Successful Visa Run To Vientiane

[daeng1212]

I just successfully got a tourist visa in Vientiane, Laos yesterday, but I did run into a couple of problems that I thought I should warn folks about. I arrived in Udonthani (from northern Thailand) at about 7:00 a.m. My hope was to get to the Thai consulate in Vientiane before 11:00 (the time I had read at a thaivisa.com post that the consulate office stopped receiving applications), so that I could pick up my visa the next day. For those wanting to go from Udonthani to Vientiane, there is now a direct air-con bus that leaves the main bus terminal (#1) in Udonthani (departure times are 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m.), and takes about two hours to get to the bus station at the Morning Market (ตลาดเช้า) in Vientiane. (This is much more convenient than before this bus ran, when one had to take a bus from Udonthani to Nongkhai, then a tuk-tuk or songtaaw to the border, then a bus over the border, then either a taxi or songtaaw to get into Vientiane town.) My plan was to buy my Lao visa at the border, since I had been told by a travel agent in Chiangrai that the Lao Embassy in Bangkok is no longer doing Lao visas, and that they must be purchased at the Thai-Lao border. After I got on the bus, the bus attendant checked my passport, and when he saw that I didn't yet have a Lao visa, he said (in Thai) "It'll probably take a while for you to buy the Lao visa at the border, and this bus won't wait for you". So I told him I'd try to get it as quickly as possible. Fortunately, there wasn't a long line to get the Lao visas and it didn't take too long, and the bus attendant was helpful in getting me into the shortest line and getting a form for me to go through Lao Immigration, and I didn't get left behind.

I got to the Thai embassy by tuk-tuk (almost all the tuk-tuk drivers overcharge, so it takes some hard-bargaining to get a reasonable fare) by 10:30 a.m. On the back of the form were listed what was needed to get a tourist visa - a passport with at least 6 months left on it, two color photos, 1000 baht, and a copy of the passport. I was prepared for everything except the copy of the passport. At the numerous posts I've read at thaivisa.com about getting a tourist visa in Laos, I don't ever remember reading anything about a copy of the passport. I asked some others in line, and a few other people hadn't gotten a copy of their passport, either, so I decided to chance it. When I got near the front of the line, I saw that a young women who, like me, hadn't gotten her passport photocopied, had to go get that done. It was now close to 11:30, so I asked the guy I was chatting with to hold my place in line, and went racing out of the consulate to find a copy machine. There's a building to the immediate right of the main consulate building (it may be part of the consulate itself) where some enterprising (maybe "mercenary" is a better word) Laos were taking advantage of those like me who hadn't gotten their passport copied, asking for between 30 - 50 baht for two copied sheets (the page with your picture on it, and the page with your Lao visa). I found one guy who said he'd do it for 30 baht, and since I was in a rush, paid the exorbitant fee. Shortly after I got back into the consulate compound, the gates were locked (around 11:30).

I encountered one other matter that almost became a problem when I discovered that my Lao departure card had gone missing. When the official stamped it at the border, she just stuck it inside the passport (not like the Thai officials who will staple it in); I had heard that if you lose that card, you'll get held up at the border (maybe fined as well - I'm not sure), and I had an early evening bus I needed to catch in Udonthani for northern Thailand. Fortunately, I found the card in my back pants pocket. Whew!

So, lessons learned:

(1) If you plan to take the bus that goes from Udonthani directly to the Morning Market in Vientiane (there's also a direct bus from Nongkhai to the Morning Market), it's best to get your Lao visa ahead of time, (though I don't know if the Lao Embassy in Bangkok is issuing them or not).

(2) You need a photocopy of two pages of your passport, as described above.

(3) Don't misplace your Lao departure card. It's best to take it out of your passport before you turn in your passport to the Thai Consulate, and put it somewhere safe.

P.S. for Tahlin - (1) Vientiane, Laos is just across the border from Nongkhai in northeastern Thailand; The Thai Consulate in Vientiane is about a 3 km tuk-tuk drive from the Morning Market; (2) it does appear that's it's easy to get a tourist visa there. There must have been over 100 people who submitted their forms (though some were for other kinds of visas) on the day that I was there, and it looked like everyone was getting their visas ok; (3) there are lots of places to stay in Vientiane, depending on how much you want to pay; since Vientiane is usually sweltering, I've ended up staying at the Phone Paseuth Guesthouse (pronouned "Pawn Pasert", or พรประเสริฐ); it's kind of expensive - 600 baht per day - but it's clean, and the air-con, hot shower, and tv (with cable) all work well.

[sjaak327]

"1) If you plan to take the bus that goes from Udonthani directly to the Morning Market in Vientiane (there's also a direct bus from Nongkhai to the Morning Market), it's best to get your Lao visa ahead of time, (though I don't know if the Lao Embassy in Bangkok is issuing them or not)."

No need really to take that bus to Talad Sao , just take the bus from Udon Thani Airport to the friendship bridge (150 baht, 1 hour) the bus doens't go to Nong Khai first, so no need for a tuk tuk, then take the bus across the bridge (15 baht), then get your visa, and take a taxi directly to the Thai embassy for about 250 baht. Total time required, about 2 hours and that includes waiting for your visa and entering Laos.

I actually think that the BKK lao embassy still issues visas, but why would anyone bother nowadays, it takes a whole lot longer then getting one at the border. Even with the express fee, it still takes about two hours to get the visa, not to mention the time required to get there.

[jinjok]

just take the train a/c chair - b20 to the bus and b20 to talat sao

[daeng1212]

"1) If you plan to take the bus that goes from Udonthani directly to the Morning Market in Vientiane (there's also a direct bus from Nongkhai to the Morning Market), it's best to get your Lao visa ahead of time, (though I don't know if the Lao Embassy in Bangkok is issuing them or not)."

No need really to take that bus to Talad Sao , just take the bus from Udon Thani Airport to the friendship bridge (150 baht, 1 hour) the bus doens't go to Nong Khai first, so no need for a tuk tuk, then take the bus across the bridge (15 baht), then get your visa, and take a taxi directly to the Thai embassy for about 250 baht. Total time required, about 2 hours and that includes waiting for your visa and entering Laos.

I actually think that the BKK lao embassy still issues visas, but why would anyone bother nowadays, it takes a whole lot longer then getting one at the border. Even with the express fee, it still takes about two hours to get the visa, not to mention the time required to get there.

Thanks for this information. It's a way to not be rushed to get the Lao visa at the border, but it is quite a bit more expensive. The direct bus from Udon to the morning market in Vientiane is just 80 baht for the bus - and it's a nice new air-con bus, and then 40 baht for the tuk-tuk to the embassy . The way you've suggested totals up to 415 baht, although if you substitute the local songtaaw for the taxi from the border to the embassy, it'd probably come out to about 240 baht.

Anyway, where does the bus from Udon to the friendship bridge depart from?

[sjaak327]

"1) If you plan to take the bus that goes from Udonthani directly to the Morning Market in Vientiane (there's also a direct bus from Nongkhai to the Morning Market), it's best to get your Lao visa ahead of time, (though I don't know if the Lao Embassy in Bangkok is issuing them or not)."

No need really to take that bus to Talad Sao , just take the bus from Udon Thani Airport to the friendship bridge (150 baht, 1 hour) the bus doens't go to Nong Khai first, so no need for a tuk tuk, then take the bus across the bridge (15 baht), then get your visa, and take a taxi directly to the Thai embassy for about 250 baht. Total time required, about 2 hours and that includes waiting for your visa and entering Laos.

I actually think that the BKK lao embassy still issues visas, but why would anyone bother nowadays, it takes a whole lot longer then getting one at the border. Even with the express fee, it still takes about two hours to get the visa, not to mention the time required to get there.

Thanks for this information. It's a way to not be rushed to get the Lao visa at the border, but it is quite a bit more expensive. The direct bus from Udon to the morning market in Vientiane is just 80 baht for the bus - and it's a nice new air-con bus, and then 40 baht for the tuk-tuk to the embassy . The way you've suggested totals up to 415 baht, although if you substitute the local songtaaw for the taxi from the border to the embassy, it'd probably come out to about 240 baht.

Anyway, where does the bus from Udon to the friendship bridge depart from?

Airport, (I always go by plane from BKK).