Visa Run To Laos - 30 Day Standard Visa

[MadFrankie]

Now that you can get cheap flights to Khon Kaen, laos looks like another alternative for bangkokers instead of cambodia for a 30 day visa?

Just a few questions for someone in the know...

1. How long does it take to get from Khon Kaen to the Laos border by taxi/train?

2. How often are the trains?

3. How much would a taxi cost? And is there plenty avail?

4. How much does the laos visa cost?

5. What is there to do in the laos capital apart from smoke loads of opium? Theres girly bars / whore hot spots, etc?

6. Quality/price/and safety of hotels/the city itself?

Cheers in advance, I did do a search but I looked like it was going to take all day trawling thru the results to find the info I wanted.

thanks