The Golden Triangle Rider

jayincanada · Cyclist Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 12 Location: Canada

I just crossed into Laos from Hanoi 7 days ago with a Thai registered rental 125 GTO Kawsasaki, no problems exiting at either border ( I had to go to the one farther south (Nam Kaen or whatever it's called), as i did not aqquire a Laos visa in adavance). The crossing north of that would have let me easily through, i think with less attention, just because it's more off the beaten path. The Vientiane border is definatley closed for bikes. I think mainly because bikes are not allowed on the freindship bridge???. That's my observation anyways. The bike was not attatched to my passport so they were a little confused as to why i had a motorcycle not showing on the computer screens. The trick is to not declare it at the border, park it around the corner out of sight, walk in with the rest of the tourists, then push it through (not ride it) as the locals do. The final checkpoint (one guy) had no intrest in the bike whatsoever. After getting in, the authorities showed little intrest in dealing with a foreigner. I entered via Bavet from Pnom Penh to Saigon, then Hanoi and the north coast....

I think the more proper you do things, the more hassle you have. On a side note the bike's total cost was $750.00 usd so i wasn't too worried about losing it, which also makes a huge difference when experimenting with gov't paperwork like this.....

Cheers!

Jay

Davidfl · Posted: 18.06.2006, 03:40 Post subject:

Jay
Well done on getting into & out of Vietnam.
It sounds like you must have had a very successful trip.
Lets hope we get a full report later on where you went & how you did it all, as Im sure there are a lot of guys who want to know & have a go as well.

Davidfl
Keep The Power On

scot harper · Posted: 18.06.2006, 16:41 Post subject:

Jay, tell us al the details, my trip is in the planing stages and we will be doing Hanoi- laos-Cambo, so fess up, we need al the nity grity!!
Scott...

jimoi · Posted: 19.06.2006, 22:00 Post subject:

Jay,
Well done! I've also made the mistake of going over Nam Meo without a visa for Laos and had to ride down to Cau Treu, miserable but nice on the new highway to the south - a road in VN without major headaches!

Getting into VN with under 175 is usually alright according to Customs/Immigration.

Congrats on a good trip, I guess you stayed at the rotten guest house in Nam Meo - I've been stuck there as well and it's a real hole of a town!

Jimoi

Ride Safe

vodka · Posted: 30.03.2007, 20:48 Post subject:

hello,
we are riding a minsk in vietnam and would like to continue the trip to cambodia and then thailand. Where do you think is the best to cross the border and what do we need? How much does it cost?

We have a minsk 125 with the receit and the previous owner's paper. But we have no paper saying that he sold the bike to us, as we bought the bike in a shop (Cuong in Hanoi).

thanks in forward for your help

SilverhawkUSA · Posted: 31.03.2007, 05:06 Post subject:

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I just crossed into Laos from Hanoi 7 days ago with a Thai registered rental 125 GTO Kawsasaki,...........On a side note the bike's total cost was $750.00 usd so i wasn't too worried about losing it, which also makes a huge difference when experimenting with gov't paperwork like this.....<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Good Job! A little confusing though. Where was the bike actually from? Was it a rental or did you buy it? Are you refering to $750 to reimburse the rental company if you lost it?

Further report would be great.