Laos - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 702

GETTING TO THAILAND
Huay Xai to Chiang Khong
Getting to the border The Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge here was completed in December 2013, and
the former boat crossing is now only for locals.
At the border A 15-day Thai visa is automatically granted when entering Thailand; to obtain a
30-day Thai visa, you'll need to arrive in the country by air. The nearest ATM on the Thai side is 2km
south.
Moving on Many travellers leave Huay Xai bound for Chiang Rai (365B, 2½ hours) with buses typic-
ally leaving from Chiang Khong's bus station every hour from 6am till 5pm. Greenbus ( in Thail-
and 5365 5732; www.greenbusthailand.com ) has services to Chiang Mai at 6am, 9am and 11.40am.
Several overnight buses for Bangkok (500B to 750B, 10 hours) leave at 3pm and 3.30pm.
Hongsa to Phrae
Getting to the border The Muang Ngeun/Ban Huay Kon border crossing (8am to 5pm) is around
2.5km west of Muang Ngeun junction. Several sŏrngtăaou make the run from Hongsa (40,000K, 1½
hours) to Muang Ngeun. Once the new bridge north of Pak Beng is open, there will also be a bus ser-
vice.
At the border Most nationalities crossing into Thailand receive a visa on arrival.
Moving on From the Thai side, if you don't want to walk your bags across the 1km of no-man's-land
you can pay 100B for a motorbike with luggage-carrying sidecar. The Thai border post, Huay Kon, is
not quite a village but does have simple noodle shops. The only public transport is a luxurious
minibus ( 083-024 3675) to Phrae (160B, five hours) via Nan (100B, three hours) departing from
the border post at 11.45am. Northbound it leavto cames the bus stations in Phrae at 6am, and Nan at
8am.
Pak Lai to Loei
Getting to the border The quiet rural Kaen Thao/Tha Li border crossing (8am to 6pm) is the home of
yet another (small) Friendship Bridge, this time over the Nam Heuang. From Pak Lai, there are
sŏrngtăaou to the border post at Kaen Thao at around 10am and noon (40,000K, 1¾ hours).
At the border Most nationalities crossing into Thailand receive a visa on arrival.
Moving on After walking across the bridge you'll have to take a short sŏrngtăaou ride (30B) 8km to
Tha Li before transferring to another sŏrngtăaou (40B) the remaining 46km to Loei, from where there
are regular connections to Bangkok and elsewhere.
For more information about crossing these borders in the other direction, Click here .