Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING TO LAOS: NONG KHAI TO VIENTIANE
This is one of the busiest Thai border crossings. For more information on visas, Click here .
Getting To the Border If you already have your Lao visa, the easiest way to Vientiane is the direct bus from
Nong Khai's bus terminal (55B, one hour, six daily). There's also a bus to Vang Vieng (270B, four hours, 10am).
The 5B surcharge for tickets to Laos on weekends, holidays and 7.30am and 6pm weekdays is genuine.
If you plan to get your visa at the border (6am to 10pm), take a túk-túk there; expect to pay 100B from the bus
station, but you can pay 50B from the town centre. Unless you're travelling in a large group, there's no good reas-
on to use a visa service agency, so don't let a driver take you to one.
You can also go to Laos by train (there are immigration booths at both stations) though not to Vientiane, so we
strongly recommended against doing it. The 15-minute ride (20B to 30B, departs 9am and 2.45pm) drops you in
Thanaleng (aka Dongphasay) station just over the bridge, leaving you at the mercy of túk-túk drivers who charge
extortionate prices.
At the Border After getting stamped out of Thailand, you can take the minibuses (weekdays/weekends 20/30B)
that carry passengers across the bridge to the hassle-free, but sometimes busy, Lao immigration checkpoint where
30-day visas are available.
Moving On It's about 20km to Vientiane. Plenty of buses, túk-túk and taxis will be waiting for you and it's easy
to find fellow travellers to share the costs.
TRAIN
Two express trains, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, connect Bangkok
(seat 103B to 498B, 1st-class sleeper upper/lower 1117/1317B, 11½ hours) and Nong
Khai Railway Station, which is 2km west of downtown. There's also one cheaper evening
rapid train.
Getting Around
Nong Khai is a great place for cycling due to the limited traffic and the nearby coun-
tryside. Many guesthouses let you use their bikes for free. If you need to hire one, Khun
Noui ( 08 1975 4863; Th Kaew Worawut; 8am-4pm) , who sets up on the roadside across from
the entrance to Mut Mee, has reliable bikes (50B per day) and motorcycles (200B). Khao
Niao Tours ( Click here ) rents real mountain bikes for 70/40B per adult/child.
You can find metered taxis at the bus station and the bridge. Generally people agree on
a price rather than use the meter; but if you do use it there's an initial fee of 50B, which
gets you 2km and then each additional kilometre costs 4B. A túk-túk between the Mut
Mee area and either the bus station or bridge should be 40B to 50B.
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