Thread: Savannakhet visa trip .............the slow way

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 )

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.

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

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.

Originally Posted by Necron99

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

That handsome well attired adonis is yours truly

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.

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.

^ 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.

Nice. Thanks.

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

Very nice, thank you Bangyai.

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

Originally Posted by 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.

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!

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 ???)

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.

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.

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.

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

Originally Posted by Bangyai

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

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.

Originally Posted by supernovadw

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.

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

Nice travel report as always mate. Thanks a million.

Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker

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.

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,

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