Caldera

Hopefully you are right! That would be an insane hassle for Lao people from far-away provinces: Come to Vientiane to pay, hang around for up to 15 days until the eVisa is granted (or go back home to wait), then travel to Thailand.

If it materializes as per the announcement, it will be a lot slower. Walk-in currently means a 2-night wait until you can pick up the visa. Let's see what it will actually be like once rolled out.

The reason is simply that ALL Thai embassies and consulates are moving to the eVisa system, a process that has been in progress since quite a few years already. After other nearby Thai embassies (Hanoi, Phnom Penh) and consulates (Ho Chi Minh City) switched over to eVisa, the writing for the ones in Laos was on the wall. You don't pay cash, you pay online when you apply. You are supposed to be located in the country where your application is being processed throughout the duration of the application process. The multi-entry Non-O visa has been on its way out and isn't available via the eVisa system anywhere. So yes, they're clearly trying to push people who live in Thailand long-term towards getting 1-year extensions from immigration within Thailand.

Thanks a lot for your very interesting updates from Myanmar, Simon! I hope you'll keep them coming. What you've been doing there for education for many years (just looking at your poster and app) has been amazing work. I hope you'll have the energy, good health and motivation to keep it up for many more years, and I wish you all the best.

That silly "joke" will cost him dearly.

Yes, if you transfer planes at Don Mueang coming from Siem Reap, you will need to clear immigration at Don Mueang Airport. Not recommended if you've spent a lot of time in Thailand visa exempt or on tourist visas.

It's a very common dish, nothing special, definitely worth trying for someone who spends time in Thailand.

That won't be nearly enough to solve the planet's over population crisis.

Yes. It's definitely one of the friendliest border crossings. Too out of the way to be overrun with border bouncers, which makes it pleasantly relaxed.

Spoken like the habitual pyromaniac he is... he just cannot help himself and has to start a new fire as soon as the previous one has been extinguished.

Yes, that's a relaxed and friendly border crossing. From Siem Reap, it's easy to get there by taxi (shared taxi if you want to save money, private taxi otherwise). Once you've crossed into Thailand, you can again take a taxi - or a van - to Surin.

Ban Laem and Ban Pakkard.

The busiest Friendship Bridge is the one linking Nong Khai to Vientiane, and many people have been doing border bounces there without any issues. That's probably the easiest and most convenient one for a DIY border bounce, as there are so many transport options (trains, busses, flights to Udon Thani).

Long overdue. Hopefully those war criminals will be locked up eventually.

One thing's for sure: You cannot have enough popcorn to watch how this will play out.

No. If they ask to see money, it has to be on your person, it can't be in the bank.

Well played, Sir! Can't say I'm surprised.

90-day reports are required for DTV holders who stay in Thailand for more than 90 days. Nothing special about this, indeed.

Well it's Christmas soon, that makes a nice addition to your wishlist for Santa... ;)

Interesting thread. As has been pointed out here many times since overland visa exempt entries became "unlimited", you either pay a border bounce service or you take your chances with whatever policies the checkpoint you've chosen has come up with.

She looks better than most. Next.

Oh boy.

That's because Elon IS co-president, and now even the muppets in Trump's team realize what that means. Let that sink in.

I've noticed that agents that offer the "safe entry" service at airports have added CNX to their list. Now, would anyone pay for this if they continued to fail to hassle people? Therein might lie the answer...

No, they've got that right, the amounts for visa exempt are the same as for visa on arrival. The amounts you mentioned are for tourist visa entries. Now obviously visa exempt gives the same permission of stay as a tourist visa (60 days) since the latest change, but that ministerial order with the financial requirements is very old and hasn't been updated. Source: https://rtehanoi.thaiembassy.org/th/publicservice/46327-announcement-on-the-amount-of-money-that-the-foreigners-must-possess-while-entering-into-the-kingdom-of-thailand