Vientiane Laos for Thai Visa

[fabianfred]

can we only get a 3 month non-Im 'o' for married to a Thai? is there a one year multi option?

[ubonjoe]

Not in Vientiane.

Only KL and Penang do it.

[tropo]

Aroon residence is midway between the consulate and the riverfront. Its a good location as you could walk to either. about 2 km to the consulate and 2 km to the Fa ngum waterfront.

A lot of people seem to be fixed on the idea of finding an hotel or guesthouse close to the consulate. There is no sense at all in worrying about how close or convenient it is because anywhere you stay will still be only a short 60/80 baht tuk-tuk fare away. In fact you probably won't get a tuk-tuk any cheaper even if you're closer.

The best place to stay is not midpoint between the waterfront area and the consulate because you'll end up spending a lot more on tuk-tuks to get around town to find good places to eat.

It's far better to stay waterfront where all the nice cafes and restaurants are situated. You'll end up enjoying your stay a lot more too.

[james.d]

Hi,

Could anyone tell me whats needed for a Non Imm visa in Laos?

Additionally, i can see some hotels on line but would appreciate if anyone has a personal reccommendation near the riverfront for 2 nights?

Thankyou in advance.

[ubonjoe]

Hi,

Could anyone tell me whats needed for a Non Imm visa in Laos?

Additionally, i can see some hotels on line but would appreciate if anyone has a personal reccommendation near the riverfront for 2 nights?

Thankyou in advance.

What kind of non immigrant.

If a non-o then what kind.

You will only get a single entry for any kind of non imm in Vientiane.

Edited November 25, 2008 by ubonjoe

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Aroon residence is midway between the consulate and the riverfront. Its a good location as you could walk to either. about 2 km to the consulate and 2 km to the Fa ngum waterfront.

A lot of people seem to be fixed on the idea of finding an hotel or guesthouse close to the consulate. There is no sense at all in worrying about how close or convenient it is because anywhere you stay will still be only a short 60/80 baht tuk-tuk fare away. In fact you probably won't get a tuk-tuk any cheaper even if you're closer.

The best place to stay is not midpoint between the waterfront area and the consulate because you'll end up spending a lot more on tuk-tuks to get around town to find good places to eat.

It's far better to stay waterfront where all the nice cafes and restaurants are situated. You'll end up enjoying your stay a lot more too.

I second that. I only had to go to the consulate twice during my stay but wanted to visit the waterfront about 15 times for meals and entertainment.

There are a few hotels near Aroon which are very high standard(expensive too) so a logical choice for someone with a higher budget. Also the Don Chuan hotel on the river is 5 star and great views etc but nicely secluded from the riff raff of VTE. The waterfront area was my choice because of cheaper guesthouses and hotels and convenience of restaurants etc. The downside of the waterfront area is fairly noisy and has dodgy people mingling around 24/7.

[james.d]

Hi,

Could anyone tell me whats needed for a Non Imm visa in Laos?

Additionally, i can see some hotels on line but would appreciate if anyone has a personal reccommendation near the riverfront for 2 nights?

Thankyou in advance.

What kind of non immigrant.

If a non-o then what kind.

You will only get a single entry for any kind of non imm in Vientiane.

Hi,

I guess its the Thai Spouse Non Imm, as i had a work permit and non imm B for last 10+yrs.

Suan Phlu reccomended it.

Possibly going to Vietnam in late Jan to work, just wasnt sure which was best.

Thanks and Regards,

James.

[photojourn]

Apply morning and get back next afternoon.

Thanks very much. I'll post a report once back.

[ubonjoe]

Hi,

I guess its the Thai Spouse Non Imm, as i had a work permit and non imm B for last 10+yrs.

Suan Phlu reccomended it.

Possibly going to Vietnam in late Jan to work, just wasnt sure which was best.

Thanks and Regards,

James.

Copy of marriage certificate (front and back or 2 sided copy). Copy wifes ID and house book. Copy of your passport photo page. Maybe bank book if they ask (wasn't ask for the last time I got one).

2 photos and application form.

It's good to have wife with you also.

Edited November 25, 2008 by ubonjoe

[james.d]

Hi,

I guess its the Thai Spouse Non Imm, as i had a work permit and non imm B for last 10+yrs.

Suan Phlu reccomended it.

Possibly going to Vietnam in late Jan to work, just wasnt sure which was best.

Thanks and Regards,

James.

Copy of marriage certificate (front and back or 2 sided copy). Copy wifes ID and house book. Copy of your passport photo page. Maybe bank book if they ask (wasn't ask for the last time I got one).

2 photos and application form.

It's good to have wife with you also.

Thankyou for the info,, very much appreciated.

I take it that was for 1 yrs non imm O.

[ubonjoe]

Hi,

I guess its the Thai Spouse Non Imm, as i had a work permit and non imm B for last 10+yrs.

Suan Phlu reccomended it.

Possibly going to Vietnam in late Jan to work, just wasnt sure which was best.

Thanks and Regards,

James.

Copy of marriage certificate (front and back or 2 sided copy). Copy wifes ID and house book. Copy of your passport photo page. Maybe bank book if they ask (wasn't ask for the last time I got one).

2 photos and application form.

It's good to have wife with you also.

Thankyou for the info,, very much appreciated.

I take it that was for 1 yrs non imm O.

You will only get a single entry visa in Vientiane. You will only be able to stay for 90 days.

Only KL and Penang give multiple entry visas.

Edited November 25, 2008 by ubonjoe

[funfun]

Apply morning and get back next afternoon.

Thanks very much. I'll post a report once back.

yep that would be good photo, listen just reading, it may sound like they have moved the black africans to another que?????

also its been mentioned its closed on dec 10th, so take a look on any posters up for any forth coming closed / xmas holidays etc.

cheers

ps tropo, i never realised that about the coins thing, i just thought i was a millioniare when im carring 50,0000000 million kip or whatever it is!!!!!

[ubonjoe]

This page on Vientiane embassy website gives holidays and office hours.

Link: http://www.thaiembassy.org/vientiane/about_officetime.html

Edited November 25, 2008 by ubonjoe

[tropo]

ps tropo, i never realised that about the coins thing, i just thought i was a millioniare when im carring 50,0000000 million kip or whatever it is!!!!!

LOL...until you had to pay for your next meal.

Edited November 25, 2008 by tropo

[funfun]

ps tropo, i never realised that about the coins thing, i just thought i was a millioniare when im carring 50,0000000 million kip or whatever it is!!!!!

LOL...until you had to pay for your next meal.

me, pay???? never, ere tropo, ill be going back up ther in xmas timeancf ish or just after and its about a year since we first spoke so if ya fancy you and ya fil missus want to meet up there we;ll have a few vinos and beer laos if dates are good for all.

chris

in fact we ought to do a "team Thai visa.com" visa run.

[tropo]

ps tropo, i never realised that about the coins thing, i just thought i was a millioniare when im carring 50,0000000 million kip or whatever it is!!!!!

LOL...until you had to pay for your next meal.

me, pay???? never, ere tropo, ill be going back up ther in xmas timeancf ish or just after and its about a year since we first spoke so if ya fancy you and ya fil missus want to meet up there we;ll have a few vinos and beer laos if dates are good for all.

chris

in fact we ought to do a "team Thai visa.com" visa run.

My next trip there won't be until April, but we can always catch up in Pattaya some time.

[james.d]

Anyone know if its true that can buy cheap mobiles in Laos?

Cheers.

[tropo]

Anyone know if its true that can buy cheap mobiles in Laos?

Cheers.

Why bother? You can buy cheap mobiles in Thailand.

[Hssl]

All the cheap mobiles I saw in Lao were china knock offs and pretty cr$p IMHO

[vespajw]

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to reply here and by private message as well. Long story short, I went up to Vientiane on Tuesday, applied early Wednesday morning and got my shiny new double-entry tourist visa before 2 PM on Thursday. Some notes that may be of general interest or help to others:

The 100 baht 7-9 passenger mini-van from Udon Thani airport (UTH) to Nong Khai is fast, safe and comfortable. The ticket booth is inside the air terminal and clearly marked, just to the right of the exit from the building. Make sure you let the ticket booth attendant (English-speaking) and the driver both know you want to go to the bridge ("ao bpai sa-paan, khrap"), although you probably won't be the only one going there.

If you're fast off the plane and without checked bags you may want to get your ticket first, meet the driver, then you'll have 10 minutes to use the toilet and have a smoke if you wish while the stragglers get organized and the van fills up.

You'll be dropped off just a few meters from the Thai immigration plaza at the bridge. Stamping out of Thailand should be mundane and the wait-time should only be ten minutes at most if you don't have an overstay. The ticket for the bus to cross the bridge is still just 15 baht and they go about every 10-15 minutes. Two queues loosely form to board the bus front and rear but it doesn't turn into a Chinese market free-for-all.

Note that there's a changeover when arriving at the Lao side of the bridge. They drive on the opposite side of the road versus Thailand. Get back in the habit of looking both ways before crossing the street...

Laos Immigration is equally as simple. Pay in $US as you'll get a slightly better rate (even after buying greenbacks in Thailand). Small denomination American money can be surprisingly hard to find in Thailand, although the folks at the Kasikorn branch at Sukhumvit Soi 17 or so were able to help me with 5's and 20's. I paid my $35 Laos visa fee with two 20's to see what would happen, and was pleasantly surprised to get back a crisp $5 note.

One photo is required to enter Laos. Another fellow in the line forgot to bring one but Laos let him use a photocopy trimmed from a copy of the photo page of his passport. You'll have both a visa application and an arrival-departure card to complete; both will be processed at the same time.

My wait was about 15 minutes and I got back from Window 3 my passport with a Laos visa pasted in, a Laos admittance stamp, a departure card stapled in and the fiver as above. They won't call your name, just stick your passport out the window with the photo page visible so be alert once the people who applied immediately ahead of you have received their passports back.

As you enter Laos you'll need to pay 10 baht. There's a final checkpoint after that to confirm your stamp. Bienvenue a Prathet Laos, mes amis...

Next you'll need transport up to Vientiane and there's a sign-board with some posted rates: tuk-tuk 250 baht, taxi 350 and so on. I somehow ended up with a taxi for 200. The car was a 30 year-old Toyota in decent mechanical shape, the driver was friendly and we chatted in Thai so I gave him 250.

I have no problems recommending the Mina Hotel on Lane Xane for 700 baht a night. It's hard by the Laos National Tourism Authority and about equidistant from the Thai Consulate and Fan Ngum Road, roughly 20 minutes walk each way. The rooms are clean with A/C, a decent shower and bed, clean towels and satellite TV from Thailand plus Lao and Vietnamese programs.

There's a free breakfast of coffee, bread or pastry, and a fried egg and rice gruel. There's no in-room safe, and the staff advises you take your wallet, phone and camera if you go out. You can keep your key, but they seemingly can't or won't do a room make-up unless you leave it.

The morning market and Talat Sao Mall are just a few minutes walk away and those give you options for local food, shopping and foreign currency exchange. Speaking of money, virtually every business will accept Lao Kip, Thai Baht or US Dollars although the latter two will yield a poorer exchange rate than at an exchange booth. Merchants seemed to change at around 235 kip to the baht while the official rate was 243. In no case did I get presented with a blatant rip-off when paying with baht.

While the baht is hovering in this range, the quick-and-dirty conversion is to take the price in Kip, multiply by 4 and then divide by 1000, i.e. drop the last 3 zeroes, to get the price in Baht. It's still off by a few percent, but really you'd just be arguing over pennies if you aren't buying big-ticket items.

Vientiane strikes me as being a very safe place at least on the main streets in the center of town. The only bad experiences I had were with other foreigners, and the few Lao lady-boys who patrol Setthathirath and Samsenthai Roads after 8 PM.

The Lao people are generally very friendly but can be a bit shy around foreigners so if you make the effort to engage them in Thai or even English or sometimes French, you can make friends very fast. They are very curious to know about the wider world as a rule and are happy to answer questions about Laos and Lao language and customs.

Although there are a lot of new cars on the streets and much commercial development in the past few years, Laos is still a poor country. This makes dealing with Laotians a refreshing change from the typical Thai haughty arrogance and sense of entitlement. (Flame on, if you must; I just call them like I see them.)

The line at the Thai consulate on Wednesday must have started to form around 8 AM or shortly before. I arrived at 8:10 and was 15th in the queue (at first). The queue-jumper problem persists to some degree with the main offenders being Africans, Filipinos and Lao visa agents. These later are the biggest problem since though it's just one person in the line he or she is typically carrying a dozen foreign passports which will proceed yours in the processing queue.

The gate was opened at 8:30 AM sharp and there was no further queue-jumping once inside. My application was taken by 9 AM, then I was shuffled off to the main building to wait to pay, and by 10 AM I was a free man again. African passport holders were all sent out of line to go wait in the sun on the other side of the courtyard; apparently their requests for transit visas are secondary to requests for tourist and other visas. So queue-jumping availed them nothing.

If you have a copy of Adobe Acrobat Professional, you can download the visa application form, then use the typewriter tool to complete it. This gives a nice clean look and for some of the text fields it's a lot easier than trying to hand write into tiny little spaces. Then just sign it, sign the copy of your passport photo page, fork over 2000 baht and two photos and that's all there is to the application process.

As you arrive at the Thai consulate there's a few helpful people on either side of the street. One fellow will use a glue-stick to fasten your photos to your application form, or give you a blank one if you've forgotten yours. There's also a vendor who'll sell you a clear passport cover if you fancy one.

At this point you're done and you have a full day to do whatever you wish. I felt a bit odd walking around with no passport, but was reassured with placing in my wallet the visa application receipt, a copy of the photo page of my passport and the Lao departure card which you're free to remove from your passport while the passport remains at the Thai consulate overnight.

Laos may be a Communist One-Party state, but really they are the nicest commies you could ever hope to meet. The Lane Xane Road area has the superficial appearance of a police state, but keep in mind it's both the heart of Vientiane's Embassy Row and home to significant government ministries and banks and trade offices (mostly with the Vietnamese) can be found there, thus the numerous police boxes. The officers manning them are generally happy to help if you get lost and can manage a little Thai or produce a map. A smile and a polite hello ("sabaidee") and thank you ("khobchai") go a long way both for you and for the next guy.

Quai Fa Ngum, Samsenthai and Setthathirath Roads and the many side streets are fine places to shop, or get a meal or a few drinks. Safe as houses and by no means a tourist trap.

To collect the passport and visa you can queue again at 1 PM or wait until a bit later. I decided to go early at 12:45 or so just to see the show, and I had my passport back by 1:30. The queue advances to the outdoor counter where you collect your passport; I didn't notice anyone needing to go to the main building again. Of course you checked your visa to see that the dates are correct, name spelled properly, etc., didn't you?

After that you're good to go back to Thailand. If you want to go straight to the bridge, you can play "let's make a deal" with the lads outside the consulate. There are both tuk-tuks and a few sawng thaews and the price you pay is really up to you and your haggling skills. (There's also a bus service that can be found at Talat Sao Mall which will take you from the mall over the bridge and to Nong Khai or all the way to Udon Thani. The price is apparently 100 baht or less but I don't know the details.)

I struck up a conversation with a tuk-tuk pilot and got him to agree to 200 baht to take me alone to the bridge. I also tried to help him translate and put together a group; 3 Russians just wouldn't agree to 150 per head to take the four of us. Tiring of the negotiations I told my new friend I'd give him 250 if we left now and off we went. We saw the Russians again on the road 10 minutes from the bridge, stuffed like sardines into a 9 passenger sawng thaew and looking miserable...

Had a nice chat with the tuk-tuk pilot on the way. He seemed genuinely shocked to hear about some of the doings around Thailand, particularly in regards to police inaction at the airports, and the earning power of the Russian working girls in Pattaya. At the bridge I gave him the 250 baht as agreed and my last 20,000 Kip banknote as a tip, and he was genuinely pleased. It was the only time, in fact, that I got a wai from a Lao.

Exiting Lao Immigration was very mundane, and there was no additional fee to pay. The bus ride back over the bridge set me back 4000 Kip and the wait was again very short. By some strange coincidence I ended up in the same seat and noted the seat back in front of me had acquired new graffiti.

Thai Immigration was a progenative mass assembly a/k/a/ a clusterf*ck. The wait was lessened slightly by there being a separate booth serving Thai and Lao citizens while we long-nosed cash dispensers had two other queues to choose from. The delay was in some cases up to 5 minutes per person entering.

The Thai Immigration officers seemed to be actively interrogating some people, although there was no clear pattern of gender, age, nationality or number of prior visits to Thailand. In my case I presented my passport opened to my new visa page and was asked to stoop a bit so my photo could be taken. The officer fumbled through my passport a while (it's 112 pages thick now) and I had to ask him what he was looking for.

I had a feeling something was up so I asked in English, and he wanted to see the page with the Laos exit stamp, so I found it for him. Then he asked me if I speak Thai and again I had that feeling so I told him "No, not really" (a prevarication) and he stamped me in. I can't really say what that was all about, but I suspect they are trying to weed out some class of people for further interrogation.

After that I found a tuk-tuk to the Nong Khai bus station for 60 baht and copped a ticket for the air-conditioned bus to Udon Thani for 40 baht. An hour or so later I was in that fine city and enjoying the venality of their public transportation system...

At the first bus stop in Udon Thani one simply hops on the #6 white sawng thaew, rides a bit, then changes to the #14 route (usually red-brown) to get to Robinsons, the Charoensri Shopping Mall and the heart of the farang ghetto. But I decided to test and see how honest folks would be, and was very disappointed.

There seems to be an agreement by the sawng thaew drivers not to answer questions from farang regarding destinations even when asked properly in Thai. I was repeatedly referred to a husband and wife couple who seem to serve as the fixers for the tuk-tuk pilots, and was quoted a ridiculous sum of 100 baht. I stuck to my guns and got a ride for less ridiculous 50 baht, and was given the privilege of riding in the most clapped-out tuk-tuk in town for my trouble.

After that, I took my normal accommodations in Udon Thani and started sorting out the return to Bangkok. Eventually I settled on the 06.54 train which is a decent value, paying 479 Baht for a seat in 2nd Class A/C, and arriving at Bang Sue Station at around 16.40 which is a terminus of the Bangkok subway.

The #76 train is a decent ride, they don't bother you if you go stand on the bogie joint to smoke cigarets as long as you're discrete and don't block the train crew too often, but it might not be a good choice if you've got a bad back, motion sickness or small kids in tow. It can be bumpy and loud in some of those diesel-electric rail cars, so not a good option for a deep sleep. (There are also 3 overnight trains with sleeper cars which are much quieter.)

The train crew has drinks for sale at 7-11 prices and some meals early in the trip as well, plus there are the local folks who board every few stops to hawk Thai food.

I didn't keep a detailed budget, but my sense is that the whole trip cost just under 12,000 baht. That includes a flight BKK-UTH, Laos entry, Thai visa fees, meals, three room nights, the UTH-BKK train and other transportation and minor costs. I'm sure it could be done cheaper on a tighter schedule but there was no need for speed this time, and it was quite a nice experience for the most part.

[tropo]

The 100 baht 7-9 passenger mini-van from Udon Thani airport (UTH) to Nong Khai is fast, safe and comfortable. The ticket booth is inside the air terminal and clearly marked, just to the right of the exit from the building. Make sure you let the ticket booth attendant (English-speaking) and the driver both know you want to go to the bridge ("ao bpai sa-paan, khrap"), although you probably won't be the only one going there.

Good report!

Are you sure the minivan was 100 baht per person? In January I paid 150 and a few weeks ago I paid 200 baht per person.

[camble]

Thanks for the excellent report. Very valuable information and recommendations.

[vespajw]

The 100 baht 7-9 passenger mini-van from Udon Thani airport (UTH) to Nong Khai is fast, safe and comfortable. The ticket booth is inside the air terminal and clearly marked, just to the right of the exit from the building. Make sure you let the ticket booth attendant (English-speaking) and the driver both know you want to go to the bridge ("ao bpai sa-paan, khrap"), although you probably won't be the only one going there.

Good report!

Are you sure the minivan was 100 baht per person? In January I paid 150 and a few weeks ago I paid 200 baht per person.

I may very well have gotten that wrong. I can't clearly recall if I handed them one red note or two. I have the sense that you're right as I seem to recall hotel drop-offs into Udon Thani were priced at 50 or 60 baht. Sorry for the error everyone.

Update: I just found the receipt and it's printed 200 THB / Person. It's also printed "Limousine Services", but be ye not deceived... It's a mini-van. If it's at all helpful, the phone number for the service is 08-1544-3622 in Udon Thani (or elsewhere as it's a mobile number) and 042-411-530 in Nong Khai.

[vespajw]

Thanks for the excellent report. Very valuable information and recommendations.

My pleasure and I hope it's helpful to someone else.

A few additional observations, corrections and addenda:

There's construction going on next door to the Mina Hotel which seems to be an enlargement project. I was never disturbed by any noise. The structure is complete and it's in the fitting-out stage so there shouldn't be any jackhammers, pile-drivers or ersatz machinery noises except for the odd buzzsaw perhaps.

What there is plenty of is red Mekhong dust. Outside the Mina and everywhere in Vientiane it seems. It's a simple fact of life, so you might not want to wear white. And while temps are very cool, even a bit cold at night just now, the direct daytime sun is still very hot. Sunblock if you need it, or the simple expedient of a cap and lightweight, light-colored clothes really helps.

The Mina Hotel can be contacted on +856-21-244-412 (tel) or +856-21-217-563 (fax). However their published URL www.minahotel.com is no longer theirs (it's now a parking page), but their alternate email at [email protected] may still work.

The Mina Hotel is mostly used to serving Laotians and Vietnamese, although there were a good percentage of Westerners, too. At least one of the desk clerks speaks passable English. If he helps you with something, tip him; he's getting married in a few months and the sin sot is killing him.

A correction: In my earlier report I consistently misspelled Lane Xiang Road. Sorry. (It's the same as in Thai "laan chang" or "million elephants" referring to the military might of the erstwhile Kingdom of Laos).

Transliterations of Lao to English are more consistent as a rule than Thai to English. Every standard of service in Laos seems to be more consistent than in Thailand, to be frank. Not always brilliant, but at least uniform as though everyone had gone to the same academy.

The Latin-alphabet portions of Laotian road signs may say "Rue" or "Avenue" but it's almost always thanon in Lao. There didn't seem to be any soi or dtraawk...

As noted by me and others, virtually every person under 30 you'll meet in Vientiane speaks passable Thai. If they don't get the gist of what you're saying, it's probably your accent queering the deal. Slow down and try again.

You'll get farther speaking standard Thai in many cases than trying to speak the Isaan dialect. Hello is a simple "sabaidee" not "sambaidee baw" for instance. Many Lao words are the same as Thai, but many are not, so if you're not sure you're being understood just swallow your pride, set aside your hard-earned Thai language skills and try English or French (or pointing or sign language).

As another example near and dear to my own heart, a small bottle of beer is "gaew noi" rather than "kuat lek" and when it's empty... "gaew bao" not "bia mowt". By all means, try Beerlao at local prices if you get the chance. It's a fantastic light pilsener brewed with modern German technology. A small bottle in a restaurant will set you back maybe 10,000 Kip, less in a convenience store. There are no 7-11's but you can find plenty of clean and honest local alternatives.

It's rather difficult to find a place that's sells 1-2-Call and other Thai top-up cards so load the phone before you leave Thailand. You may notice that there's an overlap between Thai mobile providers and Lao Telecom services in Vientiane as you move inland away from the river.

Your mobile phone should display the name of the network you're on; if it says both Laos GSM and TH-GSM at the same time, you'll pay the Lao Telecom international rate (20 baht SMS to Thailand starts to hurt after a while). This problem goes away when you're on the banks of the Mekhong or along Fa Ngum Road. You'll pay the domestic Thai rate for both SMS and voice calls as the Thai signal predominates.

Internet access in every net cafe I tried was abominably slow. Don't bother trying to do multimedia of any sort. The computers also tend to be old and poorly maintained so anything more than text emails would have to be for optimists only, although calls with Skype do seem to work some of the time from some locations.

Keep in mind the government of Laos has the perfect right by their laws to intercept your communications and invade your privacy in many other regards, too. Think before you speak, write or act. It's not East Germany with informers lurking everywhere, but use a little common sense, please.

When chatting with the locals, there's no need as a rule to discuss Lao politics. Most of us have no direct experience with life under far-left systems of government anyhow, so what would we really have to contribute? Even if you're a Cuban or North Korean and want discuss the glorious revolution, you'll probably find the average Laotian has no interest in the topic. The vast majority are just plain folks trying to get along, not political theorists or doctrinaire banner-wavers.

If you get hungry along Fa Ngum Road, have a meal at the Alexia Tex-Mex place. The bartender, Mr. Sai, speaks English pretty well. (Wish him good luck getting his visa to go to Texas.) There's quite a good breakfast to be had at Le Banneton; probably the best cafe au lait in South-East Asia, too. For lunch you won't regret the pulled pork sandwich and fries at the Full Moon Cafe.

And if you find all that eating to be tiring, try a massage at Laomekhong Traditional Massage on Fa Ngum Road. A superb 1-hour oil massage will set you back 50,000 Kip. No funny business.

[fabianfred]

When i used to go to Vientiane ten years ago, we had to get the Laos visa from their embassy in BKK by using a travel agent in Chiangmai....is this still the case....I heard we can get them at the border now at NongKhai....?

[Lite Beer]

Yes. Can get at the border.

[lapamita]

hi,

i am going to vientiane about 15.12

just 2 questions

1. are their agents who go to the embassy and make the process , a iam a lazy guy in the morning

2. TR double no problem korrekt

3. is their any nightlife now,last time i went their 10yr ago, any girls bar or gogo now,

4. hotel whats good in the higher class 1000thb to 2000thb best central around bars

thanks for answer

[thibautm]

Hello,

I heard that Thai Consulate in Vientianne stop to deliver Tourist Visa, can you confirm if it's true? Cause, I have to go on the 9th Of December.

And can you confirm if the thai consulate, will be close the 10th of December

Thank you very much for your help

Jack

[brewsterbudgen]

Hello,

I heard that Thai Consulate in Vientianne stop to deliver Tourist Visa, can you confirm if it's true? Cause, I have to go on the 9th Of December.

And can you confirm if the thai consulate, will be close the 10th of December

Thank you very much for your help

Jack

Yes, the Thai Consulate in Vientiane will be closed on 10 December for Constitution Day.

Not heard anything about stopping Tourist visas. Very unlikely I would think - why would they want to?

[bangkokgas]

It is worth remembering that tourist visas whether a single/double are at the discretion of the consulate. Indeed, they seem to be using that discretion based on ones nationality. I actually heard directly from a staff member to an African applicant that "you cannot have a double-entry, only a single". No hard and fast rules it seems as always.