wornoutcowboy

Greetings:

I will be in Ubon starting Tuesday and am looking for a place to swim laps. Is there any pools available for the serious swimmer. I am willing to try the hotel pools as well but I don't want to spend a bundle for a day rate.

Thanks.

Well, slap me stupid!

I live in Vientiane and just sat down at the Internet cafe and once again made a series of airline reservations. An event I seem to be doing a lot of being I did get caught up in the BKK airport closure.

After making all the reservations I decided to check ThaiVisa in regards to information regarding getting a refund from Thai International and then I saw the new 15 day rule in regards to the VOA.

Now, I am fine with that really. I do believe the Thais have their own country and they can do what they want with it. My issue is there was no warning at all. I crossed the Friendship bridge by international bus and arrived in Udorn Thani the day after the airport closed. I had no idea it was closed. I guess I really need to pay more attention to things but then again I was hardly expecting a bunch of old ladies oddly wearing these funny yellow shirts and waving these strange yellow plastic hands to sit down on the floor of what is suppose to be a main hub of international travel and all appear to be having a picnic. A picnic which disrupted so many things for so many people. I had to cancel my travel plans and headed back to Laos. Oh and there was no mention of the airport closing at the bridge either and I guess it wouldn't be realistic of me to expect to be told by my tuk tuk driver who drove me from the Udorn bus station to the airport to tell me. He did happen to mention it upon arrival at the Udorn airport and therefore was able to get a round trip fare out of me.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. When I crossed the bridge the day after the big picnic started at the BKK airport there were no signs up warning of the new rule. This was about 10 days ago. The old sign was up saying tourist were allowed 90 days in a 180 day period. Also I was at the Thai embassy here in Vientiane attempting to help an elderly couple from Australia stranded due to the airport closure and I didn't see any notices there either. I just checked the TAT site also and there is no news there.

Now why is it I have to depend on a website ran by expats in Thailand to get any information about Thailand?

So, as it stands I have a flight tomorrow to Pakse in Southern Laos and then had planned to cross over to Ubon to catch the Air Asia flight to Bangkok after a few days I have another ticket from BKK to Krabi and on to KL later. I had planned to have the dream 3 week beach holiday and I was counting on a 30 day VOA being there has been no notice anywhere it seems and the Thai immigration seemed to pull the new rule out of a hat or something. Really, I wouldn't have minded at all of going to the embassy here in VTE and getting a visa if I had known I would need one for what will be a 28 stay in Thailand.

Well, at least I bought travel insurance this time on the Air Asia flights. Something I didn't do when I had set this trip up before and I may be out of pocket on all the flights. The jury is still out on that.

So, I have a flight tomorrow and I have no time to get a Thai tourist visa and there isn't a consulate in Pakse. I am not sure if this will be grounds to get a refund on Air Asia tickets.

It seems there are a huge amount of real tourist and I include myself in that group being I don't live in Thailand who are getting screwed left and right recently. Due to the recent situation and with so many real tourist whose plans got aborted couldn't the Thai immigration have given us all a little warning about this new rule? Am I being unreasonable or something?

Anyway, I will fire off a complaint letter to TAT and see if that goes anywhere and perhaps you other real tourist on the board could do the same. The TAT site now is all about balloons and birthdays and they don't seem to be doing a great job at keeping us tourist informed. So, all you real tourist out there do me a favor and fire off a letter of complaint to the TAT at www.tourismthailand.org and maybe we can get at least a 30 day grace period before the rule is enforced.

Okay, so slap me stupid for not checking on the ThaiVisa site before booking all of these flights.

And thanks Thaivisa for being the only real source of information out there. Really, all I want is to go to the beach for a while. Is Thailand open to tourism or not?

Oh, they seem to travel. One came into my hotel today in Pattaya while I was eating breakfast. I have never seen a Thai monk actually move from table to table before with a bowl out. He was dressed in the regular orange robe but it was tied in a different way than the usual monks in Thailand. Very pushy as well. I was very tempted to pour my coffee over him. He didn't speak Thai, Lao or English so no idea where he is from.

Now before anyone yells I did do my research on this but came up with two different schedules for Bell Travel to the airport.

Does anyone know the departure times from Pattaya to the airport and also does Bell have pick up service in Pattaya. A working phone number as well as an email address would help too. Thanks in advance.

This may have been better posted in the Thailand travel section but I was hoping the expats in Esarn might have better and more recent information. Has anyone used public transportation from Sien Reap to Surin recently? Is there any guest houses organizing shared taxis or vans from Siem Reap to Surin? Also, are the Thais requiring an onward ticket out at the Osmach crossing? Thanks.

I did do a search on this one but have found no recent information.

Here is the thing. I am presently in Phnom Penh and hope to overland to Battambang to see a friend. From there I was hoping to cross over to Thailand at the Poipet-Aranya border and from there bus it to Nong Khai and cross over into Laos. With those travel plans there seems to be no way I can even consider buying an airline ticket being I would either need to backtrack to Phnom Penh to fly or head down to Bangkok to fly to Vientiane. I was hoping not to do either.

Does anyone have any tips for me in regards to supplying an onward airline ticket at the border? What are other people doing? Are slightly bogus bus tickets availabe in Poipet which show a return to Cambodia from Thailand?

Now I have no plans to scam the Thai immigration but seem to be in a odd situation of really having no airline flights to schedule. Geography is playing an intersting role in my case. Thanks in advance for any information you may have.

Thanks for the help. Looks like it will mean an over night stay in Ubon for me. I am on the Air Asia flight. But that is okay. Thanks again.

Thanks for the information. The wrong way appears to be the right way.

Does any one know what the bus schedule is from Ubon to Pakse? Also, must you have a Lao visa in your passport in order to board it? USA passport holder here.

I will be bouncing back and forth between Ubon and Pakse over the next few months. I read like a crazy man. Anyone know of a used book shop in Ubon or Pakse or better still a cafe, bar, club...which offers up an one for one book trade shelf. Thanks.

It is all easy as pie. When you get to Udorn go into the arrival hall and buy a shuttle ticket to the friendship bridge for 150 Baht. It will take you about an hour to get to the bridge. From there exit Thailand and then take a 15 baht bus over the bridge. Next it is Lao immigration. The Lao vis costs different prices for different nationalities. USA passport holders pay 35 dollars. Add an extra dollar if you are coming on the weekend. You will need another 10 Baht to pay the Lao for reason unkonwn to me. From there turn around and do the process all over again. the bridge is open until 10PM I believe. Don't quote me on that one but I believe it is. i do know for sure it is open until 8PM.

Hope this helps.

Before they always went through my passport page by page. This time Thai immigration didn't seem to be interested in anything but giving me a 30 day stamp.

I just crossed over today from VTE into Nong Khai at the Friendship bridge. An event I do monthly to keep the Lao visa current.

Very odd being this time the Thai immigration didn't pore over each and every entry in my passport to Thailand but instead looked for the page with the Lao exit stamp and stamped me in for another 30 days.

In the past they counted the days but today it apeared no one cared how long I have been in Thailand.

Well, even if you are in the country for an hour you still get to pay the visa fee at the bridge. Depending on where you are from this will be about 30 US$.

Maybe cheaper to backtrack to BKK and do the Air Asia flight.

Lao Air isn't really cheap and also famous for canceling the Cambodian flights.

Sorry to sound negative.

I too did my fourth entry into thailand a few days back and it was a bit of madness at the Thai side of the border. I had 3 days of being in Thailand but with three entry stamps. The immigration man did tear apart my passport and counted every single entry. Being my passport is one major mess with all the now pages added this wasn't easy. The immigration man clearly couldn't do math bveing he came up with a totalof 80 days. I had to give him a math lesson. Another immigration officer is on hand to help with the counting. I ended up holding up the line for a long, long time.

The Thai immigration is clearly being overwhelmed with all of this counting business but so it goes.

Oh, and in regards to all o fthe Arficans and Sri Lankans in VTE Idon't think the new rules in place have anything to do with their presence here. The Thais have been refusing visas to all of the Africans for years now. They have not had the VOA option fora long time. Most I meet are actually doing border runs from China where they are doing the rag trade. The Sri Lankans all appear to be Tamils and are here waiting out the war. Laos is one of the few countries that will admit them. Thailand turned their back on them years ago.

Well, in the summing up I too believe Iwould have been refused entry into thailand if Ihad been there for 90 days. If you are at that point I would hit the embassy in VTE andtry to get a visa before trying the return trip.

The 90 day mark has come and gone since the new rules were implemented on October 1. Yet here on ThaiVisa, we are yet to hear a single report from a visa runner. We haven't even heard a story or rumor of a visa runner. What's going on?

Has everyone already gotten legitimate visas? Have the border runners all gone home? Or do border runners just not use thaivisa.com?

So my question... Has anyone done a border run since January 1? Has anyone heard of another visa runner being given only a 7 day stamp? Has anything changed at all?

The fact that we haven't heard any stories of rejection from the border, I think, may be a good sign. If the rules had actually been implemented, wouldn't thaivisa be flooded with tales of rejection? On the other hand, if it was business as usual, there wouldn't really be much to report.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? As a long time visa runner, the wait is killing me...

One litttle tip that may save you the cash in regards to flying back to your home country. I live in laos and have met several Thai hands who come here and then Fed Ex there passports back to their home countries in order to get the new visa. One used Houston, Texas and the other Sydney. One of them had the consulate in Texas Fed Ex the passport back and the other used his sister's address in Sydney. That is he Fed Exed the passport to her and she sent it via mail in Sydney and they returned it to her. Then she Fed Exed it back. The turn around time is over a week doing it this way but may save you a trip home. This only works if you are outside of Thailand.

20,000 Baht for 10 days! Well, I can see you are not a serious cheapskate. I mean I don't go through that in a month here. Maybe even two months depending if I have given up food several days out of each week.

Anyway, Baht flies everywhere in this country as well as the US dollar. Just remember when you pay in Baht you will be getting your change back in Kip for the most part. So, you have to keep up with the exchange rate.

A good plan would be to mostly bring baht and not the 1,000 note variety. That is sometimes hard to break in smaller places. This will save you tons of suitcase space being the biggest note you usually see here is a 20,000 Kip one with is equal to 2 bucks.

One last tip, unload the Kip before leaving Lao. No one wants it outside the country. Try not to collect too much of it either being at times it can be hard to exchange back to baht or dollars even at the bank.

Hmmmm? I am a little confused byall of the replies. I live in Vientiane and do the border hop over to Thailand every month.

Okay from one major cheapskate to another this is the cheapest way to do it. (Well, you could always walk to town for cheaper I guess).

First, of all this talk about getting a visa in advanced is beyond me. The reasons behind it that is. I have never waited over 15 minutes for my visa at the Lao immigration at the bridge. Anyway, they just started charging different prices for different nationalities so I don't know where you are from but for Westerners the price is anywhere from US$30 to US$42(for the poor Canadians) Bring US dollars for thecheapskate way. The Lao will nail you if you do it in Baht.

Next, in order to be a real cheapskate you must take the public bus. That is the little one on the Lao side of the border. Do this, walk through customs, keep walking, there is an official taxi booth but pass it. After that you will be approached by drivers wanting 200 baht usually. Tell them to piss off. To your left you will see a parking lot. Walk into the parking lot and head up to the main road. There are two small white buildings with a drive way in between. Wait there. The number 14 bus will come along shortly. It cost 4,000 Kip which is less than 20 baht and will take you to the morning market in VTE. Cheap enough?

Chances are also good that a tuk tuk or taxi will pull up there and offer you the cut rate price of 50 baht. A deal for two people really being he will take you straight to the hotel in VTE. Thebn again this doesn't always happen.

So, figure on spending this. 30 baht from the train station

to the bridge. Another 15 baht to do the bridge run. And less than 20 baht for the ride in.One last thing, you can only board the international buses to VTE in either Nong hai or Udon Than iif you already have a Lao visa in your passport. So, don't even bother with those. Hey, I love cheapskates.

Well, I am not so sure what the difference is between a "real" visa and an "unreal" visa but it appears the Lao have dropped the 15 day on arrival "unreal" visa and have replaced it with a 30 day on arrival "real" visa. Easy to understand? Hmm..I am not so sure but I do know for sure they are giving 30 days at both the bridge at the airport here in VTE. The immigration officer did show me a nice little sheet with all the different prices for various nationalities and each was different to a degree. the standard seems to be 30 bucks for most westerners and 35 for Americans and the poor Canadians get hit for 42 for some reason. This new little change has actually made life a little easier for me and others living here on tourists visa either "real" or "unreal".

Anyway, I know all about the extensions having done it here at the immigration office at the cost of 2 bucks a day. It is easy to get and also I know getting a business visa is pretty easy to get too but haven't bothered being I am in Laos as much as I am out of it so it doesn't seem worth messing with. The truth is most of us living here in VTE need to make a little trip to Thailand about once a month for banking, post office, dental work, size eleven shoes...the list goes on and on. Also it is rather easy to do. The visa trip that is.

So, to sum it up I rechecked my passport and it is 30 days in it and was last month as well. All new changes and ones I am hoping remains in place. Also checked with my Aussie neighbor and he got 30 days as well but for 30 US dollars. So, it seems to be the thing now.

I didn't sort through all of the replies on this topic so sorry if this is a repeat. Anyway, I live in VTE and do the reverse visa run to the Thai border at Nong Khai every month.

My last hop was last week and I was charged 35 dollars compared to the 30 I was charged the month before. It was explained to me that now the visa you buy on arrival isactually a "real" visa compared to the 15 day one they had before You now recieve 30 days on entry with it. They are charging different prices for different natinalities and the folks from Canada seem to be getting hit the hardest at US$42. Americans are paying $35 and some countries seem to get infor almost nothing. It all seemed a little odd to me but I did go to the Lao, PDR embassy website when I returned to VTE and sure enough the charges are listed by nationality. So I guess it isn't a scam but instead what one would be charged if you went to a Loa embassy. From the list it appears most western nationals are still paying 30 bucks with Canada and the USA being the exception.

For me still much of a better deal than before when I was paying 30 bucks for 15 days and then doing extensions here in VTE.

As far as transport into VTE there are lots of cheaper options. It all depends on how cheap you want to be but the cheapest and the one I have started using is just using the regular Lao public bus #14. It cost 4,000 Kip which is just under 20 baht. You can catch it from the bridge. Just walk out of Lao immigration, ignore all the taxi drivers and touts then go towards the left and walk past a little cafe. From there is a parking lot and just beyond is a main road into town. The local bus stops about ever 20 minutes and will take you into VTE to the Morning Market. I do this more than anything just because I got tired of the tuk tuk drivers. It may not be a great option for those arriving with lots of bags. The bus is small and usually pretty crowded. Anyway, just a tip. Also, remember the furthur you getfrom the immigration theprice of the taxis continue to drop. I have gotten cabs in for 50 baht before. Arriving later is better than arriving earlier.