Northern Thailand - Thailand - page 651

GETTING TO LAOS: CHIANG KHONG TO HUAY XAI
Chiang Khong is a convenient and popular crossing point to Laos. At press time, work was nearly finished on a
bridge over the Mekong River, which will inevitably change some of the details below.
Getting to the Border The jumping-off point is Tha Bak, a 1km, 30B sa ̆ hm·lo ́ r (three-wheeled pedicab)or motor-
cycle ride from Chiang Khong's bus stops.
At the Border The Thai immigration office ( 0 5379 1332) is open from 8am to 4pm.
Long-tail boats crossing the Mekong River to Huay Xai leave frequently from 8am to 5pm (40B). A vehicle
ferry also crosses a few times daily between the main Thai immigration point and the slow-boat landing in Huay
Xai, costing 500B for motorcycles and 1000B for cars.
Foreigners can purchase a 30-day visa for Laos upon arrival in Huay Xai for US$30 to US$42, depending on
nationality. There is an extra US$1 charge after 4pm and on weekends, and if you don't have a passport-style
mugshot they'll charge 40B extra. On your return to Thailand, unless you've already received a Thai visa, immig-
ration grant you permission to stay in the country for 15 days.
Moving On Once on the Lao side, bus destinations from Huay Xai include Luang Nam Tha (350B, 4½ hours,
9am and 12.30pm), Luang Prabang (700B to 900B, 12 hours, 2pm and 5pm), Udomxai (500B to 700B, nine
hours, 3pm) and Vientiane (1800B, 24 hours, 3pm).
If time is on your side, the daily slow boat (950B, 10.30am) to Luang Prabang takes two days, including a
night in the village of Pak Beng. Avoid the noisy fast boats (1600B, six to seven hours, frequent from 9am to
11am) as there have been reports of bad accidents. Booking tickets through a Chiang Khong-based agent such as
Easy Trip costs slightly more, but they arrange tickets for you and provide transport from your guesthouse and
across the Mekong River, as well as a boxed lunch for the boat ride.
Lao Airlines ( local [phone], nationwide [phone]; www.laoairlines.com ) operates a flight
from Huay Xai to Vientiane every Wednesday for US$100.
If you already hold a Chinese visa, it's also possible to go directly to China from Chiang Khong. After obtain-
ing a 30-day Lao visa on arrival in Huay Xai, simply board one of the buses bound for Mengla (1900B, eight
hours, 10am from Monday to Saturday) or Kunming (2500B, 18 hours, 10am from Monday to Saturday), which
are both in China's Yunnan Province.
Getting Around
A săhm·lo ́ r or motorcycle between the bus station and Tha Reua Bak, the border crossing
to Laos, costs 30B.