Visarun Savannakhet

[terje]

Has anyone applied for a Non B visa in savannakhet Laos? What can you tell me? And is there actually a consulate there?

[kenkannif]

Yes, there is a Consulate there!

And here is the address:

LAOS (Lao People's Democratic Republic) SAVANNAKHET (Temporary Office)

Nanhai Hotel, 5th Floor Latsavongseuk Road

Ban Sounantha Khanthabouly District

Savannakhet Province P.O. Box 459, Lao P.D.R.

Tel. & Fax : (Direct Line) (007-856-41) 212370

Tel. (Via Hotel) (007-856-41) 212371 Ext. 3506, 3507, 3138, 3111

Edited August 23, 2004 by kenkannif

[sriracha john]

Has anyone applied for a Non B visa in savannakhet Laos? What can you tell me? And is there actually a consulate there?

Just be wary of the "dragon lady" that runs the place. In all my travels, it's the only place where I had my passport literally thrown at me when I went to pick it up. She must be well connected to her job, because she's been the subject of numerous complaints. The first time I entered the office, she was in the midst of a tirade she was levelling at some poor hapless Lao. Adds a whole new dimension to the term "customer service".

[kenkannif]

Darn it, I thought it was Vientienne that had the dragon lady as well.....possibly twins do you think?

[sriracha john]

Darn it, I thought it was Vientienne that had the dragon lady as well.....possibly twins do you think?

Having been to both consulate...Savannaket is far worse.

[Up2U]

Darn it, I thought it was Vientienne that had the dragon lady as well.....possibly twins do you think?

Having been to both consulate...Savannaket is far worse.

Maybe she'd seen your avatar

[Thetyim]

You amaze me with your dragon lady.

Last time I went there the consulate was on the ground floor and was being run by two very helpful thai men.l

[vanessa_vanillasky]

Darn it, I thought it was Vientienne that had the dragon lady as well.....possibly twins do you think?

Having been to both consulate...Savannaket is far worse.

are you sure its Savannaket???? the consul in Savannaket are run by two very nice man, as the matter of fact they are most helpful the last time i went there to get my visa ... (and the last time was just last month) maybe its not the people that work there who have attittude problem, maybe its ...........

[sriracha john]

are you sure its Savannaket???? the consul in Savannaket are run by two very nice man, as the matter of fact they are most helpful the last time i went there to get my visa ... (and the last time was just last month) maybe its not the people that work there who have attittude problem, maybe its ...........

hahaha...yes, I'm quite certain as to where I go when I travel.

As with any government posting, personnel are subject to change and so it seems apparently that the dragon lady is there no more. That is a tremendous improvement to all who utilize the consulate as evidently she had been there for decades abusing customers. I have not been there after my initial visit as I was too turned off. If the new guys are nice, then wonderful.

btw, I find your insinuations extremely humorous... totally erroneous, but then.. that's what makes them so funny.

[vanessa_vanillasky]

are you sure its Savannaket???? the consul in Savannaket are run by two very nice man, as the matter of fact they are most helpful the last time i went there to get my visa ... (and the last time was just last month) maybe its not the people that work there who have attittude problem, maybe its ........... 

hahaha...yes, I'm quite certain as to where I go when I travel.

As with any government posting, personnel are subject to change and so it seems apparently that the dragon lady is there no more. That is a tremendous improvement to all who utilize the consulate as evidently she had been there for decades abusing customers. I have not been there after my initial visit as I was too turned off. If the new guys are nice, then wonderful.

btw, I find your insinuations extremely humorous... totally erroneous, but then.. that's what makes them so funny.

you definitely have some attitude problem ... ... ...

[sriracha john]

you definitely have some attitude problem ...    ...  ... 

The only thing definite is that you are making unfounded, judgemental, snide comments about someone you don't know at all in a totally unjustified manner. If I were to utilize the same reasoning trait as you, my response might come out something like:

"Yeah, I got an attitude problem with some inexperienced, unworldly, overpaid, farang, non-contributory to Thailand pseudo-teacher female talking about that which knows little about."

But since I'm not you, I will not say those things and simply state that you should keep any unnecessary personal comments to yourself.

May Peace be with you.

[TimTang]

How much does it cost to cross the border there?

[sriracha john]

Got a Lao visa at their embassy in Bangkok prior to going. The fee is based on your passport country of origin. Mine was B1,350.

[lopburi3]

Darn it, I thought it was Vientienne that had the dragon lady as well.....possibly twins do you think?

Having been to both consulate...Savannaket is far worse.

are you sure its Savannaket???? the consul in Savannaket are run by two very nice man, as the matter of fact they are most helpful the last time i went there to get my visa ... (and the last time was just last month) maybe its not the people that work there who have attittude problem, maybe its ...........

The MFA says that there are three women and two men assigned to Savannakhet but perhaps they are not up to date:

http://www.mfa.go.th/web/1870.php?depcode=22930100

[kenkannif]

I know a couple of people going there soon, so hopefully I can post what happened when they return!

[kenkannif]

As promised:

I just got back and sad to say that I only got a single entry B visa. The visa was easy to get, no dragon lady, just some young guy who was pretty helpful. He requested even more documents than what I had but I just pleaded ignorance. He couldn't explain to me in English what the documents were so I just kept a vacant look on my face.

[sriracha john]

Hooray for the apparent demise of the Dragon Lady.

How was the boat ride across the river? On my trip back, the motor died and we ended up drifting down with the current on the Mekhong for awhile... I was wondering where I could get the appropriate Cambodian visa if that became necessary.

Are there any signs of construction for the new bridge yet?

May I ask why you ended up going there? Are you staying up in Issan? Mukdahan is defintely off the beaten track, but I liked it very much.

[kenkannif]

<Well here's some more info from another chap:

Just returned from Laos. I barely got my visa as I didn't have any transcripts for them. I agreed to fax them this week, and I got my single entry visa in three hours:)

<I then asked him what he need to do>

Thanks. Yeah, they wanted transcripts and a resume with no chronological gaps. I'll also fax copies of certificates. And there were no dragon lady, actually the consul himself was a very pleasant character:)

<and this is a continuation of the one yesterday, it wasn't me that went>

As for getting there and back it's a bit of a journey and buses seem to only depart from BKK in the evening, as do the buses from Mukdahan. I wasn't gonna hang around all day for the next bus so I caught a bus from Mukdahan to Khon Kaen and another from Khon Kean to BKK. A 13 hour return journey wasn't what I would call an enjoyable experience.

<I'll certainly ask them about the bridge though mate>

I told them to go there as Vientienne is becoming harder and harder and I thought this place might be easier!

[sriracha john]

Thanks for the updated info.

It certainly is a very long trip for a visa run from BKK, so I don't think they'll be getting swamped in the near future. I went myself by motorbike while visiting a friend who lived in Roi Et.