Highlandman

Well he can fly through Ho Chi Minh. Or take a bus to Savannakhet, Laos and proceed from there to Mukdahan. Easy peasy. Perhaps the second option would be even easier than the first. I believe there's a Danang-Siem Reap turboprop flight as well but might be easier to take the bus to Laos as the schedule for the direct flight may be erratic. Roads are relatively OK as well along that route and doesn't take very long.

My post above may have startled at least one person, who has clearly never traveled by land within this region. Another option for the OP to save some time is fly Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap on Vietnam Airlines. Then proceed by land from there to Pattaya avoiding Poipet/ Aranyaprathet. Simple as can be.

It's not horrible at all, unless you're 80 and/or have mobility problems and can't stand sitting on a bus for longer than an hour. The OP being a little over 50 will have no problems at all with this journey. You can also break up the trip. Almost everyone traveling between Saigon and Thailand by land spends at least a night in Phnom Penh before continuing their journey. It's not realistic to do it in one day but I easily managed Ho Chi Minh to Koh Kong on the Thai border the same day by car (Vietnamese friend brought me to the Cambodian border then I drove my car, which I parked at the Vietnamese border the rest of the way). This was in the days before the Sihanoukville expressway opened. Now it's way faster. Obviously Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok or Pattaya in one day isn't realistic though almost possible if you're a masochist and take private taxis the whole way and leave Saigon around 4 or 5am. Totally unnecessary though. As the OP is a tourist or is something else but isn't working in Thailand he has no excuse for needing to rush back into Thailand. He can spend 1 night in Phnom Penh, another night in Siem Reap then travel via Chong Chom or Pong Nam Ron into Thailand (the latter makes more sense for Pattaya). Siem Reap to Pattaya in one day via Pong Nam Ron (Ban Pakkard) isn't a particularly stressful or lengthy trip either. Catch a cab from Siem Reap to the border. Cross on foot (the two borders are right next to one another) then catch a cab or bus to either Chanthaburi or direct to Pattaya. Siem Reap to Pattaya can be accomplished in roughly 7 hours this way. For what this guy needs to do, it's worth it.

Yes, they will be scrutinized too. I'm not sure on this, but can imagine that it's one 90 day visa waiver entry for them and then they have to leave and re-enter by air at a later date, after some time away to get another 90 days. They're unlikely to be granted consecutive 90 day entries. Same as Koreans for example.

I don't think it's Thais in general that think this way. Many Thais believe all sorts of unrealistic things about westerners such as that we get paid by the government just like that or that our trees produce money. It's Thai immigration that has an antiquated way of thinking. Thai people think way differently.

You might be able to get in by land. Get yourself to Laos, enter through any international border shared with Thailand (there are 10, though those not coming by car will only be using one of about 5 of them due to the public transportation links they have). Basically use any of the 4 bridges or the Chong Mek crossing. An alternative is via Cambodia except Aranyaprathet, which is as bad as the airports.

Why would anyone leave their cash and credit cards at home when they travel abroad? I ALWAYS bring my wallet containing ALL my cards and whatever cash I need on my trips. Only cash that remains at home is small amounts of foreign currency that isn't relevant to my particular trip (for example, if I'm going to Cambodia I'm not going to bring the $20 worth of Myanmar Kyat or 50 Euros I have stored at home with me). Even if I don't intend to use my credit/debits cards I bring them because you know what? S*** happens. If I run out of money, I'll need to charge my way and/or withdraw money from an ATM.

It doesn't. The autogates are new for foreigners though. Previously, only Thais, permanent residents who've registered to use them and Singapore/HK nationals could use them. However, prior to December, I don't think many Sin/HK nationals knew this.

I understand he behaved himself on the flight. He only became enraged afterwards and proceeded to post his complaint (he needed to vent) after the flight.

I understand he still spent 2 days in jail. If he hadn't been jailed at all, he would have spent 0 days in jail. That's the whole point.

In your case, I'd head by taxi to the morning market bus station and get on a direct Vientiane - Udon Thani bus. They depart around 8 times daily so provided your flight arrives during the day it probably won't be a long wait. This bus will take you seamlessly all the way to Udon Thani bus station. A separate bus service also goes just to Nong Khai, with roughly 8-10 departures daily. Walking across the bridge is prohibited. It's not necessary anyway when the same bus will take you across the border. It will wait for you. Thailand bound buses will take all foreign passengers regardless of their visa situation. Some of the short haul Lao bound buses only take travelers from visa free countries, those holding an e-visa or standard visa sticker as they don't want to hang around waiting for travelers applying for visas on arrival.

Yes both sides of that border can be quite corrupt.

Wow. I simply tried to offer my insights and you get all bent out of shape. The purpose of my original reply was to inform you that border pass holders always end up paying extra, compared to passport holders. It's not worth using a border pass at an international crossing where a passport would grant free entry and the ability to roam around the country. You can if you want, but it's not worth it. Plus you don't have to waste time going to a dedicated border pass office and wait for them to issue it. Border passes should or must be used at local border crossings that only permit restricted travel in the local area entered or borders such as those with Myanmar, where passports are currently not recognized such as Mae Sot and Mae Sai due to restrictions on travel on the Burmese side.

Yes. He is a Thai national. The complaint was also made in the Thai language . Where did you get the idea he was an Australian? The only Australian part of this story is it involved a passenger on a THAI flight to Australia and his post was made in Australia.

He's Thai.

There will be, effective March 31.

True. In Cambodia, Baht is generally accepted within a radius of around 30-50km from the border. Beyond that it's generally Riel or USD only. Occasionally I see signs purporting to accept Baht at some supermarkets in Phnom Penh, but it's probably an exception rather than the rule. It's unlikely any merchant in Phnom Penh is still willing to accept Baht, though I did manage to pay a traffic fine (bribe demanded by the police) in Baht while in Phnom Penh last October. The officer was particularly interested in my Baht note as the USD and Riel I had in my wallet was insufficient to meet his demands.

It's not presumptuous. Border pass holders always have to pay something for exit. First for issuing the border pass, then upon entry on the Lao/Burmese side. Returning to Thailand, there is generally no charge. Passport holders generally pay nothing on either side.

Aha I see. Then you would be right, as Cambodian officials at that border are particularly corrupt. I've heard and read many stories.

Very strange...in the past, most foreigners always paid in USD, so they could save a few hundred Baht compared to paying in Baht. Now I hear many travelers are just paying in Baht and in doing so, they're overpaying by 350-400 Baht. That's no small chunk of change for backpackers in particular.

Did she travel on a passport or border pass? Border pass holders almost always pay more. It's really well worth getting a passport instead...saves a lot of time and frustration compared to applying for a border pass, which can't be done outside government hours. Different procedures at different borders though - at the Mae Sai and Mae Sot borders, border passes for Thais cost only 30 Baht and are straightforward and quick to get, moreover at the moment they're not recognizing passports there due to the borders being officially closed to foreigners and Burmese visas not being recognized, though Thais are allowed to enter Myanmar for short stays in the border areas. They can't proceed to areas further inside the country though (except Kengtung in the case of entry via Mae Sai).

I would think so. Bus or minivan. Ranong is 300km north of Phuket. You can use the normal immigration counter to travel to Kawthoung or go via the separate Andaman Club island one. I've never used the Andaman Club pier. I'm only familiar with the normal immigration one that takes you to Kawthoung, however, I understand that the Andaman Club is located a few Km to the south and not hard to find.

Can that form be done on arrival as you're entering Malaysia?

The Thai side doesn't charge anything except if you're driving a car across, sometimes you're charged a small fee for the paperwork. Ban Pakkard for example has a strange procedure where you need to get a form from a military post located 30km before the border (the form is free), then you need photos of your car plus the usual immigration and customs forms in duplicate and will be charged 50 Baht to have them stamped. There is no charge for passengers. I have no idea of the purpose of the military form, but it could be to prevent vehicle smuggling. Yet it's not employed at checkpoints outside of Chanthaburi province, nor are Cambodians required to get one to bring their cars into Thailand via that crossing. I had, until I made that trip through Ban Pakkard, only ever re-entered Thailand that way by car once in 2019. Otherwise, I was using Chong Chom or Koh Kong for entry into Cambodia by car and Poipet-Aranyaprathet or Chong Sa-ngam or Hat Lek/Koh Kong for exit back into Thailand.

Back in 2008 I was on a non-B multiple entry visa with work permit and had never been across the Cambodian border by land. Prior to that time, I had however been across to Laos, Malaysia and even Myanmar by land, with the Myanmar crossings being day trips, but I had no idea how the procedure worked at the Cambodian border. A Cambodian tout approached me at the Aranyaprathet border near Thai immigration. He quoted me a whopping 1600 Baht to do everything, getting stamped out of Thailand, getting my Cambodian visa and then getting everything stamped back in on both sides of the border while I waited with a Thai friend who was equally clueless. We accepted this price for the convenience and not knowing any better. It all seemed to be legit, but by doing it myself I would have saved at least 50% and it would have been much faster. We must have waited there for at least an hour while he was away with my passport. I couldn't believe how long it took. These days you can't do that. At minimum, you have to present in person to Thai immigration at least. Since that time I have had extensive experience traveling by land across to Cambodia and from there to Vietnam. I have, on subsequent trips in 2012-2014 paid touts on the Cambodian side to skip the queue and stamp my passport for entry or exit for 150-200 Baht (only on the Poipet side; on the Aranyaprathet side you do it yourself regardless of how long the wait is) if the queue is long but the only land border where there is even a queue is Poipet. These days, I generally don't even use Poipet anymore. I feel this was OK as the touts were always in my view, though I probably wouldn't do it anymore and it might not be permitted anyway, as Cambodian immigration has been requiring fingerprints now for longer than even Thai immigration. Cambodian immigration began fingerprinting around 2014, while Thai immigration only followed suit in 2017. I would never do what I did back in 2008 again, as it's a huge risk, not merely because the stamps could end up being fake, but also the risk of passport theft.