Laos Friendship Bridge No Entry

**filip-gsa** · 10th February 2006, 01:34 AM

Today I wanted to cross the friendship bridge in Nong Khai to Vientiane with my Thai registrated bike. At the Thai side there was no problem, they gave me all the papers and stamps I needed, but at the Lao side the trouble began. The girl in room 6, Khampean, was very polite but she told us we could not cross boarder because from februari on they were not allowed to let pass Thai registrated bikes, from other countries was no problem. She would like to help us and asked her boss to let us pass the boarder but he was'nt able to give the permission. He sent us to the Ministry of Communication and Transports to get a paper with a written permission of the general director. That man was not friendly, the answer was just NO, he said there was no more an agreement between Thailand and Laos to let Thai registrated bikes through. After two hours we were back at the boarder with Khampean of room 6, she was very sorry for us and her boss too. They both were very friendly and polite to us. Khampean told us if we cross boarder in the North we would not have any problem. So, we started in Nong Khai at 08.30 and we were back in Nong Khai at 13.30. Be warned if you have a Thai registrated bike and want to cross boarder do it at Chiang Khong.

**Davidfl** · 10th February 2006, 04:43 PM

Thanks for the warning.
This all seems a bit odd, but perhaps they have just decided to enforce the rules yet again - and someone got out of bed on the wrong side that morning.
I spoke to Miss Khampean on the phone this morning (Frid 10th Feb) & she was very apologetic.
"They" are trying to sort this out for us farang on Thai registered motorbikes.
I am in Chiang Khong at the moment, & about to enter Laos at Houei Xai in a few hours & will let you know how we go.
Regarding riding from Nong Khai to Chiang Khong to enter, I would recommend you go south & try the 3 border crossings there. If Chiang Khong does not work, the your stuffed & got nowhere else go. At least in the south you've got 3 chances…..good luck & thanks for the tip (plus phone call last night.)

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

**Craypot** · 11th February 2006, 11:35 PM

david, did you get into laos? i got bored with ponsavan and am now in lpb. call me when u get here.

Mike

**Davidfl** · 12th February 2006, 04:40 AM

Filip
No trouble getting into Laos at Houei Xai.
The situation there was normal & took about 40 minutes on the Laos side to process the paperwork for a 2 week temporary import.

1. From the car ferry boat landing, go up the steps to the Customs office.

2. Enter room # 7 "The Computer Room" on the left. Complete the bike import papers in about 15-20 minutes if you're lucky.

3. Go back down the steps to the staff under the umbrella & get the papers validated - stamped & signed - then "your in" & on your way.

Simple - welcome to the Laos PDR.
Wonderful country & wonderful people!

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

**Davidfl** · 17th February 2006, 05:47 PM

Update 16 Feb 2006.
After visiting the boss at the bridge on 16th Feb I can confirm that indeed there has been a policy change - a telephone order from the Ministry of Transport in Vientiane - NO Thai registered bikes are allowed into Laos from Nong Khai.
All other border entry points are ok.
The boss at the Friendship Bridge is not happy about the situation & would like to help, but until he gets a new order from Vte, then all Thai registered bikes will have to enter Laos at another crossing.
Note (1) Non Thai registered bikes are still allowed to enter Laos at the Friendship Bridge. Only Thai registered bikes are affected.
Note (2) it is no trouble to exit Laos from the Friendship Bridge, Thai or other rego.

My take on this is that it will be a temporary "thing" (spat?) for a few weeks / month or two at the max. Stay tuned.

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

**Davidfl** · 4th March 2006, 09:22 PM

UPDATE SATURDAY 4 MARCH 2006
Just back from an hour at the bridge & the news is NOT good.
They have now received a letter from The Ministry of Transport in Vientiane advising that NO bikes, regardless of country of registration, are allowed in without prior approval from Vientiane.
This applies to ALL bikes, not just Thai bikes, as originally thought at the bridge.

My guess is that this is a re-assertion of official policy in Vientiane, as three? years ago this was the situation. You needed approval, gained via a registered tour office, before you could get in. It had to be setup in advance, a minimum of 48 hrs, & usually cost 1,500 Thai baht.
The staff at the bridge are not happy about this, so don't complain to them, but Vientiane & The Ministry of Transport.
I will attempt to verify the situation at the MoT on Monday. Should all this be unfortunately correct, then I will suggest a couple of tour offices to use for the permits.
Supposedly other border crossings are still ok, & you don't need prior approval.
Now should you get stuck, just grin & bear it. Ask for a tour company to get approval for you & pay the fees. Eventually I would hope that it will return to "normal."

Of note today too, was a suggestion from "the bridge" that "we" use the Pakxan (L) / Phon Pisai (T) border crossing, which customs claim is international. Pakxan is about 100 kms south of Vientiane. I thought that this one was only a local border crossing, but a customs officer from Pakxan was there at the Friendship bridge, & said yes it was ok for foreigners. This is all news to me, so does anyone want to have a go there?

Davidfl
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**BobS** · 4th March 2006, 11:46 PM

"use the Pakxan (L) / Phon Pisai (T) border crossing"

David - my Thai maps show that Phon Phisai is about 90 km west of Bung Kan - the town directly across the Mekong from Paxxan.

Since you are there right now, you might want to confirm the actual name and location of the crossing.

Also, is visa on arrival available at this crossing?

BobS

"The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not and never persist in trying to set people right."

**funkyferret** · 5th March 2006, 09:30 AM

Hi Guys, I am a new member. My name is Jo from England. That news about the friendship bridge is a pain in the ****. In may this year my best friend and I are overlanding from Bangkok to Brighton (UK) in a thai tuktuk for the mental health charity Mind. We were planning to cross into Laos at the Friendship Bridge. Our tuktuk is Thai registered and I guess that may prove a problem- I hope they have changed their minds by mid may.
Can anyone tell me about route 13 in Laos, as we will be following it north to the Chinese border at Boten?
P.S. I tried to email david, but the email was returned?

**Auke** · 5th March 2006, 12:16 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by BobS

"use the Pakxan (L) / Phon Pisai (T) border crossing"

David - my Thai maps show that Phon Phisai is about 90 km west of Bung Kan - the town directly across the Mekong from Paxxan.

Since you are there right now, you might want to confirm the actual name and location of the crossing.

Also, is visa on arrival available at this crossing?

BobS

"The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not and never persist in trying to set people right."
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I was in Bung Kan about 2 weeks ago. There was an immigration office but as it was sunday it was closed. However, they are building a new customs house over there as there is quite a bit of wood coming in from Laos - saw about 10 big trucks with Lao number plates on the Thai side. Anyway, I'll be going to Laos on 8 and I'll ask the immigartion people in Nongkhai about Bung Kan. Apparently (according to http://www.thaivisa.com/329.0.html) you can get a visa on arrival in Bung Kan.

Travelfish on its website says this about Pakxan:
http://blog.travelfish.org/category/border-news/
Bueng Kan / Paksan
Open 08:00-16:30
This border, while open to foreigners, is not really convenient to anything much, though Paksan is a scenic enough riverside spot. There is a small fee for the ferry crossing and a Lao visa on arrival is available.

Anyway, will try to followup next week

Auke

**2Up Chiang Khong** · 5th March 2006, 03:28 PM

Hi Funkyferret,

Last March a Tuk Tuk went from Bangkok to Germany - But did not pass through China for they could not get papers/permit...

We met them in Boten where they were doing a shake down run on their new Tuk Tuk. They bought it new in Bangkok from the factory that gave them a large discount, toured Northern Thailand and then did Central and Northern Laos. They then returnd to Bangkok where they shipped it to Japan. From there it was a ferry across to Russia. They would have arrived Germany last October.

They originaly road their bicycles from Germany to Thailand, having previously road them the length of South Amercia...

A cyber search might provide more info if you are interested.

Cheers,
David and Mai

**Davidfl** · 5th March 2006, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by BobS

David - my Thai maps show that Phon Phisai is about 90 km west of Bung Kan - the town directly across the Mekong from Paxxan.
Since you are there right now, you might want to confirm the actual name and location of the crossing.

Also, is visa on arrival available at this crossing?

BobS
"The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not and never persist in trying to set people right."

BobS
1. Confirmed the town across from Pakxan is Bung Kan. Bung Kan is 135 kms downstream from Nong Khai. Phon Pisai is much closer to Nong Khai. (So you got me!)
2. NO Laos visa on arrival.

Not many (if any) farang have crossed here before.

Pix above: Bung Kan imigration overlooking the ferry landing

I had an interesting 45 minute tussle with the two Thai immigration officers at the border post, before we "agreed" to go & see the boss (Inspector) in Bung Kan town, 5 kms away.

Pic above: Bung Kan Immig HQs with a smiling polite officer. He even offered to take photos of me outside the office! Excellent service.

The Inspector was a perfect gentleman, spoke excellent English & clearly understood what my multiple entry 1 year Thai visa was. This was in stark contrast to the two border staff, one of whom had seriously impaired lateral thinking, & the other who proclaimed with supreme confidence, but in weak English: I know everything & you don't know." Indeed it took a mere 1 ¼ hrs to Thai immigration at Bung Kan! I was not impressed, especially considering I was the only customer.
Customs in comparison was easy & straight forward, although they too had never seen a farang crossing there with a big motorbike before.

Pic above: Bung Kan customs overlooking the ferry landing.

As you can see from the photos, the offices overlooking the ferry landing are not exactly a modern high tech set up & currently hardly used by foreigners as an international crossing. But it is. Give it a go sometime, just for the experience.

My next crossing at Bung Kan could be interesting. You’ve been warned, so tread carefully.

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

**peterdigger** · 5th March 2006, 10:25 PM

Hi David - I am hoping to enter Laos at Savanakhet about 19 or 20 March, so will let you know if there is a hassle. Your pictures of the Pakse trip are great - as you know I was there this time last year. Reckon I will try out the Mekong Hotel and a Vietnamese massage ha ha sounds GREAT ! The Digger.

**funkyferret** · 6th March 2006, 02:10 AM

Thanks David, we know about the German guys as their tuktuk was manufactured by the same company, Expertise, in Bangkok. We will be going through China (fingers crossed) as we are in the process of applying for a permit. The process does not seem too complicated, however it is v expensive. For 4 weeks in China it is costing us nearly $10,000! Will keep an eye on the message board to see if there are any changes in the Friendship Bridge situation. If it remains unchanged I could try to get prior permission from Vientienne, because we are going straight through Laos, doing the trip for charity etc. Cheers, Jo

**SilverhawkUSA** · 6th March 2006, 04:45 AM

Funky Ferret-

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Can anyone tell me about route 13 in Laos, as we will be following it north to the Chinese border at Boten?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Here is a link and photos from my last trip regarding hwy 13 and Boten http://board.gt-rider.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1097.

Just do a search for "Highway 13" and you will get quite a few more hits.

Definately an interesting trip by Tuk-Tuk. Keep us posted.

Dave Early

Ever notice that "What the Heck!" is usually the right answer?

**Davidfl** · 6th March 2006, 10:58 PM

UPDATE 6 MARCH
Well folks the news is NOT good - NO private / individual bikes into Laos.
Only group tours / caravans - that are approved in advance.
This is a ruling from the Ministry of Transport, and early Feb a letter was sent out to all the provinicial border crossings.
I have a copy of the MoT letter, plus a request from the bridge admin official seeking clarification from Vte. These were obtained from the MoT in Vte.

The agent that I used in Vientiane several years asked about a permit for a single bike & the answer is NO - only caravans / group tours.

A complaint has been made at the NTAL - Laos tourist office - and they will seek a meeting with the MoT to discuss the issue. This may take months to sort out.

Meanwhile the only optimistic view that I have is that some of the provinical border officials may not want to apply the rules & still let individual / private bikes in. But you'll have to suck it see which ones do / don't work.

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

**goasia888** · 6th March 2006, 11:08 PM

06/03/2006 - However No problems to cross from Cambodia (route 7) to Laos with Malaysian registered bikes (Honda Dream 100cc). The custom officer quickly glances at the registration papers. He did not even take the time to read it.

**rhiekel** · 10th March 2006, 12:04 AM

As the first person to be turned back last week , the news was pretty amazing to me as well. Did a bit of venting on the border guys, who were very polite but adament that if I wished to continue onwards it was going to be while my bike was in customs lockup at the border.
I think that perhaps the brains of the Transportation Dept. are on holiday........................................... ....

**Davidfl** · 11th March 2006, 05:58 AM

UPDATE 10 MARCH
On 8 March I exited Laos at Pakxan, 150 kms downstream from Vientiane.

Pic above: Entrance to the Laos joint Customs / Immigration air-con office in Pakxan.

Laos customs was exceptionally friendly - I was leaving.
When asked if I could come back into Laos this way in a couple of weeks they said yes, no problem.
I asked about any news from Vientiane advising not to let bikes in & they said had heard nothing; as far as they were concerned you could enter Laos with a bike at Pakxan.
Confusing eh?
So my current take on it it all is that it could just be Vientiane trying to apply the "NO bikes across the bridge rule" perhaps, & everywhere else is ok?

Pic above: Entrance to the Pakxan port office compound.

Pic above: View towards the ferry landing at Pakxan.

Pic above: view from the Pakxan ferry towards the Pakxan Port compound at the top left.

Anyone else want to tackle another border crossing?

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

**Davidfl** · 14th March 2006, 12:16 AM

UPDATE 13 MARCH
Below are unofficial translations of the two relevant letters regarding motorcycle import into Laos at the Friendship Bridge.

1. Above the letter from the Friendship bridge admin querying the new rules / policy.

2. Above the letter from the MoT advising the bridge admin what the situation is = NO motorbikes.

Stay tuned for more news. There are people working on it....

But if time is not on your side, & you can't get in at the Friendship Bridge, then try some of the other international border crossings.
In the South
1. Pakxan
2. Tha Khek
3. Savannakhet
4. Vang Tao (Pakxe)
5. Veun Kham
In the North
1. Houei Xai

Good luck

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

**Davidfl** · 19th March 2006, 06:08 PM

Rectravel
Agreed that is a possibility, but not one I'd put money on. But let's wait & see what happens after the congress is over. It would be too good to be true if that's the case.

Davidfl
Keep The Power On