Crossing the border into Laos

[by Jonas] In the morning of our onward journey, we checked out early, expecting a high influx of people at the border, especially on a Monday morning. It was quite simple, although it was the first time we paid for our stay and dinner the day before, including self-service drinks. We also quickly inquired about the expected Tuk Tuk prices for the nearly 4 km ride, so that we wouldn't get into a Tuk Tuk at inflated prices. The nice lady at the reception, who also happened to be the kitchen, told us that it should be a flat rate of 100 Baht (2.58€) for 2 persons.

Just around the corner and there was already the first Tuk Tuk driver. We negotiated the price of 100 Baht with him and we were on our way to the border crossing.

The journey took about 20 minutes and when we arrived, we were immediately surrounded by taxi drivers offering to take us directly to our hostel in Vientiane. Mind you: even on the Thai side of the border. But of course, we skillfully declined.

The exit from Thailand was quite simple. Without having to stand in line, we could go to the counter and the exit stamp was directly stamped into our passports. Behind the building, we had to buy a bus ticket for 15 Baht (0.39€) each. This bus then took us across the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge 1 over the Mekong.

When we arrived on the other side, it became a bit chaotic. No one really knew where to go first and there was no clear signage either. I went to one of the counters to get our visa applications, and we filled them out at the tables in front of the counters. We received assistance from someone whose role we weren't quite sure of at that time. But he helped us with any uncertainties regarding the visa application and showed us that we had to go back to the same counter with the completed applications. There, we had to hand in our passports, the completed applications including a passport photo, and the application fee of 30 US dollars per person (24.32€). We had already exchanged the dollars for Thai Baht at a good rate in Udon Thani. Contrary to many online reports, we did not have to pay a so-called "stamp fee". However, it is said to be common at some border crossings to Laos and it is simply a small tip of 1-2 US dollars per stamp that the officers earn. It is advised not to argue against it, as the officers have the right to refuse entry without giving reasons. But this was not the case for us and after a short wait of about 5 minutes, another window opened at a different counter and a Frenchman who had been waiting with us was called to the counter. Then it was our turn: a simple photo was taken with a webcam, just like in Thailand at the airport, and we received our passports back with the visa and entry stamp.
The aforementioned person then showed us the way through the police check, and after our luggage was screened, she led us to her pickup Tuk Tuk, together with the Frenchman, who, as it turned out, also had to go to our hostel. However, we found this maneuver and the pushiness a bit concerning. On the way out, the man even handed his hanging ID to another person waiting outside the building. That's why we asked him about the price. He replied with 200 Baht per person (5.16€), which seemed ok to us and corresponded to the advertised prices for this nearly 25 km long route. So we got in and arrived at our hostel 40 minutes later.

We checked in and could immediately go to our room, even though it wasn't the official check-in time yet. However, we didn't have any Laotian currency and didn't have enough US dollars due to the visa to pay for the hostel. But that was not a problem and we agreed that we would settle it later in the day. This was the first time we noticed how relaxed Laotians are about such things. But more on that later.

Our room (81,500 Kip / 8€ per person per night) is basic but nice and definitely better than the one in Nong Khai.

After all the visa stuff at the border, we inquired about the procedure in Vietnam and had to realize that it does not fit into our plans. The plan was actually to enter Vietnam by bus from Laos, but this is not possible with a "Visa on Arrival" in Vietnam. Even for the airport, it is recommended to obtain it before departure, although Germans are officially allowed to stay in Vietnam visa-free for 15 days. But there's the next problem: we want to stay in Vietnam longer than 15 days.
After much consideration, we finally decided to visit the Vietnamese embassy and apply for the visa for Thailand in Vientiane. Fortunately, they are open until 5 PM, so we could combine this with a first walk through the capital of Laos. Here we already noticed how Laos differs from Thailand: French colonial influences meet Buddhist temples! But at that time, we simply didn't have enough time to capture it properly, as we had to pay for the Vietnam visa in US dollars and also had to get money for the hostel. The latter was not a big problem: at the first ATM, we were able to withdraw 2,000,000 Kip (195.82€) without any problems using the MasterCard. A strange feeling, but still funny to be a millionaire in that way. It is also remarkable that the largest and most common banknote (50,000 Kip) is only worth 4.90€, which means that 3 currencies run parallel in Laos. Large amounts are often quoted in US dollars and many things can also be paid for with Thai Baht.
Now we had everything we needed for the Vietnamese visa and finally made our way to the embassy. The application process was incredibly simple, and the one-sided form required even less information than the ones from Laos and Thailand. In the end, they asked us when we wanted to pick it up, and since the price decreases the longer you give the embassy time and we really liked the city by then, we decided on the "2-Day Service" for 55 US dollars per visa (44.5€), which meant that we had to extend our hostel stay for another night.

On the way back, we took a different route. This led us to an inconspicuous side street with a well-looking hair salon that advertised prices of 100,000 Kip (9.79€) per women's haircut. After a short consideration, Franzi decided to go for it, which turned out to be a good decision. The almost 10€ included not only the remarkably good haircut, but also a hair wash including a head massage and a blow-dry to finish.

Just before we arrived at the hostel, a street food stand with fresh pastries caught our attention. 6 of these pastries were offered for 5,000 Kip (0.49€). In short: they were damn delicious! But that wasn't enough for a complete dinner. So we went out again, and while in search of food, we noticed both the western, especially French, influence by finding things like burgers or steaks, and the effects of the communist-oriented economic model due to the absence of large shopping centers and the lack of any well-known fast food chains. We ended up in a small but charming family-run restaurant, where we were served by a boy who was certainly no older than my little brother (13 years old). Franzi had a chicken and salad-filled baguette, and I had chicken with rice. Both were delicious! We also tried the Laotian beer with the creative name "BeerLao", which tasted just as good and bears a striking resemblance to Kölsch. A perfect ending to this exhausting day!

In summary: we arrived well in the next country and we really like it so far. Let's see what the next few days will bring until we continue on to Luang Prabang.

Until then!
Franzi and Jonas