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 Read reports of occuring at Nong Khai friendship bridge.

One option to avoid long van/bus trips would be fly Bangkok to Udon Thani return.

Minivan from airport to Nong Khai over bridge and straight back.

That's possible.

BTW it's a border bounce.

A visa run means obtaining a visa and that's an overnight option at the very least. 

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1 hour ago, ruby1 said:

Cambodia borders option?

Avoid Cambodian border like the plague. Cambodian border police are pure criminals. Made me wait 2 hours in their room just because they wanted to be paid 1500 thb instead of 30 usd. “My boss told me on the phone you can only pay 1500 thb”. This happened on the Cambodian side of the Ban Laem crossing.
 

Edited by Hellfire
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5 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I recently went to Laos and back in an hour from Mukdahan. Technically it isn't allowed as it isn't in the spirit of the law, but it isn't actually against the law.

Thanks

 

3 minutes ago, Hellfire said:

Avoid Cambodian border like the plague

Problems?

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14 minutes ago, ruby1 said:

Thanks

 

Problems?

 Yes, I edited my post above with more details. Additionally, and this was my personal issue, I had a lot of problems with the Thai border police too. Not sure if it would be different for me with the Nongkhai crossing, though.
 If you stay in Thailand for more than 6 months on Covid or exemption stamps - you better choose another border (again, Nongkhai WAS a smooth ride for me many times before Covid).

 

Edited by Hellfire
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It is possible as I did it last week at O'Smach Casino Resort at Chong Chom border to Cambodia . As mentioned earlier , forget the 30 dollars . I had to get the 1 page Cambodian visa at a cost of 1800 baht . You also need a passport type photo .  I arrived there at about 13 00 hrs , the visa process about 1 hour , then went to the casino for 5 hours and left at 19 30 hrs the same evening after having the Cambodian I.O. stamp me out and the Thai immigration will stamp you back in . You will have to complete a TM 60 card . The event is a bit of a pain but is doable . There are agents loitering around to assist you for 100 baht and they make it easier and quicker . 

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The best place, currently, to walk across and back is Cong Mek (border crossing to Laos in Ubon Ratchathani province (fly to Ubon, van to Chong Mek). However, I note that you want to do it by car. In the past (not recently) I have twice successfully used Ban Pakard (paying, after a friendly discussion, the official fee for Cambodian visa on arrival). These days, it is very unlikely that you will avoid, at a minimum 200-300 baht for same day return. This is reasonable because of a stupid Cambodian law that mandates staying overnight. I cannot guarantee what it will cost now, but I believe you would be successful doing it as a (tiring) day trip.

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1 hour ago, Tod Daniels said:

From Bangkok the 3 borders that are easily accessible are Aranyaprathet/Poipet, Ban Laem/Daung and Ban Pakard/Phsar Prum.

AVOID the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border AT ALL COST. Even visa run companies wont lug their clients there. It ain't the border it was pre-covid

Ban Laem and Ban Pakard are okay to bounce at but you might be told you have to spend a night in Cambodia. Also if you have a passport filled with covid/ED/Volunteer visas/extensions you're gonna get given a hard time

Going with a border bounce service gets you out of this overnight stay conundrum and makes it so you're not hassled no matter what stamps are in your passport 

http://www.thaivisaservice.com <-bounces 4 days a week to Ban Laem in VIP (10 seat NOT 14 seat) mini-vans.

Am I right in saying that there was a service , via agents , where all you did was give them your passport and they did the rest i.e. you did not leave the country and the agent carried your passport to the border etc ?

My 2 recent experiences with land borders were not relaxed as pre covid days . The unofficial fees have doubled and it is a take it or leave it attitude . On both occasions I never saw another foreigner at the border crossing at Omach Kap Chong .

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2 hours ago, superal said:

Am I right in saying that there was a service , via agents , where all you did was give them your passport and they did the rest i.e. you did not leave the country and the agent carried your passport to the border etc ?

Isn't that about 20 shades of illegal?

 

Convenient as all get go maybe but still illegal, no?

 

Yes, I am aware of the notion of what's illegal in Thailand can be quite nuanced but in this instance, I am pretty sure that immigration laws are being broken in two countries. All this while you remain in one of them without any proof of your right to be there in the first place.

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1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Isn't that about 20 shades of illegal?

 

Convenient as all get go maybe but still illegal, no?

 

Yes, I am aware of the notion of what's illegal in Thailand can be quite nuanced but in this instance, I am pretty sure that immigration laws are being broken in two countries. All this while you remain in one of them without any proof of your right to be there in the first place.

Yes I agree but when in Thailand I go with the flow and as  far as immigration laws go it is up to the local I.O in the way they interpret the rules . ( Thai immigration laws issued as a guide line and can be arranged to suit as needed )  I have been told .

I do not understand where you say " without proof of your right to be there in the first place " when there will be a valid visa held . 

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4 hours ago, superal said:

Am I right in saying that there was a service , via agents , where all you did was give them your passport and they did the rest i.e. you did not leave the country and the agent carried your passport to the border etc ?

That hasn't been possible since a long time (before 2006 or so?). The best they can do for you is handling the stamps on the Cambodian side, so you can just stay in noman's land and wait. Stamping out of Thailand and back into Thailand, on the other hand, isn't something an agent will do for you. But they do use friendlier checkpoints and have an understanding with the officials to smoothen the process for their clients. 

Edited by Caldera
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20 minutes ago, superal said:

Yes I agree but when in Thailand I go with the flow and as  far as immigration laws go it is up to the local I.O in the way they interpret the rules . ( Thai immigration laws issued as a guide line and can be arranged to suit as needed )  I have been told .

I do not understand where you say " without proof of your right to be there in the first place " when there will be a valid visa held . 

The visa is in your passport that's over the border in Cambodia, no?

 

The chances of an immigration bust may be more remote than me walking on the moon but how about something outwith your control? Being involved in an accident? Your hotel room broken into? A victim of theft or assault? The hotel catching fire?

 

Thailand's immigration laws are pretty solid and just because some immigration officers exercise their right to be pedantic and ask for more paperwork than the next guy doesn't mean that being in Thailand without a passport will be similarly overlooked.

 

No worries, you seem comfy with the idea but in my travels, being separated from my passport, even when the law of that land demanded it, didn't make me feel safe at all.

Edited by NanLaew
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6 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

The visa is in your passport that's over the border in Cambodia, no?

 

The chances of an immigration bust may be more remote than me walking on the moon but how about something outwith your control? Being involved in an accident? Your hotel room broken into? A victim of theft or assault? The hotel catching fire?

 

Thailand's immigration laws are pretty solid and just because some immigration officers exercise their right to be pedantic and ask for more paperwork than the next guy doesn't mean that being in Thailand without a passport will be similarly overlooked.

 

No worries, you seem comfy with the idea but in my travels, being separated from my passport, even when the law of that land demanded it, didn't make me feel safe at all.

The visa in my passport is Thai but the case we discuss does not apply to me . I would also not want to trust my passport with a self appointed agent . Not only a valuable document but hassle if lost . However I have seen farangs hand over their passports in no mans land to a loitering so called agent in return for ? 

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On 12/13/2022 at 2:33 PM, DrJack54 said:

 Read reports of occuring at Nong Khai friendship bridge.

One option to avoid long van/bus trips would be fly Bangkok to Udon Thani return.

Minivan from airport to Nong Khai over bridge and straight back.

That's possible.

BTW it's a border bounce.

A visa run means obtaining a visa and that's an overnight option at the very least. 

From Phuket this just might be the best option as well (Non-Stop One-Way to Udon Thani 1550 baht).  Ideas for finding the minivan across the bridge and back?

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23 minutes ago, TimLMT said:

From Phuket this just might be the best option as well (Non-Stop One-Way to Udon Thani 1550 baht).  Ideas for finding the minivan across the bridge and back?

You can find minivans from Udon Thani Airport to (not across) the Friendship Bridge; at the airport there's a counter selling tickets. Then you'd use a shuttle bus across the bridge after stanping out on the Thai side.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/13/2022 at 5:09 PM, Hellfire said:

 Yes, I edited my post above with more details. Additionally, and this was my personal issue, I had a lot of problems with the Thai border police too. Not sure if it would be different for me with the Nongkhai crossing, though.
 If you stay in Thailand for more than 6 months on Covid or exemption stamps - you better choose another border (again, Nongkhai WAS a smooth ride for me many times before Covid).

 

Will 6 months reset to 0 when year 2023 starts?

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8 minutes ago, d15pl4y said:

I have plenty of exemption stamps (over 8 months of in and out). I would like to get one more. Would you recommend Laos road crossing or an airplane? I would come back to Thailand in 2023.

Use land border if have extensive visa exempt entries. 

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16 minutes ago, d15pl4y said:

I have plenty of exemption stamps (over 8 months of in and out). I would like to get one more. Would you recommend Laos road crossing or an airplane? I would come back to Thailand in 2023.

After dealing with the Thai land borders’ police recently, I would prefer not to recommend anything to anybody. And every case might be unique.

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24 minutes ago, Hellfire said:

After dealing with the Thai land borders’ police recently, I would prefer not to recommend anything to anybody. And every case might be unique.

You keep bringing this up.

From memory you were rejected at Cambodian land border and advised to try at another.

Then returned to same land border some weeks later with overstay.

Your experience is not typical.

Also from memory you did not use  border run company.

 

The guy you quoted specifically mentioned Laos.

He won't have an issue. 

Edited by DrJack54
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