Hi,

I am in Chiang Mai until mid-september. I have a double entry tourist visa from the Thai Consulate in Hull, UK, and I need to do a visa run some time in the next month to validate the second entry.

I would rather go to Laos than Myanmar, is there somwhere closer than Vientiane that I can get to overland? It looks like quite the trek...

thanks

Since money is probably not an issue for you as a visa into Laos is $30 while Burma is $10, you can fly direct from Chiang Mai into Vientiene in about an hour. I think you can cross into Laos from Chang Kong just for the stamp but it means taking a boat across the Mae Kong. If you enjoy wine then crossing into Burma at Mae Sai is the best deal. The duty free shop on your left as you cross into Burma is a real bargin. Just two or three bottles of a decent wine will save you more than it cost to cross the border.

Since money is probably not an issue for you as a visa into Laos is $30 while Burma is $10, you can fly direct from Chiang Mai into Vientiene in about an hour. I think you can cross into Laos from Chang Kong just for the stamp but it means taking a boat across the Mae Kong. If you enjoy wine then crossing into Burma at Mae Sai is the best deal. The duty free shop on your left as you cross into Burma is a real bargin. Just two or three bottles of a decent wine will save you more than it cost to cross the border.

You can also fly very cheap using Nok Air, Chiang Mai to Udon Thani and then take a short bus ride from Udon Thani to the border of Nong Kai. from there you cross paying the $30 for the Laos Visa and it's only a short tuk tuk to Vientienne.

I'm interested in a few things about both these runs. I've receieved a TV from Vientienne and I know the lay of the land and what not but this time my girlfriend wants to come along. How much is it for a Thai to get a visa into Laos? Is it easy for them? what documents do they need?

....and about a Myramar visa run. I see there is a Thai embassy in Yugon, Myanmar. How far is that city from the border? Can it be reached by bus? Is the Burma $10 visa easy to get? Can you obtain it on arrival? Is a tourist visa for a US citizen easy to receive from that embassy?

Thanks for any help you can give me and the original poster.

Just a brief reply: the Thai embassy is almost surely in Rangoon (Yangoon), and the Mae Sai-Tachilek crossing is nowhere near there, nor is it easy to cross by land from Tachilek to Yangoon, even if you could get permission.

Chiang Khong border crossing in Chiang Rai province would probably serve for a border run from Chiang Mai. But if you can afford a flight to Luang Prabang in Laos would highly recommend for a short trip if you have not been there.

eep, I didn't know the visa was that much more expensive. I am on a pretty tight budget, so the extra visa fare and the price of the plane ticket is the decider. Myanmar it is! The wine is pretty tempting too.

thanks for all the help folks

I got a tourist visa in Vientiane last year. I did a blog on the trip, the first part probably wont be relevant but it describes how to get to Chiang Rai/Chiang Mai by bus from Nong Khai, the Thai border town.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?au...;showentry=1311

Since money is probably not an issue for you as a visa into Laos is $30 while Burma is $10, you can fly direct from Chiang Mai into Vientiene in about an hour. I think you can cross into Laos from Chang Kong just for the stamp but it means taking a boat across the Mae Kong. If you enjoy wine then crossing into Burma at Mae Sai is the best deal. The duty free shop on your left as you cross into Burma is a real bargin. Just two or three bottles of a decent wine will save you more than it cost to cross the border.

You can also fly very cheap using Nok Air, Chiang Mai to Udon Thani and then take a short bus ride from Udon Thani to the border of Nong Kai. from there you cross paying the $30 for the Laos Visa and it's only a short tuk tuk to Vientienne.

I'm interested in a few things about both these runs. I've receieved a TV from Vientienne and I know the lay of the land and what not but this time my girlfriend wants to come along. How much is it for a Thai to get a visa into Laos? Is it easy for them? what documents do they need?

....and about a Myramar visa run. I see there is a Thai embassy in Yugon, Myanmar. How far is that city from the border? Can it be reached by bus? Is the Burma $10 visa easy to get? Can you obtain it on arrival? Is a tourist visa for a US citizen easy to receive from that embassy?

Thanks for any help you can give me and the original poster.

Does your GF have a Thai passport?  If so, 30 day chop on arrival is FREE.

If no passport, those "visa" folks at the shuttle bus station on the Thai side of the bridge can arrange the "Border Pass" for about baht 150 and a photo or two.  This is good for three days, I think.

Mac