K2K

A note of thanks to the OP PaulHamonfor the accurate and very useful information.

I can confirm the OP's information is still valid as of 7 April 2015.

I was asked by a friend planning a m/c trip to put together my border x-ing experiences by car - this might be better in the motoring sub-section but probably more use to those using the Savanakhet consulate.

CAR (temporary Export/Import) to Laos

Step 1 – Obtaining a Car ‘Passport’

This was easy enough – the owner of the vehicle needs to go to the Transportation Office where the the vehicle is registered (in my case Chiang Mai) and fill in a very simple form and pay 255 Baht – for this you after waiting 2 days you receive a purple ‘passport’ with the vechicles details in English and two (T) stickers. [After 60 days you get Romanised number plate stickers, so if you plan ahead then get the car ‘passport’ >2 months in advance, but I did not have time but no-one questioned me about this at anytime, so don’t think it’s very important].

Step 2 – Exiting Thailand (at Mukdahan)/Entering Laos (at Savanakhet)

Copies needed (worth getting prior to journey) –

4x Blue Vehicle Registration Book (all pages)

4x Vehicle owners ID

2x Owners Passport (photo page)

Exiting Mukdahan (Thailand)

At Thai checkpoint need to fill in 2x Information of Conveyance Form (TM. 2)

This has some odd questions as applies to aircraft and marine craft as well. Basically a car is a ‘van’ (Q1) the kind of conveyance (Q2) is the make of vehicle, they also want the VIN (engine # from the Registration) and the other questions are self-explanatory. The immigration official was helpful enough.

After filling these 2 forms in go through Immigration as normal for yourselves and the vehicle – NOTE – its VERY important you keep hold of the second stamped copy of the TM. 2 form as this is essential for re-entry into Thailand.

Next was Thai Customs – they stamped the Car ‘Passport’ and entered info into computer and the fee was 150 Baht (receipt given). Here was where the Car Registration/ID/Passport copies were needed. A white customs print out was given.

To cross the bridge the fee is 50 Baht (Thai side) and 20 Baht (Laos side). Receipts given.

Entering Suvanakhet (Laos)

First up was for me (UK national) to get Visa on Arrival – on waking the guy up and handing over completed VoA Form with 2 photos and fee (USD 35 for UK national) – very promptly and without any request for any ‘extra fee’ was given passport with page gobbling visa stiker (valid for a 30 day entry). My wife was given 30 days gratis on her Thai passport.

No more forms to fill in on Laos side – after Immigration proceeded to Laos customs and details were entered into computer and Car ‘Passport’ stamped. Fee here was 250 Baht (receipt given) and a yellow customs print out given.

Finding an insurance agent open/awake was a struggle but after 20 mins a lady appeared at the window of Lanexang Assurance Public Company – and for 200 Baht we bought 1 weeks 3^rd Party Insurance Cover. NOTE: I very strongly recommend you take out this basic cover at least – a friend had a serious accident there that resulted in the death of Lao national and it was very messy indeed to sort out as had no Lao insurance cover. Additionally the roads in Loas are some of the most dangerous I have ever driven on – for such a small sum do not cut corners!)

Summing up the entry/exit at Mukdahan/Savanakhet at Friendship Bridge II the total cost was 670 Baht (plus USD 35 for the Lao VoA) and took about 90 minutes in very quiet conditions. Had we known the routine, could have probably done the crossing in less than half that time.

NOTE: We did inform the officials on both sides that we intended to drive through Laos and exit at Huay Xai/Chang Kong – the response was ‘no problem – have everything in computer’.

Step 3 – Exiting Laos (at Huay Xai)/Entering Thailand (at Chang Kong)

Noting it was the eve of Songkran and heavy rain the boarder crossing was deserted, so I wonder if this is the official routine or not.

Exiting Huay Xai (Laos)

Went to Immigration with passports as normal and Form TM. 2 – Lao Immigration Officer asked for 200 Baht – stamped passports (no receipt).

Actually we made a mistake and went to Lao Customs first and official took back the yellow form and stamped the purple Car ‘Passport’ (gratis).

Entering Chang Kong (Thailand)

Cross the bridge (no fees) and a clever way to change sides of the road – then proceeded to Thai Immigration. Handed over passports and Form TM. 2 and copies of Car Registration and asked for 200 Baht (no receipt).

Proceeded to Thai Customs, handed over white customs form and purple car ‘passport’ stamped (gratis). Surprisingly no customs inspection – just a friendly ‘you can go’.

Summing up the exit/entry at Huay Xai/Chang Kong at Friendship Bridge IV cost 400 Baht and took 20 minutes – very easy!

A note of thanks to the OP PaulHamonfor the accurate and very useful information.

I can confirm the OP's information is still valid as of 7 April 2015.

The requirement to show the original marriage certificate should be emphasised - a gentlemen in the queue was turned down on the 1 year Multi-entry Non-O as he did not the original marriage certificate, he was however given a double entry tourist visa.

In >15 years of dealing with embassies, consulates and immigration offices, I commend Savanakhet for its simplicity and ease of use.

I recommend the Somchith (Somjid) Hotel about 1.5km NW along the road of the new Thai consulate - walking distance (10 mins) to the consulate and decent wifi (400/600 Baht/night). In town by the old hospital and Tourist Info office - Lisa's Cafe owned by a Swedish guy and his Lao girlfriend was very good and his local knowledge helpful.

I went there 2 weeks ago to try it out, and while being new its still a work in progress the food (tuna steak) was very good and ejoyable ambiance - soft music in outside setting and few cold beers - cool.

I took my family last week and my wife's friend who ate mainly Thai food and they really enjoyed their food as did my kids. I think the food side of Des Gourmet is good already - but naturally for any new restuarant there is room for the place to develop and in time I'd hope it's success as its a welcome addition of the food scene to the south of the City..

With CM Rock Climbing Adventures best to go talk with White or Pui who's english is excellent. American owned so safty and quality of instructors is very good ... I'm doing some tailored mountaineering courses of a K2 climb next year and would recomend them.

Like wise looking for a Sonim phone either in BKK or Chiang Mai.

V-Tech Fitness shop on the North West (inner moat) road.

I'd recommend Ausiris as they manufacture world standard bars:-

http://www.ausiris.co.th/th/

They now have a shop at Nim Plaza - 2nd floor in the complex by the Rimping near Aiport Central.

Waited over the weekend to run speed tests and indeed speeds do seem to be significantly better => hopefully this lasts long term!

The only time TOT 'inter' speed is ok is between 3am and 8am - continuing my on-going tests - I have now started doing tracert analysis and the problem is the connection between TOT's final Thai jump point and Singapore. I tested to US/European and Aussie sites and everytime there was a huge delay for this jump, so something must be wrong with cables/routing to Singapore - broken cable? unpaid bills to Malaysia telco?

Anyway daytime speeds while maybe single digit % improved - they are still abismal and the business disputes with TOT/TT&T/CAT/Jasmine dont make a speedy solution look likely.

There has been modest improvement in last 24 hours - hope for continued stability and to get back to 'normal' ASAP.

I am intrigued by mention of a red shirt rally as a factor can you enlighten me to what thats all about ?

Thottling any attempt by Mr T. to incite 'undisired activity' aided by excessive filtering (slowing down) by MICT - noting that during the ASEAN Summits 'inter' net speeds also plunged.

NB: If your getting normal Thai speeds on your system the engineer check is total waste of time.

(At 01:30 I got 550k/80k to London and can even post!!)

I had a meeting with the manager of TOT's office (near Airport Central) today - and my conclusion is that this problem will eventually be resolved.

He acknowledged there was a problem with the 'inter' bandwidth being unable to cope and work is on-going to increase capacity.

Other factors are the massive debt TOT owed to TT&T and the up comming red shirt marches this weekend.

He was pretty understanding and willing to discuss the problems - he had looked at my 3 months worth of performance records I had given the office last week. Resolution is more weeks than days away so suggest finding alternative ISP solutions in the meantime. I doubt much would be gained by mass complaint, but further evidence of failing service may help focus attention on this problem.

Suddenly it's working at a reasonable pace- is it just my wishful thinking?

Make sure you are testing to a center outside Thailand - who cares if speed to Bangkok is ok.

Most defintely NOT working ok 70kb/20kb to London @ 15:45.

Would be more than willing to join in group approach to see someone who actually has a clue whats going on!

Me too if someone wants to organise it, but it needs considerable support not just two or three.

A bunch of 'jai yen yen' farangs demanding their rights at TOT.....hmmm, sure to make the news.

See the very small upload speeds of < 50kb which make TT&T unstable (it has intermitant breaks in service), so ok as back up but not 'clean' enough for me. Maybe now Jasmine has taken ove rthey will improve but will wait and see on tha score.

Its probably best to go early week - as for TOT the weekend is probably already here! I suggest Monday or Tuesday AM - 10am - before som-tum break(s) etc etc.

With any luck they may even fix something over the weekend!!

Would be good if record speed test results so have as solid evidence as possible to submit.

Suddenly it's working at a reasonable pace- is it just my wishful thinking?

Make sure you are testing to a center outside Thailand - who cares if speed to Bangkok is ok.

Most defintely NOT working ok 70kb/20kb to London @ 15:45.

Would be more than willing to join in group approach to see someone who actually has a clue whats going on!

Now even the Thai speeds are collapsing ... adslthailand speed checker couldnt even complete testing and as for 'inter' - speedtest.net wouldnt even load.

Perhaps should organise a mass protest like the Thai farmers block the road - this is beyond a short term joke - someone (or the whole board) of TOT should be fired!

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun Drew,

Glad to hear you're having a good experience !

My experience with MaxNet (I'm in the Railway Station - Gymkhana club area) has been a roller-coaster ride from abysmal to good, repeated too many times over, and, to my great surpise, has been consistently excellent now for three months ! I'm getting regular download speeds now of 340-360k, and international internet response is quite snappy.

My sense is that a lot of your experience depends on what neighborhood you are in with TTT/MaxNet.

best, ~o:37;

orang37 may have a point there. I'm not sure really. I have noticed that many of the chronic complainers about TTT/Maxnet (myself included) reside in the Sansai/Mae Jo area and of course those who reside in the old city. The connection has been horrendous for about two weeks now, same as others have posted in this forum and in the Internet forum.

One thing I noticed that has been slowing down the connection even more is something new and I wonder how many other TV members are getting this problem too. When I try to go to a website (any website), the site is first re-directed to http://w3.mict.go.th/ I posted this in the Internet forum a few days ago and it seems as though the government is monitoring and/or censoring our Internet usage. The full debate is here ----> http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Royal-Thai-P...20#entry3000720

Useful link as was getting the same nonsense - thanks very much.

I suggest you keep a log of speed to both Thai and which ever overseas center you use most often. I've been doing this for the last 4 months, so have a clear picture of the deterioration of TOT, especially in the last 3 weeks.

The service center (1100) all know me by now - some of them quite good, but pointless expecting anything from them, ask to speak to a supervisor and get it logged (name, time of call etc).

Last week I went to Central TOT office and spoke with #2 manager (Nui) who was understanding and took my records and actually sent out an engineer to check my physical line ... all working fine.

Yesterday I went back as the speed of 30kb/10kb was beyond belief and she advised me to go to CM main TOT office (its located about 300m heading east from the Airport Central junction, on a tight and not obvious left as the flyover ends). I speak with a technician there and get the 'we dont guarentee inter speeds' - which I made him regret telling me - then he got a bit more down to things when I showed him my records showing in the last 4 months speed gone from 2.9Mb to 30kb! He filed a report and suspended billing me - so will give them a week to see what happens.

I aslo went to CAT in Central (as they control the main gateways to Thailand) and he admitted TOT and CAT are in dispute - so perhaps this is the real reason. Unfortunately I cat get CAT yet.

Anyway ... keep records, go to the main TOT office, file a complaint and hopefully they will take some action!

Dr Morgan at the HCMC Clinic on the Hang Dong Road offers a full health check at a very competative price...(way way cheaper than I ever paid at CMR.

I had some blood tests done there recently and could not believe how little it cost.

She even follows up with e-mails...a great service, and she speaks perfect English.

Her number is 053 804 405

At risk of being labelled a shareholder again (as in another thread on Dr Morgan) - the Mrs and I had medical check-up here last week, and are pleased with the detailed professionalism.

Downside is have to make some diet/exercise improvements - which are long overdue!

Thank You Bubblegum - seems to improved a bit today - lets see if its holds thru the evening.

Its the international gateway that has a problem ... slowest Thai speeds are well within their (TOT) tolarance, but international speeds have varied in the last 3 months from 4.2Mb download to 4kb!! The past week has been very bad and I doubt its the undersea cables in the South China Sea as my friend in HK tells me these were reportedly all fixed by the 16th Aug. Anyone know if there is a new DNS setting can try ??

Have to think using Thai logic ... the system you find so bizzare (and in some ways it is) supports whole a industry of visa running agencies - provides employment for immigration posts and ensures Johnny foriegner remembers that his/her time in Thailand remains that of an (insecure) guest.

Sorry but most of this thread appears to be an advertisement complete with all the satisfied customer reviews that one usually finds for products on the Internet and in Magazines.

It is possible that the OP and some other posters may have shares in the company.

So you should be - whole point of this Forum is for members to pass on useful information to fellow members.

Have found useful suggestions on several businesses/services from recomendations.

No - I dont have any interest in this clinic or any other business in Thailand (and no intention of ever having either) ... making unfounded accusations is out of order - if anything its often better to keep good service a closely guarded secret as if someone good (decorators/electricians etc) become too popular they become unavailable when needed.

For someone who labels thmeselves an 'intellegent member' - you leave a lot to be desired in your negative post.

Too much of CM section of TV is taken up with banal posts about animals, food and spelling Nazi's:- would those who do come accross service worth recomending please continue to do so - even if some BM's here can't appreciate some of us here post in good faith and not out of commercial bias.

Good recomendation from OP - spent last 2 days looking for good medical/dental care.

Dr Morgan has a pleasing manner and glad to have found someone comunicative and clearly enjoys her work. Hope her practice thrives. She is aware of the Thai Visa website.

NB: The red/white (no parking) outside the clinic only applies to rush hour period - so its ok to park outside after 9.30am - look out of the green cross flags shes put by the kerb.

Bit of an old news story ... but looks like Jasmine pulling rank:-

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/teleco...ns-of-tt-t-coup

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/teleco...off-tt-t-assets

Shame about the light clouds ... this is the best pic I managed: