Chiang Mai To Vientiane Visa Run Info

[beb]

Just wanted to give a brief rundown of my experience on a recent visa run to Vientiane from Chiang Mai. I was a bit confused by all the various accounts I found here and in other places so hopefully this won't add to confusion and maybe help somebody.

I chose to fly to Udon Thani over taking the bus. I don't sleep well on the bus in the hills and decided the extra cost was worth arriving well rested. Flying to Udon and then going over land is much cheaper than flying directly to Vientiane so that was my choice.

As you are walking out of the terminal, there is a booth the the right selling tickets to the Friendship bridge for 200 baht. The people are going to be calling you so it's not like you can miss it. Very simple process.

At friendship bridge I had a bit of a slip up that I guess was my fault. I had my $35 ready to hand over until the guy in the window told me "Thirty Six dollars". This threw me for a loop and I kept asking how much until he was so frustrated I just handed over my 1,500 hard earned baht and moved on. I think the extra dollar is for the picture you are supposed to have with you. I had the picture but did not hand it over and was just waiting for them to ask. Duh. Anyway, I lost a few bucks over that mistake. My suggestion is hand over the picture and have that extra American dollar.

From there I shared a taxi with two other people. We talked the guy down to 120 baht each and he took us each to our destination. I understand from talking to people later that you can get them for 100 so I guess you just need to negotiate more. There was a song taw there for 50 baht but we figured that after we got into town we'd end up paying to get to our hotels and I think that is the case. I'd suggest the taxi which is probably cheaper in the long run.

For the hotel I had been directed by a friend to a place on the river. It turned out to be under construction and the surrounding hotels cost around $60 a night so I just started walking until I found another place that was asking 100,000 kip or 400 baht for a single with a hot shower and a/c. After walking from the river I was exhausted and just happy to have a place to relax and so I took this. To be honest, in the future I'd stay away from the river area unless you are making a vacation out of this. It is a distance from the consulate and the river's nothing special. There is a night market so I guess if you really need to visit yet another one of those markets then maybe that's best for you.

I met somebody in line who was staying at the La Ong Dao Hotel just south of the consulate. He said it was new and he was paying 800 baht but that there were special online rates of 400 baht. I wish I'd had known that. It was really close and would have made the trip much easier. It might be worth looking for that rate online. Here is a link to a map I made showing the hotel, consulate and bus station http://goo.gl/maps/DLWfF

I was there for the Non Immigrant B visa. There were others who were getting other visas and their procedures seemed to be a bit different. Just note that if you are there for something other than the Non immigrant B.

So I arrived at the consulate at 8:30 and was flagged over by some guys to fill out the paperwork. They do not work with the consulate but like to give the impression that they do. I paid the 100 baht just so I wouldn't have any glitches and to save time but frankly they have a table inside with glue for pictures (make sure you have two) and pens and you have plenty of time to fill things out. Oh well, I wasted $3. So when the doors open, you file in and take a number. Make sure you hold onto that number and don't allow it to end up in a pocket you forget about. They will use the slip for you to hand over to another window. So after the paperwork is approved you'll be sent into another building to window six. This is another waiting process for your number, the same number you had before. When you're called, pay your money and you're free until the next day at 1.

A really important point, make sure you have all of your documents in order. The guy who told me about the hotel was missing 2 pieces. His school had failed to include them. He ended up not getting the right visa and has to return in 30 or 60 days to try again. What a drag. Anyway, I was lucky and they had it all in order for me.

The next day I arrived early and ate at a place across the street. I found that everything next to the consulate is twice what it is normally in town. I walked over to get in line at 12 and ran into the same guy from the first day. We agreed to share a taxi back and booked a guy who was parked outside the consulate. My new friend also suggested I pay a woman at a cart 100 baht to pick up the passport. That seemed like an indulgence since it was just a matter of waiting in line but frankly it was money well spent. While everybody was baking in the sun for an hour, we sat at the little shop under the umbrella and sipped on cold drinks. That 100 baht was worth it.

After the gates opened we waited about 10-15 minutes until our guy came out and gave us our passports, loaded up the van and headed out. The van had two others booked so if yours doesn't then they may wait for others before they leave.

After a quick and very comfortable ride to the border I hopped over to the duty free while my friend went through and found another taxi driver. Yes I'm sure this place isn't really "duty free" but I needed to dump kip and would rather have merchandise than useless currency.

After crossing Laos immigration and before crossing Friendship Bridge, we booked a van into Udon Thani. Now this is a critical point. Some people wait until they cross the bridge and then look for a taxi but I think ours this was a much better way. We each paid 200 baht to be dropped where we wanted in Udon Thani. Again we had to wait for enough passengers but for us it was a matter of minutes. I heard it can take much longer depending on the border traffic. They STILL charge you 20 baht to cross the bridge, even though you aren't taking the bus. It's a little ridiculous but that's how it works. After crossing the bridge, the driver let us out to go through Thai Immigration. We left our bags in the van. After passing through immigration we were off after a quick stop at a market to get drinks and that was it. I was at the airport around 3:30…4 hours before my flight home.

This was my first time to do this so I made some noobie mistakes and a couple of just knuckle headed ones but it was all around pretty painless. I'd read so many varying accounts of how to do this that my head was spinning. I could have saved money in some of my transportation choices but I'm glad I flew to Udon rather than deal with the overnight bus and I'd rather pay for a A/C van to take me to my destination than be dumped in the center of a town. The buses that go directly to Udon Thani from Vientiane are on a limited schedule and I've heard they aren't that great. My biggest concern with them was that I think the earliest I could catch was 4 pm and I was nervous about getting to my flight. Plus I would have to catch a Tuktuk from town to the airport and that would probably be 100 baht so in the end I don't think those buses save you very much.

I was not in a touristy mode while there and it was hot as hell so I didn't get around much (although I did walk around several hours) and can't say much about Vientiane. It's a pretty run down place. I ate at some decent local joints but nothing really spectacular. They do have the baguette sandwiches which is a nice change but my first omelette baguette had anchovies or some fishy stuff and was slathered with mayo (I hate mayo) and the next wasn't much better. I never got around to having the traditional Laos sandwich.

Prices were generally higher for everything in Vientiane. And I had them make a "mistake" on my bill 3 times (always an overcharge) and I had to correct them. Next time I'll try harder to know some places to eat at rather than stumbling into random joints.

Anyway, hope this is helpful and not too confusing.

[nattydread]

Thanks for the info Beb.......I have a non immigrant O visa from the UK that runs out in a couple of months so can anybody tell me what type of visa I might obtain in Vientaine as I do not wish to make the trip back to the UK just for a visa

can I get a new non immigrant O visa?.....I am over 50

sure I read something about back to back two month tourist visas that can be extended for an extra month..total six months.......how many of these are u allowed to get consecutivly?

[limegreenpatato]

Thanks for the info Beb.......I have a non immigrant O visa from the UK that runs out in a couple of months so can anybody tell me what type of visa I might obtain in Vientaine as I do not wish to make the trip back to the UK just for a visa

can I get a new non immigrant O visa?.....I am over 50

sure I read something about back to back two month tourist visas that can be extended for an extra month..total six months.......how many of these are u allowed to get consecutivly?

You used to be able to get a ton back to back, but i've heard they are cracking down on it now. I know people that have 3 back to back.

[bobl]

Just fyi, for next time - the extra $1 was probably their 'overtime' fee which you pay on Sundays and certain other random times I haven't been able to work out. Always best to have a few $singles handy just in case.

Price-wise, yeah - prices tend to be a bit "all over the place" depending how much of a newbie you look - but you seem to have got reasonable deals along the way...

Being stuck with Kip - yeah, been there done that. Next time I won't even bother changing. Actually they seem to prefer THB to Kip you've just got to be a little bit sharp in translating between US$/THB/Kip in your head...

Food - If you were underwhelmed I'd wager you didn't find a little place called Via Via near the river. Great food and if you like beer, they have Lef !

[DowntownAl]

Just fyi, for next time - the extra $1 was probably their 'overtime' fee which you pay on Sundays and certain other random times I haven't been able to work out. Always best to have a few $singles handy just in case.

Price-wise, yeah - prices tend to be a bit "all over the place" depending how much of a newbie you look - but you seem to have got reasonable deals along the way...

Being stuck with Kip - yeah, been there done that. Next time I won't even bother changing. Actually they seem to prefer THB to Kip you've just got to be a little bit sharp in translating between US$/THB/Kip in your head...

Food - If you were underwhelmed I'd wager you didn't find a little place called Via Via near the river. Great food and if you like beer, they have Lef !

Agreed - there are lots of good restaurants by the river as well as a couple of good bars/pubs too. Always forget the neame of the bar on the river road, 4th floor walk up, gorgeous view over the night market and the river, nice spot. I stay at the Douang Deuane Hotel (800 baht with breakfast, a balcony and a nice view of the city and river) but there many in that area that range from 500 to 2000 baht. Backpacker spots for 200 baht. I tend to change baht to KIP but not too much,if you still have some in your pocket on the way out, buy a t-shirt.

[beb]

Just fyi, for next time - the extra $1 was probably their 'overtime' fee which you pay on Sundays and certain other random times I haven't been able to work out. Always best to have a few $singles handy just in case.

Price-wise, yeah - prices tend to be a bit "all over the place" depending how much of a newbie you look - but you seem to have got reasonable deals along the way...

Being stuck with Kip - yeah, been there done that. Next time I won't even bother changing. Actually they seem to prefer THB to Kip you've just got to be a little bit sharp in translating between US$/THB/Kip in your head...

Food - If you were underwhelmed I'd wager you didn't find a little place called Via Via near the river. Great food and if you like beer, they have Lef !

Agreed - there are lots of good restaurants by the river as well as a couple of good bars/pubs too. Always forget the neame of the bar on the river road, 4th floor walk up, gorgeous view over the night market and the river, nice spot. I stay at the Douang Deuane Hotel (800 baht with breakfast, a balcony and a nice view of the city and river) but there many in that area that range from 500 to 2000 baht. Backpacker spots for 200 baht. I tend to change baht to KIP but not too much,if you still have some in your pocket on the way out, buy a t-shirt.

Ah, I wish I'd chatted with you guys before I went. Oh well, there's always a next time.

[beb]

Just an update. I ended up having to go back and stayed at a hotel close to the consulate called the Bouchadakham Hotel.

It was an interesting old place but quiet clean and comfortable. Most people want to stay near the river but for us it was great to be so close to the consulate and there were plenty of places to eat nearby and a convenience store next door.

Here is a map showing it and the consulate http://goo.gl/maps/xTQhn

[Ulysses G.]

Some of the Indian restaurants in Vientiane are better than any I've ever found in Thailand.