NightStar

Well, that depends. I do not totally think I am entering illegally here. Mind you, my passport has Laos visa entry for the date I entered Laos. When someone entered a country without a visa of entry, that would be considered entering illegally. Not my case. The fact that I did not have my passport stamped was an honest mistake on my side, but that should not be determined as illegal as you state. I in fact crossed into Laos legally and I have my passport with the visa of entry to prove it. On the other hand, it is funny there is no mentioning of the responsibility of the immigration office to make sure no one entered Laos without going through them first. If this kind of monitoring is happening at other borders in the U.S. Illegal immigrants would have flooded the United States in no time. I brought this up because my view of the Laos people are so positive as I think my experience with Laos during my short stay was rather good, and to me Laos people are one of the most great people I have ever met if not the kindest and to see such a contrast at the immigration office is rather unfortunate.

Thanyaburi Mac, no, I got no receipt. After accusing me of crossing into Lao illegally despite my effort of telling them I did not know I had to go to the building that was 100 meters away to get my passport stamped (I had no clue where I was and at that time; only thing I was concerned was to find the bus being afraid losing my luggage and not knowing what to do in a strange place!) Being afraid made you stupid, dumm or whatever and you can make tons of mistake, so yes I was stupid, I did not know shit what to do, and I admit to it. Thinking back at that moment when I was taken to the back office where two agents questioned me and accused me of entering into Lao illegally even though my passport has a visa of entry into Lao, that I failed to ask question if I did not know what to do. But ask what and ask who, when no one spoke english, everything was written in either Lao or Thai, and honestly I thought at that time I was being questioned by Thai authorities when one of the guys shouted that "this is Lao, not Thai." When one of the guys announce to fine me 100 U.S. dollars, without thinking further I accepted right away. One of them wrote on a piece of paper whatever with my name and my brother's and finally he asked us to sign at the bottom and had our thumb printed in red ink. Then he ask me to give the money and asked us to go back to the front office when they returned the stamped passports to us without anything else. I was wondering why 100 dollars, not 20, or 50 and why US dollars not Lao's kip or Thai's bat?! I also wonder whether the amount was determined by the individual agent and whether the fine will end in his personal pocket. The purpose of the threat is to find out if missing the stamp at the Lao immigration office is truly and illegal act of entering into Lao even if you have a visa of entry or is it just an honest mistake and should not be fined as such or worse than that as someone mentioned to be jailed. I would write a letter to the Embassy of Lao if I found out that the fine of 100 dollars turned out to be a personal decision of the immigration officer.

Thank you Too! You fully understood my situation. I really had no clue when I crossed over to the Lao side what to do next cause all I knew at that time was to find the bus. I went to the duty free shop and asked for help and no one understood me: no one spoke english. When I finally located the bus, I ran up to it for I was afraid I would miss it. It never came across to my mind I had to go to the immigration on the Lao side to get my passport stamped. But as you mentioned, the immigration building was 100 meters away, how do you expect anyone being there the first time to know! Anyway, I am glad you really identified my frustration as to why I missed having the passport stamped. I have learned my lesson, and it won't happen again. Thanks much for understanding.

When at the Thai Lao border, I did go through immigration check point which I thought at the time it was Lao immigration, but now thinking about it, it was Thai immigration. After the immigration agent signaled I could go through the other side, I thought that was it. Did not know I had to go to the next station to have my passport stamped! There was no direction to guide you where to go next, and no one spoke english and no post or sign in english to tell me what the hell I was supposed to do, plus all I was thinking was the bus might not wait for me, and on top of that I was at a lost not knowing where to find the bus. I was like hell... for first timer to ride on the bus.... anyway, like I said, lesson learned. Thanks all.

Thanks all! Lesson learned. I am so scared I'll probably never take a bus to Lao again.

Thanks for the quick answer. My question to you is where am I wrong? On my passport I had Laos visa entry for one month. It was very confusing to me as I went from Thai border to Lao border. There was no direction/instruction anywhere to show me what to do. No one speaks english and everthing is written in either Lao or Thai. To the contrary, at the airport, you are clearly directed to go through the right channel and had the paper work properly done, if not, there is no way to go to the border. Should I say the immigration at the Lao border did not do a good job at monitoring who came through their border?

As careful as I was for being in Lao for the first time, I applied for and got a Lao entry visa in Bangkok before buying a VIP bus ticket to Pakse. As the bus got to the border, I was directed to get out of the bus and go through immigration procedure. Being the first time bus rider here, I had no clue what to do other than following other bus riders through a station written in Lao/Thai language where I was signaled to go through what looked like a tunnel to the other side (Lao). When I got to the other side, I could not find the bus so I was afraid being left there and went ahead and ask people around. I finally located the bus, so I thought I survived the trip. I had no idea I would have to go to the Laos station and got stamped on my passport. Long story short, when I returned to Thailand and as I crossed the border, I was asked to present the passport to the immigration station and paid 50 bat. To my surprise, the agents said I was crossing into Lao illegally, and two Lao immigration agents escorted me to the back of the building and started accusing me of illegally entry into Lao. Despite my effort of telling them that my visa show permission to enter Lao for 1 month and that I did not know I had to have my passport stamped (my bad, I did not know I had to do this, so I learn this lesson the hard way), but the agent insisted that I still crossed the border illegally. They decided to fine me and my brother each 100 us dollars and asked us to signed some paperwork plus had finger printed on it. For our part I was concerned the bus would not wait for us so I had to accept and paid for the fine in hard dollar bills. They took the money and asked us to go to the front and gave back the passports as if nothing happened. My question is: were they (the immigration agents) wrong? What would be my right(s) to defend this case? Thanks for reading.

I like to take the International bus. I am aware you have to have a visa to Laos in advance to ride this bus. My question is: Can I buy a bus ticket first before I apply for a Laos visa or should I be required to have a Laos visa first hand in order to buy a VIP bus ticket? In other words, will the ticket clerk ask for proof of Laos visa before selling me the ticket? Thanks.

Thanks. I'll do a research on how to get a visa in Bangkok, as I read somewhere it is somewhat time consuming and it might cost 1600 bat? plus extra to get it in a hurry.

Great advise! I plan to have a carry on and a small backpack. Just to be sure, after I arrive to Ubon, I can get a VOA within the airport or what should I do next?

Thanks again for the help. I'll try to book the round trip plane ticket from their site (Air Asia). I heard it's more complicated to get the visa to Laos while in Bangkok than to get VOA in Laos. Is that true? By taking Air Asia to Ubon are you required to have a visa in order to board the flight?

Thank you Jay Sata. It's an attractive alternative to bus. How easy to make an arrangement to go with the route you suggested? What airport to depart from? Any reservation in advance is needed or I just go there and buy a ticket. Then how do I get the bus from Ubon to Pakse? Thanks very much.

Thank you Tomtomtom69 for the great information! Sorry I was not clear as I gathered information here and there and I am not sure how VOA get processed for many people, but your answer is exactly what I need. I don't know much about ground transportation between countries in Thailand and I have never been in Laos before, so I am concerned about how to get to Pakse and back to Bangkok. I saw posts mentioning some buses require you to already have visa to Laos before you can board and also there is a possibility that bus that allows you to get VOA but might not wait for you making me worried. Information from the forum shows that there is a bus that depart from Mo Chit every day at 9:00 p.m. to Pakse that takes 13 hours to reach the destination. Do you know which bus that is, whether tickets can be purchased in advance; do you get to transfer to another bus or is it the only bus that takes you all the way to Pakse station. Where does the bus stop to get VOA; does it stop somewhere so you can buy food and how luggage is handled. Again, sorry for the silly questions from a newb.

I plan to visit (round trip by air (US)) Bangkok soon for three weeks. During this time, I will go to Pakse (Laos) for one week and return to Bangkok then fly back to US. Since I do not need a visa to enter to Thailand but will need visa to Laos, what is the best way possible to enter Laos and return to Bangkok if I plan to take a bus (VIP?) from Mochit train station to Pakse? Will it be possible to get visa on the fly in Laos and will the bus wait for me? When I return to Bangkok, do I need a visa to reenter?