Wednesday 12 December 2007

updated 04 october 2009 further down page

Well its that time again when for me to go and renew my visa, this trip i'm off to laos!

You can fly Bangkok to Udon thani, then get bus to friendship bridge at the border with laos & Thailand.

Air asia, tel from Thailand, 02519999, book a flight, then tell them you want pay cash at a 7/11 shop, wait 10 mins, go t any 7/11 and pay them, its very easy.


http://www.airasia.com/

i normally get the 16.15 flight as i like to stay in udon thani for a night.

Mon 15 Dec 2008 - Bangkok (BKK) to Udon Thani (UTH) Depart Arrive Flight Guest Fare Class

0700 (BKK)	0805 (UTH)	FD 3360	Adult	499.00 THB	Economy Promo
1615 (BKK)	1715 (UTH)	FD 3364	Adult	1,485.00 THB	Economy

then your return flight, i get an afternoon one, as you canot get your passport and to the airprt otherwise.

Thu 18 Dec 2008 - Udon Thani (UTH) to Bangkok (BKK) Depart Arrive Flight Guest Fare Class

0835 (UTH)	0940 (BKK)	FD 3361	Adult	499.00 THB	Economy Promo
1740 (UTH)	1840 (BKK)	FD 3365	Adult	499.00 THB	Economy Promo

before you travel you may need about 4 passport sized photos of yourselfe, for your visas etc, take a few pens it will save you time.

so you go to bangkok airport, not the old don mung one, but the new all glass commonly known as swampy.
you get ya flight, about an hour later, your off at udon, i stay the first night in udon as 1, i like it and 2, i dont like dealing with lots of people / borders taxis etc at a night time.

i stay at the Charleon, (i think its called) hotel, not big money about 1000 bhat, nice food nice enogh rooms, and central for bars etc.

then book a taxi for 700am to friendship bridge.

when you get to the bridge, at this side (Thailand) you get your exit stamps in your passport etc from the imigration,

Then over the bridge on the Mekong river into laos!


so your now at Laos, so you mus get a Visa to get int that country, easily done, about 1000 bhat (i think) and about 20 mins filling a form in and somtimes can be a que.


so now you are in laos, and you need to get to the consulte at Vientine, so you take a taxi stright there, dont go shopping or having breakfast, time is needed.

first off hand in passport to Thai consulate/embassy
you must hand it in before about11/12am for to recieve it back the next working day after 1pm!

now in the current climate of visas getting stamped not to return to pennang etc. i decided to use an agent just outside the Thai embassy's gates bieng a beliver in "its not what you know but who" so i paid him and expressed x 2 and no stamp not come back!

he is outside the embassy at a food vendors stall and his phone no is 0205708036 from laos!
now i did a deal with him then i made him pay for tuk tuk etc to hotel and return the next day!

as an update these have got very greedy with the fees so be carefull or just jump in the que.

then take a tuk tuk to the river side and get yourselfe a hotel and a beer laos and relax.

Then get yourself a hotel!


nice Hotel on the river approx 1000 bhat per day inc breakfast!
tel: (020) 2431805
mongkolhotel@yahoo.com


Colonial type looking







and this on your doorstep on a morning!


just a shame i cant use my camera properly



more later as i go get my visa today! so time for sightseeing








the next working day, (closed sat &sun) you collect your passport back for about 1/ 1.30 pm then back to border and follow yur route back.


and get it i did, i this time asked for a Tourist visa x2
and was granted no problems!



Just as an added note, when reading about other peoples problems etc, try not to make any your selfe, you are going out of one country (thailand) and ito another (Laos), you are then applying for a visa to this other country (laos) then as soon as your in it, you are applying for a visa to another country (Thailand), then you are coming to Thailand.

all of the above you are dealing with ques , paperwork, money, times and shedules, offices closed late flights etc, etc.

book your flight with say 4 days between returning and make a mini holiday out of it, take passport photos and pens, when you get out of a taxi keep his phone no for when you come back, give yourselfe time, try not to be late, and above all try take it easy on a night, cos duing the day you are running around with big ques and lots of other people that are lost like you, where its very hot and delays tere will be.

chris

ps. its well worth going dont be put off.



update
well october 4th 2009, and this time most things still similar but we travelled different.
monday morning 6am we all met outside dang appartments, jan the tea maker didnt show up as it was raining, so great we had to set off with out a char lawn!!


we hired the 9 seater minibus for 6 of us at 2000 bhat a day which is a real good deal from a friend called tik, now we also got thrown in a driver named vee for free so what a bounus, cos i had been dreading the 10 hour drive to be fair and i was drunk the day before so was well happy with that.

so bye bye pattaya off and away, a quick stop at 711 for a coffee lawn and on with a film, we made very good progress we were in nong kai for about 8 hours maybe even less.

2 gasoline or diesel stops one for 1600 bhat and the next for 1360 bhat.


we had a quick stroll around to fnd a hotel, we ended up staying in the mekong guest house for no other breason it was on the front and we couldnt be bothered to go into town and look further, it was 500 bhat per night but a slightly bigger room upstairs was 600 bhat.



we stayed in nong kai over night to see what the place is all about, but to be fair we just got drunk in the resteraunt over looking the mekong river.



the next morning we had to make another early start to get our passports in so it was 6am again, on our mini bus and off to the border with laos, the friendship bridge, we had a short delay with one of the lads (norrie) for overstaying but not too bad, and then away, and we were passed on to another mini bus on the laos side to take care of us.

the laos visa was, not 100% sure but i think was 1000bhat and maybe 200 bhat for somthing maybe 1500 bhat all in.



so we were through the border over the bridege into laos for about 7.30, so we headed to Vientiene to the Thai consulte knowing it to be a busy place, we got there for about 8am ish and it opens at 8.30, as predicted it did have a large que outside but not as big as i thought it would.







still the same lots of people all trying to get in and out as quick as they can, but realistiaclly you are gonna be there for about 2 hours so you may as well just kick back and relax, at least ya can smoke whilst awaiting your no to come up.




this time it was free, it used to be 1000 bhat an entry so a doulbe would be 2000 bhat, but as of march 4th its free until march 4th 2010.

passports handed in and off to hotel, we left the embassy about 10.30 am and into hotel for about 11.00am
our minibus on the laos side was 1500 bhat a day, we met him at the border about 7am and had him till about 6pm so dived by 6 of us it was about 250 bhat each, so thats far cheaper way to travel, if you have 6!


the hotel we stayed this time was nalinthone Guest house fa ngum road, +85621243659 700 bhat a night which is not the photo above, that hotel was called vansana hotel but was about 1700 bhat a night, so we stayed at nalinthorne and used the resteraunt facilites etc next door saving 1000 bhat a night.

the next day wednesday time for a nice lie in and a free day with one little job of collecting our pasports between 1pm and 3 pm



so what do we do on our day off??


well it would be rude not to taste Beer Laos.




Thursday morning breakfast and away for 9.30am minibus for 700 bhat from hotel to train station



tickets from laos to thailand was 20 bhat cattle class or 50 bhat for full 1st class aircon, so we opted for that and then sat in cattle class ha ha ha, cos we could smoke, the ride is only 15 mins but its worth it for the adventure


so we hand passports to imigration and no ques great


time for a quick foto before off bang on 10.45





there was only us on the train and its really worth going just to save on the border hassle





over the mighty mekong and back to Thailand.


the arriving in nong kai train station at 11.am through customs and imigration again no fuss or ques





outside nong kai train station and collected by our mini bus driver, then a quick 1 hour ride to udon thani


in udon for about 12 time for some grub and check in a hotel



we stayed at the Top mansion cos it was only 350 bhat,



nice enough for that sort of money but bed was rock hard, so we went out to get drunk to make things even, but i wouldnt stay there again although the staff were in fact very helpfull and even put extra sheets and blankets on for me.

other than that the hotel is a good choice in terms of location and clenliness etc





1 night in udon and then early start again 6am pick up fror journey home to pattaya, we arrived back in pattaya for approx 1pm.


so to summorize,

we set off monday and arrived back friday
we paid 10,000 bhat for mini bus and driver
we each paid 2000 bhat to a kitty which paid diesel and things
so total each was kitty 2000 bhat and mini bus 1600 bhat that's 3600 bhat total in travling expenses, so yeah some people will say but ya can fly for that much, which is true, but you gotta get to an airport at approx 1000 bhat then from an airport to border and accross and then up to vientine and of course all that in return direstion!!!
and the fun, and of coursrse for me bieng a chain smoker this was a good trip, good buch of lads good drink and visa done as well.
definatly worth a go if you have the time and the friends cos numbers do make things cheaper.

to see all our photos of the trip click here

special Thanks to randy for his photos although we all moan about them, he captures it real.




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