Fyi Up To Date Notes On Travel To Laos And Visa Renewal

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, TV friends,

Last time was in Vientiane, about November last year, I discovered a lovely guest house near the river with really cheap rooms with ac : seemed real clean and friendly : I can't seem to find their brochure : anyone have an idea which guest house that was ? Or something similar (600 baht per night or under, hopefully not next to some source of loud night noise).

The Oudomxay (northern Laos) festival is on while I am there, but I don't know about travelling in country if my passport is tired up in Vientiane : the thought of that makes me nervous, and while I would love to visit Oudomxay, I suspect the heat this time of year might be too much for me. Details and links on the Oudomxay festival are appended here.

On the off chance some of the information I've gathered may be useful, I'll post it here, with the warning that you should always check and double-check before making any travel plans if any information ... like this ... is still up to date. A friend of mine told me that the Thai consular services in Vientiane had moved yeseterday since I was there last about seven months ago. And, yes, there are many threads on travel and visa detail here on TV : just search in the appropriate forums for typical keywords. Some of the ones I read are appended here.

Following the advice of several folks on this forum, and other forums, on TV, I booked the Oosuksatour company 32 seat VIP bus to Udon Thani, and intend to take same back to Chiang Mai. While it would be wonderful to be confident I can obtain the visa in two days, my experience in the past has varied; if there is a "crush" at the Thai consular services in Vientiane Monday, perhaps it will take me three days ? So, unfortunately, I am not able to plan when to buy my ticket back from Udon to Chiang Mai, and I assume that Oosuksatour, as it does in Chiang Mai, does not run a bus every day of the week back. Worst case, I guess, is to take the "other bus" back.

Happy trails, ~o:37;

Threads on TV previously read for information (not recently checked) :

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Udon-Thani-A...os-t253259.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Vientiane-La...sa-t158561.html

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Chiang-Mai-U...us-t251718.html

All the following links cited were checked today : meaning they lead to working web sites, not that the information in them has been verified !

Laos Embassy in Bangkok :

http://www.bkklaoembassy.com/

download visa application in pdf format here :

http://www.bkklaoembassy.com/consular%20se...e/visa_form.pdf

note that recent threads on TV have suggested it is cheaper, if you are in Bangkok, to go there to obtain Laos entry visa than to do it at the border

Kingdom of Thailand consular services in Vientiane :

http://www.thaiembassy.org/vientiane/consu...ervices_en.html

map in .pdf format here :

http://www.thaiembassy.org/vientiane/pdf/M...%20Consular.pdf

Telephone (Lao): direct to Telephone system of the Consular Section: (856-21) 453916, 415337 Press 625 (08.30 – 12.00 hrs.), Press 610 – 615 (13.00 – 16.00 hrs.)

Telephone (Lao): via Telephone system from the Royal Thai Embassy): (856-21) 214581-3 Press 4 or 600 – 601 and then Press 625 (08.30 – 12.00 hrs.), Press 610 – 615 (13.00 – 16.00 hrs.)

Telephone (Thai): via Telephone system from the Royal Thai Embassy: (66-2) 354-6196-7 Press 4 or 600 – 601 and then Press 625 (08.30 – 12.00 hrs.), Press 610 – 615 (13.00 – 16.00 hrs.)

Facsimile: (856-21) 415-336

Hours: 08.30 – 16.30 hours (Monday – Friday, except Thai/Lao holidays)

recommended VIP bus company Chiang Mai <=> Udon Thani

Osuksatour Chiang Mai : 053-562-171 ? phone number not verified !

from a message on Thai Visa :

"We took a very nice VIP bus another time run by a company whose nam

I can't recall. Their office is somewhere in the city, not inside Arcade.

You will have to ask around as I didn't go to pick up the tickets myself.

Also on the way back from Udon, the default bus returning to CM is

also Chakapong, so get your return ticket from the bus company

next to the noodle shop accross from the Udon bus station - not inside the station.

They have brand new, super-clean and comfortable, double-decker buses.

The company is very popular with Thais and tickets sell out 2-3 days in advance.

Buy your ticket as soon as you arrive in Udon Thani. Their number is 042346391 -"

April - May 2009 Events in Laos :

Festival for Tourism Promotion :

Linking the Four Northern Provinces on Cultural Ethnic Diversity

25-30 April 2009, Oudomxay Province

http://www.tourismlaos.gov.la/

"Oudomxay province and the Lao National Tourism Administration will hold a cultural tourism festival from April

25 to 30 to boost tourism in Bokeo, Phongsaly, Luang Namtha and Oudomxay province."

Programme for the Oudomxay festival :

http://www.tourismlaos.gov.la/Timetable%20...20and%20Lao.pdf

Edited April 24, 2009 by orang37

[Loaded]

Good post - thank you

[eek]

Did a search and found this. BriIIiant Orang! Thanks so much!

[eek]

recommended VIP bus company Chiang Mai <=> Udon Thani

Osuksatour Chiang Mai : 053-562-171 ? phone number not verified !

from a message on Thai Visa :

"We took a very nice VIP bus another time run by a company whose nam

I can't recall. Their office is somewhere in the city, not inside Arcade.

You will have to ask around as I didn't go to pick up the tickets myself.

Also on the way back from Udon, the default bus returning to CM is

also Chakapong, so get your return ticket from the bus company

next to the noodle shop accross from the Udon bus station - not inside the station.

They have brand new, super-clean and comfortable, double-decker buses.

The company is very popular with Thais and tickets sell out 2-3 days in advance.

Buy your ticket as soon as you arrive in Udon Thani. Their number is 042346391 -"

So this reaIIy IS the eIusive "proper" VIP bus service from CM - UT? Can anyone verify if it reaIIy is the reaI deaI... A true VIP and comfortabIe bus journey? (with drivers that dont give you the wiIIies and air con that doesnt freeze your butt off )

[elektrified]

Eek, there are actually a few different bus companies offering VIP buses to Udon Thani. Just recently a member posted the contact info for another company as well. It was in this forum; you'll have to search. The company we used, my g/f found by looking on Pantip or one of those websites. There was only one bus a week as I recall. Just ask around.