Visa Run From Chiang Mai To Laos

by John Priest
(Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada)

Three months ago, having already made my two allowable walk-across visa runs into Burma from Mae Sai, I faced the prospect of having to make a visa run to a Thai Consulate in another country. I chose, more or less randomly, to go to Vientienne, Laos. I'd never been there before and when the topic of visas is brought up at one of my favorite watering holes it always leaves me confused and in need of a couple aspirin.

I'm no expert, this is just a brief account of how it went for me (very well) with a few comments and observations on the overall experience.

Getting There

Like most others when visa renewal time approaches I get a bit anxious. Where to go? How to get there? How much will it cost?

Through the "grapevine" I'd heard that the bus ride over the mountains was a real adventure in addition to the air-con and fans not working at all. The boat ride, while interesting, was long, noisy and hard on your back. Hearing "Never Again!" comments sealed it.

I decided to fly. The mistake I made here was booking the flight with Lao Aviation. It was expensive, especially considering the actual amount of time spent in the air. It involved a three hour stopover in Luang Prabang and put me into Vientienne at 8:30 p.m. In reality I was in the air for less than an hour but it felt like I was flying all the way to Vancouver.

One nice surprise was the absence of taxi trouble at the airport. Simply go to the taxi counter and buy a $6 ticket.

I later found out that Nok Air offers a twice weekly flight to Nong Kai on the Thai/Lao border where it's easy to get a mini-bus across the Friendship Bridge. It's faster, easier and about half the price. I wonder why my travel agent didn't tell me about this?

The Process

You need three passport size photos. One for entry into Laos and two for the Thai Consulate. Of course there's a fee for entry into Laos and it varies according to where you are from. Much to my annoyance, Canadians pay the most ($42.00.) It's $38.00 for Americans and U.S. Dollars are required.

The Thai Embassy is easy to find. It's about four kilometers up from the Mekong River on the main drag that has the Arch de Triomphe (really worth seeing with its' big beautiful park.) It's clearly marked on all the maps of the city.

I lined up with about 40 other foreigners at 8:30 in the morning and declined to buy a form from the well dressed fellow hocking them. It is free in the Consulate. Nice try buddy!

The whole process is relatively fast, friendly and efficient. The fee is 1,000 Baht. Also, much to my surprise, several people told me after I returned to Chiang Mai that the Vientienne Consulate (as opposed to those in Phnom Phen and Penang) is the only place in SE Asia that grants two month visas. I'm not positive this is true but I did get the two month visa in Laos with no problems.

While There

There seems to be a popular misconception that everything in Laos is a lot cheaper than in Thailand. This may have been true a few years ago but with its' increasing popularity as a tourist destination prices are roughly the same.

Thai Baht and U.S. Dollars are readily accepted everywhere and I never experienced any problems with getting a fair exchange rate in restaurants and stores. If you do change Baht into Kip, try to keep it small and try to remember that Kip cannot be exchanged anywhere outside of Laos.

There are plenty of good restaurants down along the river. Great baguette sandwiches and fruit shakes can be found almost anywhere.

I arrived during the high season and found that the guest house recommended by friends was full. The taxi driver was good natured and helped me find another one about two Km from the river for $20 a night. Tuk Tuk drivers are more aggressive than in Chiang Mai and I was told of a scam where they increase the agreed upon fare if there is only one passenger.

The visa run to Laos was interesting, stress free, relatively inexpensive (except for the mistake I made with the plane ticket) and seemed to be the best one to do. I would recommend it to anyone.