points)

[dirtydog]

As you get across Friendship Bridge the Laos side will then spray the wheels of the bus, what sort of diseases they are trying to stop I have no idea, maybe something to do with bird flu perhaps, smells very strongly of disinfectant anyway.

More about Visa Runs into Laos can be found here (Thailands Border crossing points)

[dirtydog]

Next we need a Visa to get into Laos.

This is where you get your visa on arrival, if you got American Dollars then it is 30 dollars, If you pay in Thai Baht then it is 1,500baht, on the weekends and not normal working hours there is an extra levy of 100baht. Here there is a money changer, a good idea is to change your Thai Baht into Dollars and then pay for your visa in dollars, saves a few hundred baht.

The local currencey in Laos is the Kip and for 100baht= 26,500Kip so bring a rucksack to carry your money
around in, although they do prefer Dollars





After this you will have to pay an entry fee, 50baht for Thais with border passes and 10baht for farangs with passports.

For a tuk tuk into Vientiane and visit 3 destinations and back to the border it costs 600baht, an aircon taxi doing the same cost's 800baht and a minibus 1,000baht.




This is the warning sign to tell you that they drive on the wrong side of the road, yep, for some reason they drive on the right hand side of the road.

[dirtydog]

There are several duty free shops on the Laos side of the Friendship Bridge and are worth a look, Black Label at 600baht per bottle aint a bad deal, but they have also got some stuff packaged up just to look like Black Label but is called Black Lion, on the carton they claim it is made under an Australians expert supervision, still at 100baht a bottle it's worth a try I suppose, the Bastos cigarettes at 80baht a carton do seem to be a bargain aswell, Texas5 were 150baht.

On going back to Thailand if it is after normal office hours you will be charged an extra 10baht administration fee.

[benbaaa]

Pictures too small, DD.

[stroller]

A one-way ride from the border into Vientiane by tuk-tuk should be 100bt, a taxi 150bt, minibus 200bt, - well, this was last year. Sometimes you need to negotiate.

Thai Baht (notes) are accepted almost everywhere in Vientiane.

If you arrive by train in Nong Khai, the tuk-tuk to the border is 30-40bt, from the busstation in town 40-50bt, though they might ask for more initially.

Coming back into Thailand, there is a free shuttle service from the Thai border to a busterminal from which you may then get a tuk-tuk into Nong Khai, the train- or busstation. The alternative is to get an overpriced taxi to get away from the border - worth it if you got heavy luggage or you're an old geezer.

[peterpan]

I use one of the Visa services in the shop houses on the LH side,(2000 Baht incl Photo) they are quite efficient and I get the company of a pretty girl who accompanies me while I fantasise about bending her over the car hood, while she gets my Visa. Usually just wait while she gets the Laotioan Visa and then I wander over to the DF and pick up 6 bottles of Penfolds Bin 389 for 'bout 1000 Baht a bottle. In Villa its 5700 Baht. All in its a relaxed and easy experience compared with the Aranaprathet border. (the pits)

[Aquaman]

is there anywhere for me to park my car at the border?

[Rigger]

If you go to the Visa place on the left hand side as you drive towards the Thai immigration offices they will do every thing for 1900 bht fill out paper work picture put you in a aircon car drive you over wait while while you get your visa and go shopping and drive you back.
Now while you are there on the right hand side before the Thai immigration offices next to the golf shop is a meat export shop with all the good stuff from home you miss Lamb pies pastes all sorts of good gear

[dirtydog]

Here you go, everything you ever needed to know about Nong Khai, well apart from car parking.

http://teakdoor.com/view.php?pg=nong...staurants-bars

[Spin]

Originally Posted by Aquaman

is there anywhere for me to park my car at the border?

yes, just leave it near the shop houses about 300 metres from the border checkpoint. Done so at least 10 times myself with no worries.

[Rigger]

All so after doing your visa you normaly get a bit thirsty so if you park at the ferry crossing area and walk down the road about 300m on the right is a farang bar that was owned by a Box head but now is owned by a pom he stocks imported beers.

[Aquaman]

Originally Posted by Helicopter

yes, just leave it near the shop houses about 300 metres from the border checkpoint. Done so at least 10 times myself with no worries.

Nice, i'm thinking of staying over there for about two nights(vientiene). overnight is cool you reckon?

[Rigger]

Originally Posted by Aquaman

Nice, i'm thinking of staying over there for about two nights(vientiene). overnight is cool you reckon?

I wouldnt leave my car there over night

[blackgang]

If you turn at the Nong Khai sign in the first pics there is a shuttle bus olace on the right where you can get the visa app and the visa for a Thai and they have large covered car park area..

Used to be anyway, been years since I was over there..

[Spin]

Originally Posted by Aquaman

overnight is cool you reckon?

Nope.

[Aquaman]

Ok, thanks for that. What about crossing over with my motorcycle. can i do that?

[Wallace]

No problem to take bikes over, as long as you've got all the right documents. If you head towards Nong Khai from the railway station, there's a bikers' bar on the left of the road, just after the first main traffic lights. Nice bunch of guys.

If anyone's staying in Vientiane, these are the best hotels for around $15 a night:

Mali Namphu - just north of the fountain.
Riverside - on Nokeo Koummane, road running away from the river.
Vayakorn Guesthouse - further north on Nokeo Koummane.

There has been a spate of building work in Vientiane, and it now has some pretty decent places to eat and stay - much more upmarket than a couple of years ago.

[Aquaman]

i got back yesterday. brought my bike in from nakon phanom via boat to thakek. rode from there to vientiene. it was fun, no problems at all. i didnt get a customs form for my bike in thakek, but didnt seem to be a problem when leaving on the friendship bridge back into thailand. very easy!!