#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Thai Visas and Visa Runs >  >  Savannakhet visa trip .............the slow way

## Bangyai

With my old visa already packing nearly 15 months it was time to consider getting another multiple entry non immigrant stamp. Normaly, I'd go back to the U.K. for this but having recently got married I was pleased to be able to get it in Savannakhet instead. Yeee ha !! Big saving of about 35,000 baht plus I wouldn't need to close down my online shops for 3 weeks.......more money saved.

Having read Necrons road trip to the same place :

https://teakdoor.com/the-teakdoor-lou...-trip-pt1.html

I didn't fancy getting up early to try and drive the 10 hours in one day. In fact, I didn't fancy driving at all. So the bus seemed the best option. Most visa runners take the overnight bus and arrive in Mukdahan early in the morning. However neither myself or Ms Bangyai are good at sleeping in seats so I decided to break the journey into two bite sized chunks. First to Khon Kaen then the next day east to Mukdahan.

Nakorn Chai Air was fully booked even 4 days in advance as they only have one VIP bus to KK in the daytime. So the second option was with Chan Tour for 480 baht on one of their double deckers. They come in for a lot of flack but thats the way the cookie crumbles when you don't book in advance with NCA. Anyway , in the event it was pretty good. Slow driver and a half empty bus. Fully reclining seats with massage thingy plus your own TV screen. Thiis had a pretty strong chess game on it, much better than you get on a plane and it took me three attempts to beat it.

The coach :



The chess game



Arriving in Khon Kaen at about 5 pm it was a short walk to the Roma Hotel, an old regular of mine when I used to live there. 



600 for a boutique room which was the same as the other rooms except it was painted purple. Hmmmm.....great bed though. 7 ft wide and super soft. 
Evening meal was at KK's excellent night market then an early night ready for the next leg

Opposite the Roma is my favourite breakfast option in Khon Kaen .......egg in a dish with 2 rolls , OJ and coffee. Used to be only 50 baht ten years ago but now about 80. Life's a bitch.




A short walk to the non air con bus terminal followed to get an air con bus to Mukdahan for 170 baht each ?? Pretty ordinary bus but only on it for 4 hours.






Arriving in Mukdahan had 30 minutes to grab a bowl of noodles before catching the International bus to Savannakhet




It was now mid afternoon so the border crossing at the bridge was pretty quiet . 
35 dollars changed hands for the visa but as I was the only one getting one the bastard bus wouldn't wait and so I had to get a tuk tuk to the hotel. People looked friendly though.







Saw this place on the net and it was a good choice for 800 a night including breakfast.




Very clean with all mod cons and a river view










The bathroom wall is um.....well its a window. Ah ha....thinks me. Ms Bangyai is going to be giving me a shower show later ! Unfortunately she wanted to take a dump first and once the curtain was down it stayed down. Never mind, I gave her a show myself later although her only comment was that if she'd paid for it she'd want a refund.


Before settling in I decided to check out the local area for eateries later in the evening.

The hotel breakfast area. ( pretty crap breakfast...eggs, gruel, noodles and french bread )

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## Bangyai

Around the back of the hotel is the local tourist office.



Lots of info on stuff to do beyond Savannakhet but more or less zilch for anything to do in town.

A little further on to the right is the old cinema. Faded sort of art deco architecture





Heading back to the river and heading north soon came to the Mekong Hotel. Looked a likely place for our evening meal.








Which later proved a good choice. The meal for two of us ( three dishes ) plus 3 bottles of Beer Lao came to 400 baht.




I paid in Thai baht and was not done up like a kipper.....or kipperless tourist. So no worries if you don't have any kip on you.

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## Necron99

Who's that dodgy bloke taking peeky shots through the window.of mrs bangyai's derrière...?

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## Bangyai

Next morning off to the consulate to apply for the visa. In the interests of traveling light I had left Ms Bangyais scateboard and tow rope at home so it was a pretty slow walk the 800 metres to the consulate but we got there bang on 9.00 am anyway. Not a hard place to find.




As the gates opened the Filipinos legged it to the front.




Waste of time really as you've got all day to do bugger all. This thing about being early in order to be dealt with first the next day is a load of gonads. You could just as well turn up at 10.a.m. and collect a little later at 2 .30 pm.

Got to the front of this queue in just 10 minutes.




So now a very slow stroll back to the hotel followed. Lots of old buildings to see and very little traffic.















Some have been given a make over






Empty streets










Ms Bangyai and I often hold hands to walk. Nope, we are not romantic its just that with me pulling her forward and her pulling me back we move at a sort of compromise speed that ensures we arrive somewhere before nightfall. Nonetheless, the free breakfast at the hotel hadn't hit the spot and I was getting peckish.  Without doubt one of the best food deals here are the mini baguettes you see everywhere




Stuffed with pate and vegetables at about 25 baht ........hard to resist. Stopped at a clean looking place to try one along with a coffee boran for 35 baht.

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## Bangyai

> Who's that dodgy bloke taking peeky shots through the window.of mrs bangyai's derrière...?


That handsome well attired adonis is yours truly  :Smile: 

Moving on........a few places of worship to see ..............yawn.










And probably the only ' major ' tourist attraction in town ( dinosaur museum not withstanding )....the catholic church.









And no catholic ediface would be complete without a grotto








These kids were cleaning the church prior to a bit of religious instruction




Nice spiral staircase to the balcony which I couldn't be bothered to climb






And of course....Mary having a kip in the corner ..... also behind glass.




And this was the very nice trainee priest who was teaching the kids the cataclysm or catechism......... or was it the eucharist  ???? I dunno....who cares ? Nice bloke anyway.

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## natalie8

Nice thread, Bangyai. I'm glad you included the Catholic church. This must be from the French? The priest is Filipino, right? A few of questions - why were there so many Filipinos doing this border run?
Why are so many buildings closed down?
Why are the streets deserted?

It looks like a nice place overall, but a bit too quiet.

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## Necron99

^ it's not nice, it's a shithole.
Bangers has caught it on a good day.
Streets are deserted because no one can afford a car or bike.
Same with the buildings. The place is dirt poor.

Which is a shame, because it has lots of potential. But all the money and commerce is over the river in thriving Muhkdahan.

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## Bangyai

Having nothing else to do  the rest of the day was spent in the hotel watching TV except for lunch when ms Bangyai wanted to have some Som Tam on the riverside outside the hotel.




Across the river there was a dredger at work and a nice view of Mukdahan tower






That evening we couldn't be bothered to have a big feed so settled for a cheap but very good _Khao moo deng_ and _Khao na Phet_ up on the main drag. On the way back I picked up this cheap bottle of grog to sup whilst watching TV.




Som Tam Slap would like this. Only about 35 baht for the bottle, apparently 25 degree stuff , a bit fruity but not as sweet as Sato. Quait a neece little tipple even if it did give me heartburn later.

Next day, picked up the passport in the afternoon at 2.00 p.m. no problem. All set for another 15 months......sweet.

Back in Mukdahan relatives picked us up and we stayed with them in Khemmarat.
Friday afternoon arrived in Ubon to find no VIP seats available on the bus because of the holiday rush so ended up flying back with Nok Air on Saturday for 2100 baht each. The painless way to travel.

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## Primo

Nice. Thanks.

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## Bangyai

> Nice thread, Bangyai. I'm glad you included the Catholic church. This must be from the French? The priest is Filipino, right? A few of questions - why were there so many Filipinos doing this border run?
> Why are so many buildings closed down?
> Why are the streets deserted?
> 
> It looks like a nice place overall, but a bit too quiet.


Actually Natalie, he was Lao and very soft spoken.

 As for the Filipinos....same as everyone else...its probably a shade further than the embassy at Vientiane but a lot easier if you're looking for a hassle free visa. 

As for the rest.....Necrons hit the nail on the head. A land locked country with a small population and no industry so not much work for the people. Plenty of Laos at the consulate getting a visa to look for work in Thailand.

It is indeed a very quiet and boring place ............. and yet, it does have a sort of laid back charm best appreciated once you are well away from the place. If you are stuck there you can rent a bike up on the main drag but its such a small place you can cover most of it in a couple of long walks.

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## Warrior

Very nice, thank you Bangyai.

Indeed, Lao PDR is poor and very laidback. Very laidback. And a little French  :Smile:

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## supernovadw

> ^ it's not nice, it's a shithole.
> Bangers has caught it on a good day.
> Streets are deserted because no one can afford a car or bike.
> Same with the buildings. The place is dirt poor.
> 
> Which is a shame, because it has lots of potential. But all the money and commerce is over the river in thriving Muhkdahan.


You really think so? How long did you spend there? Many people I have spoken to didn't like Savannakhet however that was just from passing through, give the place a bit of a chance and it's really nice! 

I don't know where the pictures are in Savannakhet as it looks really quiet however when I was there it was alot busier! Lots of new cars and motorbikes running around, there's lots of shops and also the big casino which is very busy.

I have a friend who lives in Savanakhet who is Lao and she gets paid $1400 USD Per month which really is pretty good in my opinion.

There's also lots of night life around if you look for it and also don't forget Beer Savan which is pretty good and only 6,000 Kip per bottle!

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## stickmansucks

Savanakhet is still so useless in this world, they don't even sell weed !

Don't go to the coffee shop cheater (and stupid), I almost killed her once (cafe de ???)

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## Bangyai

> I don't know where the pictures are in Savannakhet as it looks really quiet however when I was there it was alot busier! Lots of new cars and motorbikes running around, there's lots of shops and also the big casino which is very busy.
> 
> I have a friend who lives in Savanakhet who is Lao and she gets paid $1400 USD Per month which really is pretty good in my opinion.


The pictures were taken downtown on a Tuesday and Wednesday. It seemed busier over by the casino and large shopping mall but I don't gamble and didn't want to shop.

I think your friend is lucky to get that kind of salary, although its probably the exception rather than the rule.

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## supernovadw

> Savanakhet is still so useless in this world, they don't even sell weed !
> 
> Don't go to the coffee shop cheater (and stupid), I almost killed her once (cafe de ???)


Most certainly plenty of weed around if that's your thing, it's everywhere in Lao to be honest.

I don't understand what you mean about a coffee shop.

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## supernovadw

> Originally Posted by supernovadw
> 
> 
>  
> I don't know where the pictures are in Savannakhet as it looks really quiet however when I was there it was alot busier! Lots of new cars and motorbikes running around, there's lots of shops and also the big casino which is very busy.
> 
> I have a friend who lives in Savanakhet who is Lao and she gets paid $1400 USD Per month which really is pretty good in my opinion.
> 
> 
> ...


It's actually a quite large place by Lao standards, where do you mean by 'downtown' ? There are certainly several busy areas, which shopping centre do you mean?

I wouldn't say my friend is 'lucky' to be getting a good wage as she's most certainly worked for it and is one of the few Lao people I know who actually does work at work lol.

Anyhow sorry for going off subject.

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## kingwilly

A lovely little travel thread, thanks for taking the time. I love the look of the old buildings.

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## Marmite the Dog

Did you fill out your paperwork whilst at the consulate or beforehand?

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## Bangyai

> Did you fill out your paperwork whilst at the consulate or beforehand?


Filled it out in Bangkok. The application form is downloadable from here :

http://www.savanvegas.com/visarun/Th...ation-Form.pdf

although a lot of people use the Katoey in the little shack opposite who will provide the form and help fill it in for 20 baht.

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## Bangyai

> It's actually a quite large place by Lao standards, where do you mean by 'downtown' ? There are certainly several busy areas, which shopping centre do you mean?
> 
> I wouldn't say my friend is 'lucky' to be getting a good wage as she's most certainly worked for it and is one of the few Lao people I know who actually does work at work lol.
> 
> Anyhow sorry for going off subject.


No disrespect to your friend. My meaning was that jobs offering that kind of salary must be pretty thin on the ground in Savannakhet.

By downtown I meant the area covered by the tourist maps which fronts onto the river as shown in the pictures. The shopping centre refered to was the big mall on the way into town. If you look at Necrons thread ( link given at begining of thread ) he shows a picture of the place along with Savan vegas casino.

Personaly, I like old buildings and was glad it was quiet so that it made strolling around a lot easier. 









This was the busiest street, a few blocks back from the river with all the shops




A few more interesting buildings. Not colonial French looking.

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## beerlaodrinker

I get in to savannakhet every now and then, was there for a night a couple of weeks ago and had a pretty good night, Its usually a fairly dead place though.   i reckon they should do something with the river frontage and capitalise on that, and maybe restore a few of the old french buildings, The river frontage could be a little gold mine for them if done properly, Plenty of Lao folk around there that arent short of a quid either

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## aging one

Nice travel report as always mate. Thanks a million.

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## Bangyai

> The river frontage could be a little gold mine for them if done properly, Plenty of Lao folk around there that arent short of a quid either


They've made a half arsed effort for about a hundred metres either side of the immigration / casino building but its pretty well gone to seed and not used that much. There were lots of little deck chairs and low tables out at night and a few families eating a sort of Joom Jim kind of snack. The restaurant in the Mekong hotel was nice though with tables and a bar and a bit of atmosphere.

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## beerlaodrinker

That little casino building used to be where you got the ferry over to mukdahan before the bridge opened , when i was there a couple of weeks ago i noticed a new hotel almost directly opposite that, cant remember the name , A good resort style hotel further along the river near the hospital callled Dao savanh if you want a few creature comforts, run you about $60 and you can avail of there tuk tuks to cart you around town, Tuk tuks can be a bugger to find late at night as they all seem to go to bed at about 9.00,

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## Marmite the Dog

^ We're staying at the Dao Savanh for a few days in October. It was the only place I could find with a pool.

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## Spin

> I reckon they should do something with the river frontage and capitalise on that


That penny hasn't dropped yet has it? Money to be made from recreational use of land with nice views....hello!

One thing is for sure, the staff at the consulate there are the sharpest I have ever seen, way, way better than any of the half-soaked fuckwits that deal with anything to do with visas inside Thailand. 

I give they guy at the window my application form and a small pile of marriage docs, originals and copies, he grabs what he needs, shunts back to me what he doesn't want and demands 5000 baht.

 I fumble around in my pockets for the money, stunned to the core that any Thai official could possibly actually know his job and be efficient. I give him the dough and a receipt is tossed towards me. All over inside 15 seconds. I still can't believe it actually happened, it must have been a dream  :rofl:

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## jamescollister

Just did mine there on Wednesday, used the form filler katoey while waiting to be let in. 
Handed the papers to the guy at the window, went to show him the originals, guy wasn't interested, he took the copies money and passport, gave me a number and I was off.

Found the place a bit boring, as I forgot Tuesday was a Government holiday, so was stuck for 3 nights, but otherwise all was good. Jim

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## Dream Over

For what its worth I've put some visa applications in pdf form here. One is for Laos. I got it from the border guy and the other is for applying for a Thai visa at savannakhet's Thai consulate.

They are at scribd so they are available anytime. I'm a bit disappointed with scrib because it looks as though it turned my copied dark in one corner.

Anyways if you are interested...

This is the front and back of a Thai one.

ThaiVisaSavannakhet nov2013

ThaiVisa Savannakhet Back Nov 2013


And here's the Lao entry visa.

LaoVisa App

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## Bangyai

^ Thanks. Will come in handy for someone.

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## deathstardan

Great thread!

I will be going to Savannakhet in Feb for a non-o multi since KL has stopped issuing them.

Will these documents be ok?

Copy of marriage certificate

Letter of invitation from wife

Copy of wife's ID and tambien Baan.

Letter from bank stating balance.

Copy of my passport.

Cheers. DsD.

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## Marmite the Dog

I didn't need a letter of invitation or bank statement. Money only comes into play when you're applying for an extension of your permission to stay based on marriage at your local friendly immigration office.

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## Bangyai

> I didn't need a letter of invitation or bank statement.


Me neither. But......if you have it, take it but just don't show it unless they ask.
You know how these things are. The goal posts can be moved at any time and as Savannakhet is being heavily plugged over on Thai Visa its a fair bet that one day they will raise the bar.

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## Marmite the Dog

> The goal posts can be moved at any time and as Savannakhet is being heavily plugged over on Thai Visa its a fair bet that one day they will raise the bar.


They can;t 'raise the bar' per se, but they can stop issuing multiple entry visas (which will happen at some point I'm certain).

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## Bangyai

> Originally Posted by Bangyai
> 
> The goal posts can be moved at any time and as Savannakhet is being heavily plugged over on Thai Visa its a fair bet that one day they will raise the bar.
> 
> 
> They can;t 'raise the bar' per se, but they can stop issuing multiple entry visas (which will happen at some point I'm certain).


Yes indeed ....and that will be very inconvenient. Wouldn't be so bad if you knew when the axe was going to fall then at least you could get one more trip in.

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## stickmansucks

Good luck :-)

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## deathstardan

I'm thinking Savannkhet are probably going to follow suit sooner or later.

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## stickmansucks

Anybody found a tuktuk less stupid than others there to buy some weed ?

Thanks.

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## beerlaodrinker

Last time I was there I couldn't even find a tuk tuk at 8 At night, stupid or otherwise, was staying at daosavanh so it was a fucking long walk back. Strange place savanh

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## wasabi

Nice thread, a worthy contender for the Weekly Roundup award.

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## wasabi

Nice thread, French architecture is brilliant, far more interesting than the Thai cement block style.

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## kingwilly

> Nice thread, a worthy contender for the Weekly Roundup award.


Except it wasnt written this week....

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## thefactoryoutlet

> Anybody found a tuktuk less stupid than others there to buy some weed ?
> 
> Thanks.



They sell weed there...

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## billy the kid

> they don't even sell weed !


loads of weed there. ask the tuk tuk drivers around the embassy. cheap also.

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## billy the kid

remember most places you photographed there.
not too far from the church there is a great lil sauna house to while away an afternoon.   couple o days is enough to see the place.
was Patrick, a french dude still serving at the Mekong Hotel diner?

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## thefactoryoutlet

But do they have girls also ?

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## billy the kid

err no. only steam. and a bucket to pour cold water over ure head. cheap innit.

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## somtamslap

Hooray for Bangers!

Where is the old bugger of late anyway?

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## thefactoryoutlet

Seems like he recorded the whole way from bus station to consulate:

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## toddaniels

Seeing as the only reason foreigner are flocking to Savannakhet is to go to the last remaining "soft touch" thai consulate in S/E Asia, if you need a frickin' video to get there you're more than a little out of the proverbial loop.

Every Thai in Mukdahan and every Laotian in Savannakhet knows that's why you're there. Face it neither Mukdahan Thailand nor Savannakhet Lao are exactly tourist hot-spots. 

They are only slightly larger than a one buffalo village in Nakhon Nowhere Thailand. I give them both about a 3  1/2 buffalo rating, (grading on a curve) and I give them a status of "slightly above pissant shit-holes" which you don't need to waste the time to go see if you don't have to.

I'd say, get your visas there while you can, latest reports were they were thinking of changing their tune as far as being a "soft touch" consulate.    Some types of visas are no longer handed out in the easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy fashion. 

Still good luck

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## Bangyai

> Hooray for Bangers!
> 
> Where is the old bugger of late anyway?


Eee be oop north ' building the farmhouse ' STS style but will be overshooting that fine blokes budget by quite a bit. There is a thread on it over on coolthaihouse.

As for the video ....... not one of mine. I always try to appear naked in my own videos....just for the lady members.

As for Todds comments regarding Suvs future as a soft touch, I agree. Can't go on like that for ever. Fortunately I can now deal with the financial requirements as we made a hefty profit from selling up in bangyai.

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## terry57

Nice bump this one.  Had not seen it before.  

Real good Info.

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## billy the kid

not sure if they still do it but in Savanakhet
if a ride in the tuk tuk costs 100 baht ( equiv.in kip)
then everyone who rides in it has to pay 100 baht.
1 person 100  baht,,, 3 people and they want 300 baht.
that pisses folk off.

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## toddaniels

Yeah that extra $3USD must really throw a wrench in the carefully planned out budgets of those visa runners!

Oh, the injustice of it all... :rofl:

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## billy the kid

that's a big bottle of Leo spud.

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## stickmansucks

> Originally Posted by stickmansucks
> 
> 
> Savanakhet is still so useless in this world, they don't even sell weed !
> 
> Don't go to the coffee shop cheater (and stupid), I almost killed her once (cafe de ???)
> 
> 
> Most certainly plenty of weed around if that's your thing, it's everywhere in Lao to be honest.
> ...




Yes they finally have weed as in Vientiane.

I asked scramble eggs at overpriced cafe chez boune and the bitch owner gave me fried eggs, I asked to change and she just cut my eggs in small parts with a knife and brought it back I was about to slap her, then I remembered that my gun was still in Thailand...

Avoid cafe chez boune at all price.

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## stickmansucks

> But do they have girls also ?




Found weed but no girls yet !

Hey, to all, what is your fav hotel there ?

And fav restaurant ?

Thanks.

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## toddaniels

You guys would be hard pressed to find a thai consulate that is more user friendly in S/E Asia. I think they're the ONLY thai consulate in S/E Asia that still gives a year-long, multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type-O visa based on marriage to a thai without showing ANY financials.

Yet all you can do it bitch because you have to spend a single night in Savannakhet.. 
Wait until they tighten up, start putting you guys thru the ringer and you'll be whining about why it changed..   

Words fail me..

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## baldrick

^ do they give tourist visas ?

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## Nicethaiza

> Having nothing else to do the rest of the day was spent in the hotel watching TV except for lunch when ms Bangyai wanted to have some Som Tam on the riverside outside the hotel..


Nice thread ka but this make me hungry while I watched your pictures

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## toddaniels

> ^ do they give tourist visas ?


Yep. 

I know people who've pulled 3 single entry 60 day tourist visas back to back from them, plus got 30 day in country extensions on them.

So far they haven't received the dreaded "red stamp" like Vientiane gives.

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## stickmansucks

yes they are good, but at the same time they just the job for which they are paid for !!!

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