I intend to visit Vietianne with my Girlfriend - she will get a 3 Days Permission to stay on the Bordercrossing, right?

BUT I was recently informed, that it might be a Problem to stay in the same Hotelrrom in Vietianne, if you are not married ....

Is this just a Rumour?

Somebody told me, that they got Problems with the Police there .....

Have her with you when you get your room. If they ask, tell them she is your wife. Worse case scenereo is you will both have to get seperate hotel rooms. In that case, tell the hotel you will go across the street and get 2 rooms there. They will probably give in then.

I think the rule is intended to keep you from sleeping with Laos citizens. It is illegal for a Lao woman who is not your wife to have sex with you.

Edited April 1, 200719 yr by richard10365

I intend to visit Vietianne with my Girlfriend - she will get a 3 Days Permission to stay on the Bordercrossing, right?

BUT I was recently informed, that it might be a Problem to stay in the same Hotelrrom in Vietianne, if you are not married ....

Is this just a Rumour?

Somebody told me, that they got Problems with the Police there .....

Yes, your information is correct. This is not a rumour. There will be big problems if you check in together and the Lao police later find you in bed with anyone other than your legally married wife. They will drag you both off to the police station and interrogate you, probably using medieval-type torture devices to get you to sign a confession. You will then be taken to a hastily-arranged court, tried by a judge who cannot speak any English and probably given a sentence of not less than 10 years in jail minimum.

One 67 year old Canadian man pleaded his innocence, saying his 29 year old Thai companion was really his wife and "it was quite normal in Thailand for foreign men to marry women less than half their age", but the judge did not believe him and slapped an extra two years on his sentence. The man has not not been heard from since, while his Thai "wife" was confined to a penal colony for "fallen" women in Huapan province in the north of the country, where reportedly there are over 2,000 Thai women labouring away to dig a canal for the local apparatchik.

You have been warned to rent separate room and not even think about any illicit visits to the other's room in the middle of the night.

He sounds like he's kidding, but he's not.

BEWARE!

He sounds like he's kidding, but he's not.

BEWARE!

JR Texas: I thought it was a joke........no joke? Unbelievable! Total insanity

The police occasionally arrested both citizens and foreigners for having sexual relations outside of marriage, which is prohibited under the law.

Not sure why the past tense is used, but that's what the U.S. Dept. of State section on Laos reports.

...informed, that it might be a Problem to stay in the same Hotelrrom in Vietianne, if you are not married ....

Is this just a Rumour?

The law is specific. But, the reality is...

... things in Vientiene are quite relaxed. Expect no problem with your Thai gf and you in the same hotel, checking in together. The nicer the hotel, the fewer problems, I'd guess. We payed $30 a night, and even the Loatian girls were seen coming and going at all hours.

Was there last month. Saw no hint of any such problems.

I do not mean to contradict any of the warnings above. They are all acurate and proper advice to the question. The law is very specific. I've heard that Laotian police can raid your room on suspicion alone.

I went with my Thai girlfriend last month also. Had no problems whatsover. No one even asked any questions about it at the hotel. Saw lots of foreigners with there rent-a-night-girlfriends as well. It is technically illegal but it seems to never be enforced.

Also been to Vientianne and other parts of Laos with my Thai girlfriend and not even an issue in the slightest. No problems at all.

Also been to Vientianne and other parts of Laos with my Thai girlfriend and not even an issue in the slightest. No problems at all.

You and the previous poster should just think yourselves lucky. A couple of thousand others were less lucky and are now paying the price in the LOME. Sex out of wedlock is a serious offence on that side of the Mekong. The Don Chane Palace is living proof of that..........

Darn.............is it April 2nd already?

There are hotels where these things are not an issue (no, I'm not going to post names), but in the main tourist belt the police (and also the hotel owners) can be quite strict about it- with gays as well (if locals are staying with them).

Other tidbits of Lao lore:

1. If you stay with someone in a private home, they MUST register the fact with the local police.

2. As a foreigner, you may not legally marry a Lao national without permission of the state. If you do so, both of you will be potentially subject to jail sentences.

They ain't kidding.

Lao govt very xenophobic thats for sure. Be careful would be the best advice for anyone traveling there.