ED-Visa in Laos/Savannakhet - same day service

[noni99]

Found a report here about getting the ED-Visa the same day you apply at the Consulate in Savannakhet. I tried it and was successful - here is my report ...

I had to be at the Thai Consulate in Savannakhet before 11 a.m. in order to apply for the Visa - and the border procedures on the way can consume a lot of time. So I tried to be in Mukdahan (Thai Border-City, opposite the Mekhong river from Savannakhet in Laos) in time to reach the bus to Savannakhet at 8:30 a.m. on Monday 20th of October.

Took a yellow bus on Sunday evening from the North-Pattaya station to Mukdahan. Because the more comfortable VIP-Bus left too late (9 p.m.) and there is no bus between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., I had to take the Standard-Bus at 6 p.m. (620 Baht). The scheduled arrival time was 8 a.m. - some 14 hrs. We needed 15,5 hours and arrived in Mukdahan on Monday at 9:30 a.m..

Was very lucky to get the Mukdahan-Savannakhet Bus which left a bit later than the scheduled 9:30 (departs every hour). He took us for 50 Baht to the Thai-Lao bridge and waited for the passengers to pass the Thai departure check in order to take us to the other side of the bridge - to the Lao Immigration. For the Laos 'Visa on arrival' it's a good deal to pay in USD (for most countries between 30 and 35 Dollars), otherwise they charge 1.500 Baht - about 45 USD.

Left the Laos Immigration at 10:40 and had to take a taxi to the Consulate because it was too close to 11 already. The Taxi drivers also know that and asked 200 Baht for the 5-6 mins. drive. Was lucky to get it for 150 - was the only one who wanted to go there, all the others (some 50 passengers) continued with the bus to the Savannakhet Bus-Station.

Arrived at the Thai-Consulate 10 mins. before the deadline, 2 others were before me in the queue. Filled out the application-form and handed it over - together with the passport, the documents from the school and 2 photos (no passport copies needed). The lady at the Visa counter was looking quite a long time through the school-documents and also showed them to someone else. Finally she asked for 2.000 Baht, gave me the collection number and told me to come back between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.

There was much time until then, so I went all the way to the city center - the 30-40 mins. in the sun was a good exercise. If you don't like to walk in the heat, you have to accept the Tuk-Tuk prices - the 'transport-mafia' waits outside the new consulate, which is away from the city; unlike the old one.

Across the Consulate I saw a nearly finished Shopping-Center, which will also have some Bowling lanes - maybe will go there during the next Visa-run. Ate a really crispy and tasty Baguette on the way and had a good Mango-Lassi and a coffee at 'Lin's Cafe' (near the main-square) incl. WiFi. Passed some very nice temples on the way back close to the riverfront.

Returned at 4 p.m. and got the passport with the ED-Visa 1 minute later because nobody else was waiting there. Walked about 10 mins. down the road to the Bus-Station and got the Bus at 4:30 p.m back to Mukdahan. In case you take a taxi to the border, you still have to wait for the bus to take you to the other side of the bridge (Thai immigration).

Needed about 1 hour for Lao and Thai Immigration, arrived at 5:40 p.m. at the Mukdahan Bus station. This time I booked the VIP Bus for 720 Baht (the seats alone are well worth the 100 Baht more) back to Pattaya - there are 2 departures; at 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. During daytime many Standard buses are leaving as well. Arrived in Pattaya nearly 14 hrs. later - more than 1,5 hours faster than the Standard bus in the other direction.

For the whole trip incl. Visa-fees (without food and drinks) I paid less than 4.800 Baht - my cheapest and fastest ED-Visa run so far.

Departure from Pattaya: Sunday 19. Oct. at 6 p.m.
Arrival back in Pattaya: Tuesday 21. Oct. at 9 a.m.

List of the fees in Baht:
1.340 Bus Pattaya-Mukdahan and return
1.160 35 USD Laos Visa
2.000 Fee for Thai ED-Visa
150 Taxi to the Consulate
100 Bus Mukdahan-Savannakhet and return

For my next ED-Visa trip in 1 year I will head to Bangkok-Morchit, from there are more VIP buses going to Mukdahan. I want to avoid the standard bus in the future.

[falang07]

Thanks for the report. Still it is a big waste of time, money and energy, not to mention the risks of these longish bus travels. I hope they bring back the old system without having to leave the country every year and undergo all this hassle.

[bigjohn72]

Hello!

Thanks for the great report!

How was the VIP Bus ?

Was it like on these pictures: http://www.iloveyellowbus.com/services.html ?

Edited October 22, 2014 by bigjohn72

[noni99]

Hello!

Thanks for the great report!

How was the VIP Bus ?

Was it like on these pictures: http://www.iloveyellowbus.com/services.html ?

Unfortunately the seats weren't that comfortable like these on the pictures, but far better than the standard seats which are smaller and don't have a leg rest.

Maybe the pictures are from a VIP 24 bus (24 seats, 3 in a row) which are used on the route to Koh Samui, I traveled in a VIP bus with 32 seats (4 per row).

[noni99]

Thanks for the report. Still it is a big waste of time, money and energy, not to mention the risks of these longish bus travels. I hope they bring back the old system without having to leave the country every year and undergo all this hassle.

For sure a big waste - I also would be happy, if the old system comes back.

Specially the return trip in the bus was hard, still felt the 15 hours from the previous night in the bones and had to sit that long again...

I am not sure how it would have been if I would have taken the standard bus for both journeys?

If you travel from far away, It's better to stay in Savannakhet for 1-2 nights to relax the body from the torture of the 1st trip before heading back 'home'. In that case you also don't have to worry to make it to the consulate before 11 a.m. on the first day.

The guest houses and smaller hotels offer rooms for about 250 (fan) to 400 Baht (aircon, fridge, hot-water, private toilet).

And to avoid the taxi-mafia you can rent a bicycle for 60 Baht a day (saw some places to rent in the center, but not near the consulate).

Don't worry about the traffic - it's very relaxed there.

The same-day service from the consulate is nice, and very useful for someone who lives closer to Mukdahan and can also be good for someone who arrives too late for the application.

[kevden]

Thanks for the information noni99. I might travel to this area when the need arises for a look around a part of Laos I have not visited. Imho, you give good information for the next visitors to bear in mind when dealing with some unscrupulous locals. Thanks again.

[noni99]

Thanks for the information noni99. I might travel to this area when the need arises for a look around a part of Laos I have not visited. Imho, you give good information for the next visitors to bear in mind when dealing with some unscrupulous locals. Thanks again.

... beside the taxi-drivers I spoke to (hopefully not all are like that), I didn't see unscrupulous locals there - for a 5 mins. drive they wanted 200 Baht (1 night in a small, clean hotel with air, fridge, hot-water costs 400 baht).

It was my 2nd trip to Savannakhet in 8 years, so I don't know it really - but the locals I met were 'sabaai sabaai'.

Absolutely stress-free there - it's a nice change to my usual life-style (which I would probably miss after a couple of days).

On my first trip I took a bicycle to explore all the small streets and temples in the (quite big) center along the waterfront - enjoyed it a lot.

The surroundings should also be very nice for trekking, cycling-tours ... http://www.ecotourismlaos.com/activities/act_trekking.htm#Savannakhet

[noni99]

Update to 'same day service in Savannakhet':

Just found this info about 'no more same day service from 1st Febr. 2015':

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/794602-savannakhet-thai-consulate-stop-same-day-service-1st-feb-2015/

It seems to be over with this useful service ...