Take Car To Laos

[bananabender]

I live in the Mukdahan area and would like to take my Isuzu pickup across the bridge to laos for a few days.

Is this a good idea?

What is required? eg permits, insurance, etc? Costs involved?

Thanks for any information or ideas you might have.

[sk1max]

I've told that you need to go to your local vehicle registration office (Kong song) and fill out some paperwork, not sure if that's accurate but might be a place to start. Let us know how it works out.

[Kwarium]

Let us know how it works out.

Any news on this? The Lao embassy told me 'no problem' (meaning 'I have no idea'...)

I've heard you just fill out some form at the border crossing... The real question is what will the Thas want to let the car back in to Thailand!

I'm thinking of a 5 night trip.

Tips appreciated, smart ass comments tolerated!

[farangconnection]

Let us know how it works out.

Any news on this? The Lao embassy told me 'no problem' (meaning 'I have no idea'...)

I've heard you just fill out some form at the border crossing... The real question is what will the Thas want to let the car back in to Thailand!

I'm thinking of a 5 night trip.

Tips appreciated, smart ass comments tolerated!

There should be no problem, as long as the car is yours, and you can prove it.. i.e. no hire cars allowed through.

[bino]

Double check with your insurance company... my policy covers Thailand only. No coverage outside the kingdom.

[thatguy]

A few years back, the Thai side wanted proof of ownership. I forget what form they wanted, or what kind there is, but we couldn't take the car.

A few months before that, we went through the same crossing (nong khai) without a word.

[geronimo]

Let us know how it works out.

Any news on this? The Lao embassy told me 'no problem' (meaning 'I have no idea'...)

I've heard you just fill out some form at the border crossing... The real question is what will the Thas want to let the car back in to Thailand!

I'm thinking of a 5 night trip.

Tips appreciated, smart ass comments tolerated!

There should be no problem, as long as the car is yours, and you can prove it.. i.e. no hire cars allowed through.

I think you can do it providing the car is not on finance.

[abdulrahman]

I live in the Mukdahan area and would like to take my Isuzu pickup across the bridge to laos for a few days.

Is this a good idea?

What is required? eg permits, insurance, etc? Costs involved?

Thanks for any information or ideas you might have.

I drive to Laos 2 years already,the car is registered in the finance Company name as owner,my name as user as long I'll finish to pay for it.You go to the Transport Office in Mukdahan with the car papers and if I remember correctly 120 Baht,they will give you a purple booklet,the validity is 1 year,renevable,and a sticker to apply on the back,T for Thailand.

At the border point you go to the queue for car drivers,write two forms,for the export of the vehicle and for custom,of course you have to stamp your passport too,control that there are 2 stamps on the car book or they send you back Lao side(it happened to me last week).Onthe Lao side you pay 200 Baht for the car,another 50 Baht for every passenger,children 10 Baht,another 2 stamps.Right after the border is a office where you can pay for the car insurance for Laos,highly recommended,about 60000 Kip for one week for a normal pick-up.Helpful to know,you may now

enter in Mukdahan-Sawannakhet and exit in Vientiane=NongKhai.

Hope this helps.

Edited July 8, 2007 by abdulrahman

[olaus]

The car is one thing.

But I think You also have to visit Immigration Department in Bangkok to pay for and get a Reentry Permit stamped in Your passport. Because You are leaving the country.

[bananabender]

Thanks for the helpful replies.

As it turned out I woke up on the Saturday following my post and decided it was time to go. Being Saturday of course, my Isaan lady informed me that Mukdahan Transport Office would be closed, (therefore no vehicle permit)- so we caught the bus from Mukdahan bus station!

Nothing of course goes as expected. I arrived at Thai immigration at the bridge proudly carrying my newly acquired (two days previously at Mukdahan Immigration Office) retirement visa stamp. I was not allowed through the usual checkpoint and had to go into the office. I of course had not known that a re -entry permit is required. So my retirement visa stamp cost 1900 baht on Thursday and now on Saturday I had to pay another 1000 baht for a re-entry stamp. The Thais have some nice little earners in the Visa business don't they?

Re-entry stamp took about 20 minutes to sort out, by which time the bus had left without us. So had to buy new tickets for the next bus. It appears the buses alternate, one a Thai, the next a Lao operated one. So tickets for one are no good on the other, or at least that is what they told us. The Thai buses by the way are newish, plush and clean, the Lao ones a bit the worse for wear and tear.

Arrived at the Lao checkpoint , acquired Lao visa ( can't remember now whether it was 1300 or 1500 baht, all I remember was that it seemed excessive!) and on to Savannakhet.

Savannakhet was a bit of a disappointment - dirty , run down and very little apparently going on. What surprised me was the almost total absence of farang. Only saw two others over the two days. Having said that of course, it was a weekend and the Thai Embassy would be closed, so no visa runners going there. Weekdays are probably different.

I did manage to buy some decent New Zealand cheddar and a couple of good bottles of appellated French red (350 and 390 baht a bottle.) Presumably there is still a 'French connection' in the wine trade there.

By the way, does anybody know where to buy some reasonable cheese in Mukdahan or nearby? All I can find in Tesco and Tops is processed cheddar.

Maybe I'll take the car next time. But having seen Savannakhet, I have more or less lost the urge, and now I have the retirement Visa, I don't "have" to go.

[farangconnection]

Thanks for the helpful replies.

As it turned out I woke up on the Saturday following my post and decided it was time to go. Being Saturday of course, my Isaan lady informed me that Mukdahan Transport Office would be closed, (therefore no vehicle permit)- so we caught the bus from Mukdahan bus station!

Nothing of course goes as expected. I arrived at Thai immigration at the bridge proudly carrying my newly acquired (two days previously at Mukdahan Immigration Office) retirement visa stamp. I was not allowed through the usual checkpoint and had to go into the office. I of course had not known that a re -entry permit is required. So my retirement visa stamp cost 1900 baht on Thursday and now on Saturday I had to pay another 1000 baht for a re-entry stamp. The Thais have some nice little earners in the Visa business don't they?

Re-entry stamp took about 20 minutes to sort out, by which time the bus had left without us. So had to buy new tickets for the next bus. It appears the buses alternate, one a Thai, the next a Lao operated one. So tickets for one are no good on the other, or at least that is what they told us. The Thai buses by the way are newish, plush and clean, the Lao ones a bit the worse for wear and tear.

Arrived at the Lao checkpoint , acquired Lao visa ( can't remember now whether it was 1300 or 1500 baht, all I remember was that it seemed excessive!) and on to Savannakhet.

Savannakhet was a bit of a disappointment - dirty , run down and very little apparently going on. What surprised me was the almost total absence of farang. Only saw two others over the two days. Having said that of course, it was a weekend and the Thai Embassy would be closed, so no visa runners going there. Weekdays are probably different.

I did manage to buy some decent New Zealand cheddar and a couple of good bottles of appellated French red (350 and 390 baht a bottle.) Presumably there is still a 'French connection' in the wine trade there.

By the way, does anybody know where to buy some reasonable cheese in Mukdahan or nearby? All I can find in Tesco and Tops is processed cheddar.

Maybe I'll take the car next time. But having seen Savannakhet, I have more or less lost the urge, and now I have the retirement Visa, I don't "have" to go.

Well, you have inadvertently given us some great info there. So at last you can get a re-entry permit without having to go to Bangkok. That's good news.

[Kwarium]

We just had a great road trip from Udon to Luang Prabang. Definitely recommend taking your own car! We were able to get the purple book (International Transport Permit) and vehicle stiickers in Nong Khai for 300 baht. (Car title book and owner's passport required.)

We had to visit the immigration office 1km before the border to get the re-entry permit for my non-imm visa. No idea why it couldn't be done at the border. BTW be careful when you are coming back that you get the date of the non-imm stamped in your passport and not a 30 day visit date! Luckily I got the guy to correct it although only with ball point pen and not a correct stamp! Luckily it didn't give me a problem when I renewed the non-imm in Bangkok.

abdul nicely covers the part about the two forms and fees to finally cross the border; lots of stamps in the purple book! There is no English version or sample and the jokers lounging around couldn't be bothered. We got help from a guy who was doing his own forms and knew the process.

We went into the insurance office and broke up a 2:30 pm somtam party to get our Laos insurance for the week. Very cheap and required. The insurance, purple book and my Thai DL were ckecked about 4 times at checkpoints. There is a sticker for your windshield with the numbers to call if needed.

The system is to drive on the right although a quirk of Laos drivers is to hang on the left side when no traffic is coming. They lazily drift back to the right when you approach, although a head-on does not seem to concern them! This habit makes overtaking a challenge as well, so always sound your horn!

The roads were generally free from pot holes although not very wide and no center line. Lots of cows, even lying in the road! The mountain driving was great fun with many switchbacks over 180 degrees! It's excellent driving up into the clouds and enjoying sweeping vistas of where you have just been!

Petrol (91) cost us about 34 baht per liter from shell stations which are frequent enough. The fine for running a red light is 60,000 kip or 210 Baht, paid directly to the cop who waves you over. (It was a no-left red arrow, there were no other vehicles on the road, I didn't notice the 2 cops looking for something to do!)

Getting back into Thailand was a breeze, no additional forms to fill. Was told at duty free that two liters per person are allowed into Thailand. The 4 bottles we got were 420 baht cheaper each than they would cost in Thailand. No one checked, so I can't confirm that 3 liters is legal; seems like 1 liter per person sticks in my mind!

Happy driving in Laos!

[roietjimmy]

Thanks for the helpful replies.

As it turned out I woke up on the Saturday following my post and decided it was time to go. Being Saturday of course, my Isaan lady informed me that Mukdahan Transport Office would be closed, (therefore no vehicle permit)- so we caught the bus from Mukdahan bus station!

Nothing of course goes as expected. I arrived at Thai immigration at the bridge proudly carrying my newly acquired (two days previously at Mukdahan Immigration Office) retirement visa stamp. I was not allowed through the usual checkpoint and had to go into the office. I of course had not known that a re -entry permit is required. So my retirement visa stamp cost 1900 baht on Thursday and now on Saturday I had to pay another 1000 baht for a re-entry stamp. The Thais have some nice little earners in the Visa business don't they?

Re-entry stamp took about 20 minutes to sort out, by which time the bus had left without us. So had to buy new tickets for the next bus. It appears the buses alternate, one a Thai, the next a Lao operated one. So tickets for one are no good on the other, or at least that is what they told us. The Thai buses by the way are newish, plush and clean, the Lao ones a bit the worse for wear and tear.

Arrived at the Lao checkpoint , acquired Lao visa ( can't remember now whether it was 1300 or 1500 baht, all I remember was that it seemed excessive!) and on to Savannakhet.

Savannakhet was a bit of a disappointment - dirty , run down and very little apparently going on. What surprised me was the almost total absence of farang. Only saw two others over the two days. Having said that of course, it was a weekend and the Thai Embassy would be closed, so no visa runners going there. Weekdays are probably different.

I did manage to buy some decent New Zealand cheddar and a couple of good bottles of appellated French red (350 and 390 baht a bottle.) Presumably there is still a 'French connection' in the wine trade there.

By the way, does anybody know where to buy some reasonable cheese in Mukdahan or nearby? All I can find in Tesco and Tops is processed cheddar.

Maybe I'll take the car next time. But having seen Savannakhet, I have more or less lost the urge, and now I have the retirement Visa, I don't "have" to go.

I have been to Mukdahan on a few occasions to do my 90 day check in at immigration. It's the closest to Roiet. Have often ponder going across to Savannakhet but never have. Thanks to your travel description, I think I'll pass on the idea. Almost worth the hassle though just to get some decent cheese. Scarcity of cheese seems pretty much the norm in our area of Isaan. I had some success at the Makro in Roiet by asking the manager if he could stock a few cheese selections. He did and now if they are not out of stock I can find more selection. You might try the same at Tops in Mukdahan as I understand Tops is pretty responsive to these kind of requests.

Edited July 27, 2007 by roietjimmy