Dannyboy666

OP -- if you have the time ... your best bet is just to get to Nong Khai go to a Guest House there (I have recommendations -- 400 baht this time of year). Get up have coffee and breakfast at Jing-Joes Guesthouse - GREAT Farang Food)

Nothing in Nong Khai is very far from the Bridge to Laos... a fairly short tuk tuk ride. You exit Thailand at a building right at the base of the bridge. Just say Bridge to the tuk tuk driver. Go through and catch a bus to the Lao Immigration just on the other side of the bridge. Go to window 3 or the one next to it ... present passport - pay 1500 baht or USD (lower cost). Go to window 5 - wait - get passport after about 15-20 minutes. Take pens to fill out forms before presenting your passport at the window. Back up --- before exiting Thailand there is passport photo kiosk - you need one to enter Laos.

Ask for the Bus to Vientiane - Thai Embassy - just keep saying and say BUS ... Vien-tiane . At the embassy do not pay anyone to do anything for you -- they can do nothing but take your money. Get a queue number - get forms inside - get there before the 11:30 cut off time. Apply when your queue number comes up ... afterwards go get a Guest House nearby ... do not expect much - hotels and guesthouses are rated poor most of the time in Vientiane.

Go back the next afternoon when told to -- get visa go back to Nong Khai ... if you want take the tuk tuk to the bus station -- get on to Udon Thani airport.

You can do the whole trip by train - not bad --- all the way to Nong Khai ... from Bkk - any station. 1st or 2nd class evening train - sleeper -- wake up in Nong Khai -- the Jing--Joe guest house is on Rim Khong Alley -- just say RIM KHONG to the Tuk Tuk .. and Vietnam restaurant. Two good but cheap guest houses are down the RIM KHONG alley from the huge Vietnamese Restaurant,,,

Or by arriving by train at dawn - the Nong Khai bridge to Laos is only a short ride from the Train Station. I was able to get sleep on the train.. .no problem .. there is electric connection in the private sleeping berths. And shared electric outlets in the 2nd class ones. So you can keep your phone, tablet, laptop charged ... Train food is not worth the money. Take plenty of packaged food and water and drinks that you enjoy.

Believe me - changing from a taxi to the airport - from the Udon airport to a bus via taxi, getting to Nong Khai from Udon Thani, etc. - trying to get everything done in one morning - get to the Embassy in Vientiane all before 11:30 a.m. - compared to my suggestion - is a good way to tire and stress yourself out ... Chill out on the train - arrive early in the morning with some sleep - simple run to the bridge from the train station via tuk tuk - stop get some passport photos at the Thai Departure area at the bridge -- MAKE IT SIMPLE...

My Fave Restaurants in Nong Khai, Jing Jos, Dee Dee , Mae's, Favorite Hotel, Nong Khai City Hotel. International Market on Riverwalk Mekong is Decent, know your prices for bargaining.

Sawanket, Laos is the way to go, Easy No Hassles...

thank you both. much appriciated (as always)

Amazon Hands Down, Cheap ,Addictive,every time I see one I stop on long trips , The Green Tea Iced is Excellent ,also 50baht. 140baht at Starbucks Bangkok. Wth price diff.

If anyone cares it's $40.00 an Entry at Los Angeles Consulate, I believe only max of 2, I could be wrong, Warning

With regard to renting a bike. Not after one in Laos. I want to ride around Isaan for a few weeks after I make my visa. And so I am looking for a trustworthy place to rent a bike in Udon Thani or Nong Khai. In the past I rented in Udon, but that business appears to have now closed. I am looking forward to some nice fresh bread with butter in Vientiane....ahhhhhhh....fresh butter.

Nong Khai City Hotel has motorbikes for 150 baht a day, hotel is great 500 baht and a Good Soi for bars, go to Maes across from Hotel, English spoken good food, also great Food at Jing Joes, John runs it Great guy, also DD restaurant is Fantastic, a lil Chinese style but they have some Hot Woks.

The children may as well put a banana leaf on their heads, because the helmets here in Thailand are of such a poor standard of manufacture , they are useless in an accident.

Also no amount of helmet wearing will save a child from the irresponsible people in " control " of the motorbikes. This is where money is better spent IMO, in the education of these people.

The ' Do no harm' oath doctors take when they become one, probably has different meaning in Thailand,

it's like do no harm unless it's a Burmese or a person no one is going to miss anyway....

Same as The Doctors in ISIS, What Oath...

Good idea... Its very hard to buy helmets for kids that fit.

Sent from my c64

Best News , I've heard in a Long Time in this Country, seeing parents wearing helmets and the children don't have one , Aggravating...

Don't forget. The United States executes people and later finds out they were innocent.

Which is better than the countries that execute people they knew at the time were innocent.

The topic was about Indonesia and Thailand so what was the point of your post exactly? A bit of anti-American whining perhaps?

The ' Do no harm' oath doctors take when they become one, probably has different meaning in Thailand,

it's like do no harm unless it's a Burmese or a person no one is going to miss anyway....

A trained chemist. Well it was obviously lack of prospects or job opportunities that radicalized this 'German'. Time to shower more money and resources at the fifth columnists within in the futile hope they will behave.

The Germans had big problems with the Turks when I was there in the 80's.

it is because the mass media is racist that there is an uproar over executions by indonesia. you all know which countries execute many more with no international fuss.

True, no uproar but at least regular reports and protests.

And executions of foreigners are rare (in China, Saudi Arabia, North Korea).

And there is an uproar in such case.

Of course there is no uproar if Kim Jong Un lets family members be executed.

Of course there is no uproar if China lets some corrupt party officials be executed.

Driving around Nong Khai is a Nightmare with the Lao's, absolute Rude, especially parking at Tesco, then you go near the border crossing and their dumping their trash out the car and truck windows before they cross, A Disgrace...

Too many Concessions... Not Enough Trust. I guess we ll see when the War in the Middle East is over.

A Failed Judicial System, Who Let This Animal Out...

Is there ANY chance you might have a Google-searchable address? I want to pick up an IDP, too.

If this is for me I bought one couple of years ago from those shops that do photo copies/stationary for the licencing department,close by the school its across the slip road

^^^ An International Driver's PERMIT (not license) is only valid for 1 (one) year in pretty much every jurisdiction in the world.

Yes, 1 year and cost about $20 UD.

That was that. It's 5 a.m. Wednesday morning now and I'm expecting the sun to rise soon; so the world in fact didn't end...contrary to what one could have expected from some of the comments here.

Let's get our priorities sorted, shall we - Pacman vs Mayweather from around 10am Thai Channel 7 : that's something worthy of the hype. This has been dragged out for far too long by a series of inept bureaucrats who couldnt run a chook raffle.

I'd rather see Pacman vs Widodo.

I believe it was the guilty defendants, with their continued judicial appeals and executive pardon requests, that caused the delay in the execution [pun intended] of their sentence.

. Nothing to do all day but TROLL the Internet with your ludicrous statements trying to goad people into a reaction, Go Away Troll...and take your alter ego Bannork with ya.

So anyone who has opinions contrary to your own should be criticized or censored for expressing them? Those are some nice values you espouse...hardy Australian ones too I imagine, and I'm sure the Bali Nine would thank you, if they could, for using them in their defense.

If one is against the death penalty on principle for any crime fine. (I lean toward this position.)
If one is against the death penalty for drugs offenses fine.
If one is against inept or corrupt judiciaries in any country work for reform.

However, if the death penalty is on the books for drugs offenses, and those found guilty of this crime do not suffer this judgment, the the law and civil society itself is made a mockery.

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Price of such international drivers license? Valid for how long?

After all that running around the price was immaterial. I forgot just how much so it was not much. As to validity, there is none for the International license at all. It is only valid when accompanied by a valid original country license, in my case Thailand and the International license is null and void after one year. However, the 'other' country has their own rules and the one I am in now will only recognize the IL for 6 months after which you must obtain a local license.

Of course some countries issue an International License for longer periods but that has no value at all ones they leave the home country.

Know the laws of the country you'r in or pay the price.

As a side note International licenses are a money making opportunity for some and have very little value in other countries. So why did I go thru all the pain to get one. It may just help a little bit and sometimes a little is a lot.

They Fund Them , They Should Know Where They Are...

A happy day today.