1) Starting 2nd TR Visa entry via Cambodian Border Crossing During Floods & 2) Cheapest alternative?

[wml22]

Hello everyone,

I very much need advice. I have been in Thailand since July.

Before October 14th, I must do a border crossing to initiate the 2nd entry on my double-entry tourist visa.

I had planned to cross the border of Cambodia by driving there with my girlfriend, but she is now telling me that the flooding makes that impossible. (We would be driving from Korat, which is where we live.)

My first question: is it truly impossible to reach Cambodia from Korat by car, in the current flooding conditions?

If so, then I feel aggravated at the prospect of having to go to Laos just for a border crossing, when I still don't need a new visa. I am here on a tight budget, and it seems exorbitant to have the extra expense of paying for a Laotian visa, just to cross and come back into Thailand the same day. And that's without factoring in the extra time and fuel of driving all the way to Laos, which is almost twice as far.

My second question: going from Korat, what is the cheapest alternative to a Cambodian border crossing for intiating the 2nd entry on a tourist visa?

I am not sure whether this information is outdated, but this teak doors site has a border crossing guide which claims that:

Chongmek in Ubon Rathchathani Province to Vang Tao, Pakse, Laos

Border crossing is open 6am till 7pm.

From Ubon Ratchathani you can get the bus to Chongmek, this takes about 1 and a half hours.

Again another ferry crossing across the Mekhong river, actually around Pakse they got 200 year old towns, some old French Steam Locomotives and supposedly the biggest waterfall in Asia, to get to Pakse takes about one hour in a Sawngthaew.

Visas here are available on arrival into Laos, also if you just wish to visit the market in Laos you can generally leave your passport at immigration and pay a 70baht entrance fee, visa cost is 30 US dollars.

You can also take your car across this border crossing as long as it is registered in your name.

Is this true or reliable information, that by getting to Laos this way, it's possible to only pay a 70 baht entrance fee instead of paying for the 30 dollar visa? Would such a situation make it possible to get the re-entry stamp when crossing into Thailand, or would the re-entry stamp only be granted by a Thai official if there was a already a passport stamp showing entry into Laos (which, I presume, would only have been granted by paying for the 30 dollar visa)?

I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out the best way to deal with a border crossing when Cambodia is inaccessible because of flooding, and want to know not only for the sake of dealing with the situation now, but also so that I know what to do when such flooding happens in the future. Of course, what I'm really hoping is that my girlfriend is wrong about there being no way to drive to Cambodia in the next few days.

Thank you for your time. Any guidance that you could share would be much appreciated.

Edited October 8, 2013 by wml22

[ubonjoe]

The 70 baht would just be a border pass and would not work for getting an entry because you would not be stamped out of Thailand and into Laos. Not even sure it is even available now.

For most countries the Lao visa on arrival is $35 or 1500 baht.

From Korat you could go to Chong Chom in Surin province to enter Cambodia.

Edited October 8, 2013 by ubonjoe

[wml22]

Thank you ubonjoe. It is good to have confirmation that the "border passes" don't work for making new entries on the visa, as I had thought was probably the case.

Are you sure that flooding has not made it infeasible to drive from Korat to Chong Chom in Surin? Only a couple of weeks ago, the National News Burea of Thailand stated that "Surin is currently experiencing the worst flooding in 40 years as rainstorms damaged agricultural land and roads, paralyzing traffic" (from this post on these forums).

I will tell my girlfriend that the route to Chong Chom in Surin should be passable by car, despite the flooding, and we will give it a try on Thursday, if you or others here can confirm that now the route is driveable. Has anyone made this trip since the flooding started, or seen a current weather / traffic report (i.e. for Routes 224, 24, and 214)?

[ubonjoe]

From what I have read the worst is over. You could do a post on the Isaan forum asking for an update.

[wml22]

That's a good idea, I just made a post in the Isaan forum. Maybe someone there will be able to verify. Thank you for suggesting that!