TheRoadWarrior
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just got back to thailand last night, so ill update with current info.
i fley nok fly n ride service from DMK at 13:20 into ubon an hour later, the had a taxi to mukdahan arrived around 16:00ish, only 2 other passengers with me so it was nice and comfy
i crossed border immediately via the bus from mukdahan station (had to wait for 19:00 buss, missed the 17:30)
crossing into laos was a breeze as expected.. not even a security check, just quick check of passport.i am NOT a morning person, so i decided to arrive the night before so i could be in laos and ready to just go straight to the consulate, rather than trying to wake up super early and deal with border cross in the morning.
stayed at Avalon Residence 2, which is on the same block as Avalon and Aura, a stones throw from the bus station dropoff which is nice.Avalon 2 was a bit nicer than the pics made it look, its relatively new and clean, albeit small and simple. most importantly the wifi was acceptable, getting around 6mbps to bangkok via speedtest.
initially the clerk could not find my reservation, and after a day of traveling i was rather annoyed, i started phoning up agoda to sort the problem out, but he eventually found it, agoda had probably used up their allocation and booked it via some backchannel partnership with booking.com instead unknown to me, so the clerk was looking for an agoda rez when it was actually under booking.com in his computer. he eventually found it, and after that the service from the staff was pleasant and helpful at all times. i think i paid about 550ish tbh per night, which is incredibly cheap and i dont think you can do better for that price, so id highly recommend it for simple convenient stay.
FYI, true move mobile signal stretched all the way to the bus station in savannakhet, (had full bars all through immigration) but was a bit shakey at the hotel just a block further away, so i guess thats about the limit of the range, i used the hotel wifi instead.... i got no signal at all in the embassy.
took a tuktuk from hotel, arrived to the embassy 9am on the dot, was already a line of 20-30 people in front of me, and more lining up behind me... this was on a wednesday, which is supposedly a slower day, so i guess savannakhet is getting busier and busier.... other people in line said they had been waiting since well before 9am when it opened.
FYI tuttuk waited for me and also took me back to the hotel after, i didnt ask his rate, just gave him 200thb for the round trip which was probalby overpaying judging by his smile but i didnt care at that point it was hot!
there was no forms or pens or any signage or anything available that you would expect a consulate to have... typical SEA lack of forethought. someone in line told me that the shop/restaurant across the street sells forms for 20b, but i went up to the front window and politely asked for one through the window, which they begrudgingly handed me with an annoyed face (which is amusing since its their damn job to provide the forms lol)
i already had photos which i had prepared in TH before leaving, i get a pack of 20 or 30 photos for relatively cheap, doesnt hurt to have extras... didnt see anyone offering a photo service anywhere from the border to the consulate, but maybe the shop that sells the application forms also does photos? just bring your own.
there was only ONE girl servicing the entire line of people... so naturally the line moved very slowly... it was about an hour before i got to the front, at which time the girl very rudely told us this was NOT A PLACE FOR TALKING (myself and 2 others in line were having a conversation about places we had traveled)... she seemed quite miserable and hating life, and was taking it out on us... not a good start when applying for your visa... she asked me some questions in thai and seemed rather annoyed when i had to ask her to speak slowly (i have trouble hearing tones)... for a moment it looked like she really wanted to reject my application, but she eventually took it gave me my receipt. (FYI, all my paperwork is in order, with stacks upon stacks of more than necessary forms that my school prepares for me in advance. i did not have any bank statement paper and it was not asked for)
next day, i figured id show up a little early since there was a line already the day before... pickup time starts at 14:00, so i arrived at 13:30... only to find 20 people already in line... and worse than that, the line of APPLICATIONS was still 20-30 people deep and being serviced inside, the line for pickups was made to stand outside in the sun... with no mobile service it was a damn boring and HOT wait... they continued to process applications and made us wait outside until almost 16:00, when in typical SEA fashion, instead of letting people through the gate in the very orderly line that we had formed, they just opened another gate and said "go" and everyone ran like mad animals and rushed the desk.... people who had been in the front waiting for hours ended up in the back and were not happy, i let several of them go in front of me because i know they were there before me, but a few of them started arguing with the thai staff, in which case they decided brilliantly to move the line location, which resulted in another mad dash and people angry they ended up at the back... i was somewhere in the middle, and the line moved quickly once they started handing out passports, i received mine around 16:10 or so.
moral of the story? DO NOT arrive early for pickup, unless your bus/flight requires it... youd be better off walking up around 15:00-16:00, because the line moves very quickly once they finally start doing their job... no point in arriving early, and the earlier you are the longer youll wait.
took a tuktuk back to the border, and got the bus ticket there rather than the bus station... crossing back in was a bit slower than exiting, as thai officials examine your docs more closely than the laos side, but otherwise uneventful, mostly just waiting for everyone to get through so the bus can continue.
arrived to mukdahan station at 16:45 or so, and then had just enough time to get a tuktuk to take me to the Point Palace Hotel which is where nok fly n ride has their van leaving at 17:00... this was NOT marked on my nok resevation details anywhere, so i had no idea where to go, and the lady at the nok booth in the mukdahan station was clueless... i was attempting to call nok when the van driver himself called me as im on his passenger list and told me where he was.... i was his ONLY passenger, and he had a very nice van, with great aircon, every manner of power plug available, and a tv screen etc lol... so it was a nice ride to sakon nahkon airport (return airpot was different than arrival)... arrived around 18:00-18:15
this is where it got bad.... the original flight i booked was a 19:00 flight... which would have been perfect... but earler they had sent me an email saying it was moved to 20:50... no explanation why, but it wasnt a flight delay as the notification was the day before.... but when i arrived at the airport, they had an additonal delay , saying 21:35... then the moved it again to 22:00... well, we did not board the plane until 22:40.... each time they moved it i had to keep rescheduling my taxi at DMK.... ill probably never fly Nok again unless i absolutely have to.
feel free to ask any questions, ill try to check back later on.-
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4 hours ago, Will27 said:
I'm with AIS and it switched to roaming.
My friend is with DTAC and it didn't work at all.
ah thats a bummer... hope the hotel wifi is acceptable
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On 6/21/2019 at 9:13 AM, Will27 said:
I can recommend both Avalon and Aura Residence.
They're next door to each other.
Only a 10 - 15 minute walk to the consulate.
thanks, i booked Avalon2, seems to have good reviews and for the price/location really cant complain, averaged 550ish thb per night... as long as the aircon and wifi work thats a great deal.
random thought.... since its so close to the thai border, does your thai sim card still get signal there? or is it too far away?
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just booked my flight with nokair... guess ill have to suffer through the DMK trip and bus rides ????
any recommendations where to stay? preferably something with internet that moves faster than a snail, as was my last experience in laos
i only care about 2 things.... wifi and aircon... would sleep on the floor as long as those 2 things are ok.
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On 6/9/2019 at 4:23 PM, BritTim said:
I suspect he uses airport limos rather than jumping in a meter taxi.
i dont live in bkk.... the difference in price of taxi to DMK is about 400-600 more than swampy... so there and back to dmk adds 800-1200 vs swampy
my previous number was based on last time i went many years ago... apparently rates are cheaper at the moment
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6 hours ago, Will27 said:
I looked at flying Lao Airlines as well, but with their flight times, you have to stay 3 days.
I would use them if you could use for 1 day or even 2, but not 3.
If you're on a schedule, they make no sense.
Cost was about 7000 Baht which is 3 times more than Nok.
yeah this is the part that annoys me, their flight timing is terrible and it makes you stay 3 days because you arrive too late to start your visa first day and the return flight is too early you dont have time to pick up... vientianne via laos airlines had a perfect schedule for me could fly in and out in less than 48hrs, but my school did all my paperwork for savannakhet this time.
and 7k for the flight seems bad... but nok air is 3k+, and then you factor in the taxi to DMK instead of swampy is an extra 800ish each way, so already up to 4600+, then add in the additional busses and taxis etc... the diff would only be 2k which id gladly pay EXCEPT that their timing is useless.
might consider a 1 way fly in, and nok 1 way return
i really hate busses/taxis/transfers ????
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14 hours ago, tlandtday said:
Check Thaisanuan Tours VIP from Bkok to Mukdahan. I believe it arrives very early so I would consider it but definitely I would never take the yellow bus from Pattaya I took in the past. The bus averaged about 40 km per hour, was super uncomfortable and late.
i never take bus at all unless its just bkk-pattaya, thats not too bad.... but any further than that and id rather fly.
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or should i just fly directly into savannakhet?
the flight is twice as expensive....
BUT, once you factor in taxis, busses, etc (especially going to DMK vs BKK)
i think the overall price ends up coming in fairly close.
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On 6/6/2019 at 7:41 AM, Will27 said:
With the new Nok Air flight schedule, it's possible to do your visa run by only staying one night in Savannakhet.
Their Fly and Ride service now departs Don Mueang at 0610hrs.
Arrive at Sakhon Nakhon at 0720 with the coach leaving to Mukdahan around 0740.
About a 2 hour drive to Mukdahan gets you the border at around 0940 leaving you with over an hour to get to the Embassy.
Of course this doesn't take into account any delays by the airline etc.
And as Ubon Joe has stated, probably best to avoid Mondays and Thursdays due to agents.
I've always found Wednesdays to be the best.
good info, and id love to just stay 1 night, but i dont think id feel comfortable with such small margin for error or delays.
i have to do a run soon for my non-O, and im considering using the nok air service, but ill stay 2 nights just in case.
would you guys recommend flying in on monday afternoon and starting visa tues morning / weds pickup?
or flying in tues afternoon and start visa weds morning / thurs pickup?no preference from me, so whatever you guys think will have the least queue time (considering flight, bus, immigration, consulate)
if i pickup my visa at 14:00, is there enough time to get to the nokair bus service which is at 17:00?
according to some posts it seems like theres adequate time, but things can change daily.
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a friend of mine has 1.... she is a harley rider on big cruises, but also has the GPX just for short quick rides around town.... shes very happy with it. cant really complain for that price, its incredibly cheap.
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Letter for immigration from bank shouldn't take 2 days, I went into my bank and was given one within 10 mins, updated my bank book while waiting and lodged my application the same day.
yeah i got my letter within just 10 mins or so
had a thai friend with me doing all the taking so that probably helps
as for all the other stuff.... my wife and i studied up on each other and practiced answering questions etc about where we are from etc etc, thinking that we might be interrogated lol.... we even had lots of photos ready from various times since weve known each other to show, with date stamps etc
was worried for absolutely nothing... lol
walked in.... sat down.... said hello in thai... laughed a bit, complained about how hot it was.... ZERO interrogative questions, just a friendly smile, the official said a few words to my wife, and congratulations and stamped our marriage papers... in and out in 5 mins
i memorized a bunch of stupid facts about my wife for nothing! 5555
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These guys are in Bangkok. They're specialists at wrapping cars but have done a lot of bikes too, by the looks of their gallery.
http://www.wrap-a-car.com/index.php/facebook-gallery
I'm quite tempted to wrap my tank because I prefer satin / matte finishes to glossy ones.
Just to update I had my tank and fly screen wrapped by the wrap-a-car guys and they did a really good job. Their place is down in Charoen Krung Road about 400 m left from the Thaksin Bridge. Cost THB 5000. The film is 3M brand and the tank colour is something called Matte Charcoal Metallic.
that seems very high for just tank and screen.
i was quoted 9k for an entire bike..... which honestly i still think is high for thailand considering the labor rates, but with only a few providers around, they get to charge a premium price.
IMO fair pricing here would be 5k to get the entire bike wrapped..... but unlikely to ever see that price for a fullsize bike.
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Interesting, thanks for sharing ll2. Would be curious to know how it stands the test of time, sun, repeated waxings (can it be waxed?) or overspray from things like WD40 (which all of my bikes get regularly bathed in, though of course I try not to get it on my paint jobs).
a good quality protective film stands up just fine... better than paint in fact.
its the same film that is used by exotic owners to wrap their lambos, rolls royce, mclarens, etc.... so its certainly good enough for a motorcycle.
t protects your original paint from sun damage, rock chips, bugs, chemicals, etc.... you dont need to wax it, just wash it.... there is a special sealant you can apply once every 3 months, but its not imperative... i know many guys that never use the sealant and their protective film still looks perfectly clear.
even light scratches and abrasions will self-heal in the heat
if any particular area has a major issue, you can just peel off that section and re-cover it.
not trying to sound like a salesman for the stuff, i just have many friends that have used it on their exotic cars and everyone loves it..... just make sure you use a quality brand.... i have no idea which brands the local thai shops use, but you could contact them and find out.
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not sure if theyre any good, but found these 2 on facebook
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Worry-Free Non-O-Visa Savannakhet
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted · Edited by TheRoadWarrior
oh one more nice tidbit i forgot to mention
the money exchange at the ubon airport was closed (i intended to change some TBH to USD for easier use in laos), i shoul dhave done this in BKK but i arrived to the airport with just enough time to check in.
at the laos border, the fee for canadian VOA is $42 usd... which is about 1290 thb or so.... they insisted on 1800thb... .the military looking official did not seem to be amused when i joking asked him to show me the exchange rate he used to arrive at 1800... no doubt these guys are pocketing the extra 500b... but since i didnt have USD i was at their mercy, which is just how they love it so they can take advantage.... just have to laugh and accept it, because arguing will just make things worse.... next time change money at home before leaving, lesson learned.
you also need to have 2 photos there for their form, they will charge you 100b extra if you dont have photos and use their digital cam to take one, the guy next to me in line did not have any. he also had overstayed a few days, to which i overheard them charging him somewhere around 4600thb for his VOA, not sure what country he was.