Reporting back on my quick trip to Lao. I exited Thailand at Nong Khai and paid the 20 baht for the bus across the bridge. They have changed things a bit and Thailand has added an inside check point. Once in Lao, things were pretty much the same and I filled out the visa paperwork and paid the 1500 baht fee. Lao immigration processed it quickly and when I went to window 3 to gather my passport, i discovered that they added a camera at the window. The immigration officer asked how long I would be staying in Lao and I said one day. He then handed back my passport and change, this time in Thai baht and I walked to the entry point.

Once I entered Lao, I just made a left at the end of the building and another quick left into the exit area. I handed my passport to the immigration officer and he stamped used on the visa with no questions asked. I paid another 20 baht to cross the bridge back into Thailand. Then it was a matter of filling out the arrival and exit card and proceeding to the immigration officer who is now housed iniside a nice building. He stamped my passport with a 90 day stamp and the job was done.

All in all it took a little over an hour to complete the process and no time spent in Vientianne city. Much better than having to spend the night and pay for food and lodging. I was pleasantly surprised that the process was easy and pretty cost effective. The only negative was being fined 300 baht by the BIB on the Nong Khai road back to Udon for having a rear break light out. I felt this was highway robbery, but that is another story.