Lao / Vietnam New Border Crossings

David said:

Yet another border crossing between Lao / Viet is now open.
The newest one is the Dien Bien Phu crossing east from Udom Sai (N Laos), which was legally international on Thursday 22nd April 2004.
The official names are
1. Na Son on the Laos side
2. Huoi Puoc on the Vietnam side.

I DRIVE past this notorious border point monthly - in fact yesterday I spent 2 hours there drinking tea with the guards as two of my fellow workers took our vehicle across the border to get 'stuff.'

I can guarantee that this point is CLOSED to ANYONE CARRYING A VISA - although citizens from Cambo, Laos and Thailand drive across with impunity - using ID cards.

Also noted that they had none of the immigration computer equipment seen at the other border crossings - just a telephone. The Dien Bien Phu cell signal didn't reach here either.

There are many border police (different to immigration types) carrying rifles and m/guns in the area and we were stopped between Tay Trung and the border and permitted to continue only because of my passengers.

Marlene

 

Overland Dien Bien Phu to Luang Phra Bang

A tour group is doing this trip now. See their page on

http://www.passionasia.com/trip_info.cfm/prnt/1543.htm

Enjoy your visit.

 

Januari the 3 th we tried to cross the border at Dien Bien Phu (to Muang Khua) by bicycle. We were end back at the border after a 2 hours climb uphill. Luckely we tried it on our restday in Dien Bien Phu.

 

Hi Everyone- any update on the border crossing from Vietnam to Laos near Dien Bien Phu. I am in Hanoi wanting to cycle from DBP to Laos- is the border open to foreigners?
KC- did you actually get across the border?

Thanks

Paul

 

No problem now to take Minsks from Vietnam into Laos at either Cau Treo or Na Meo and then back via a different border crossing. Just make sure you have the bike's papers and ensure all the numbers on the frame, engine and number plate are the same as the card.

Pakse to Ponsovan took us most of the day and was a sweet ride, especially in the middle when it gets a little rougher and passes through extensive forest. We were in the dry season on small dirt bikes so roads not an issue. Also loved the road from Sam Nua to Nam Noen because its about the windiest road I've ever been on (had sweet weather as well). All sealed and very clean. Other great stretches were the Mekong to Cau Treo border crossing, west of Tha Ket in all the karst thats there and of cause LPB to Vang Vien.

 

Hello everyone again
Cos I live vicariously via this website at my home in NZ, I'll just confirm that the border Namphao (L)/Cau Treo (V) was the one we successfully crossed this time last year from Vietnam to Laos on our Minsk.
Oh I wish I was there!

 

I am in Laan Prabang at resent and have been promiced by the person who has sold me a visa that the Vieng Xai relativly Northborder is open to foreigners, he even made a cal to the embassy. Now im not sure if hes bullshitting me please has anyone any idea how i can find out

 

A fairly good article that describes conditions on the Vietnamese side of the border is on

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/show ... 7ECO280105

For those readers who have a lot of time, or who live in Hanoi or Vientiane, see the article on

http://vietnamnews.vnanet.vn/showarticl ... 1POL110105

Note the names of the respective Lao and Vietnamese officials who are in talks with one another about border markers and border crossings and whatnot. The two sides will hold another meeting in the middle of the year and next year’s annual meeting will be held in Viet Nam at the beginning of 2006. Note in particular the name of the Lao official in Vientiane, Phongsavad Boupha, who is the head of the Laos-Viet Nam border board. If there is anyone in Vientiane who knows what goes on along the Lao border with Vietnam, this is the guy. Can any reader here track him down in Vientiane? Most likely, he would be highly amused if a foreigner showed up in his office to ask about the state of the border crossing between Udom Sai in Laos and Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam. Tell him that GT Rider sent you. If you get an interview with him about the border crossings, please upload it here. Cheers,

 

Pictures of the Vietnamese side of the border to the west of Moc Chai are on

http://www.thejerk.org/cavalcade/2005/V ... in10.shtml

This would be the Moc Chau - Nam Xoi (V) - Na Meo (L) - Sam Neua road. The owner of this site says that he will upload pictures from the Lao side of the border by the end of March. He did not take a motorcycle across. He took the local buses and walked across the border.

 

Actually, the pictures just above are from Mai Chau, just a bit to the south of Moc Chau. The full story is on

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messa ... parentid=0

QUOTE

sorry i took so long... i ended up in a few laos provinces without internet. and yes, it does take considerably more than 4 hours as i found out the painful way but the area around sam neua is superbly scenic with few tourists (if that's what you, like me, enjoy) and this lessens any chance of backtracking (something i personally hate to do). if you do cross into laos by the other exit points, you will guarantee yourself half of vietnam to backtrack, assuming you've gone the full length of vietnam (n->s or s->n). you will probably have to backtrack in laos as well if you start in vientianne which the hanoi bus package forces you to do. also the breakdowns and unforeseen circumstances that delay the normally 22 hour hanoi -> vientianne bus route seems frequent enough to factor into traveling time. all said, i'd do this crossing again but this time w/o getting ripped off and definitely with added "dong" (as well as some vietnamese currency - yuck yuck).

there's 2 ways to do this border crossing. the easy way or the way i did it. variable vietnamese bus prices made this journey unpleasant as you don't know what to pay until you ask a local what he paid. easy way first:

hanoi -> mai chau (24,000 dong, 3.5 hours, many public buses during the day that head to son la... hop off at mai chau junction and take the 3km moto ride to mai chau, sleep in mai chau in ethnic thai houses)
mai chau -> dong tam (80,000 dong moto ride, 1.5 hours, leave 6am to make 8am connection in dong tam)
dong tam -> na meo (??? dong - price unknown because i missed the public bus, 3 hours, cross the border and sleep in nam soi, laos. the next nearest major town is vieng xai on reliable songthaew transport at fixed prices)

the above way is theoretically the best and fastest way to cross into laos from hanoi. the way i did it was a mix of headache, haggling and miscommunication:

hanoi -> mai chau... this cost me 40,000 dong because i departed on a bus headed for son la. the price to son la is 80,000 dong as i witnessed locals handing over that amount. i figured 1/2 that price was fair. the driver asked for 60,000 and i stayed firm but polite and handed over only 40,000. i met another traveler that paid 24,000 to mai chau from hanoi by public bus.
mai chau -> cu luong... i hitchhiked this portion of the trip, only 20 km away but paid 20,000 dong for it.
cu luong -> quan hoa... paid 20,000 for a moto for an hour ride along a river w/ gorgeous scenery. spent the night in quan hoa and left early the next morning on a public bus.
quan hoa -> dong tam... caught a 7am, 30 minute public bus for 10,000 dong to the junction town of dong tam where in theory there should be a bus direct to na meo. the bus never showed so i caught another public bus to quan son
dong tam -> quan son... bus costs 20,000 dong for about a 2 hour journey. added bonus was helping to unload pigs being transported to quan son.
quan son -> na meo... this was the most challenging portion of the journey. all moto drivers wanted 150,000 dong for the 2 hour journey. i simply outwaited them (nearly an hour of waiting and pretending to be in no hurry) and finally one took 100,000 dong for the ride to the border.

bring enough dong to get you to the border. they exchange dollars at extortionist rates, if at all. pm me if you want any more specific information. happy travels!

www.thejerk.org/cavalcade/2005/Vietnam/main1.shtml if you wanna see pics of the crossing. laos pics should come out when i'm finished w/ it, in about 2 weeks.

UNQUOTE

Pictures from the Lao side of this border crossing are now on

http://thejerk.org/cavalcade/2005/Laos/main1.shtml

 

I am planning to cross from Vietnam into Laos at Dien Bien Phu. Does anyone know if the border is open? any troubles?

If DBP is not open, where is the next closest border into Laos (from Hanoi)?

thanks!
asad

 

A guy name Alex has an update on the Lonely Planet site today about the Sam Neua - Na Meo (L) - Nam Xoi (V) - Mai Chau route. Because of the motor size restriction in Vietnam, only a Honda Daliem or a Minsk is going to be able to use this crossing. Anyone living in Hanoi could easily drive their motocycles to Sam Neua for a weekend visit to test this. Updates are encouraged.

QUOTE from Alex

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messa ... d=0&from=1

Hello!

We crossed from Laos to Vietnam via the Na Maew-Nam Xoi border on March25/05,
here is what we experienced.

the border is open 7 days a week from 8 am-7pm (so we were told) and you have to
have your Vietnam visa in advance.

We journeyed from Louang Prabang to Ponsovan by bus. there is one bus daily at 8:30 am,
takes 9 hours and cost $6.00. Please note that the new Ponsovan bus terminal is open - so
you arrive 4 km out of town. The guesthouses all have touts waiting to drive you into town.

Ponsovan to Sam Neua - bus leaves at 8 am, takes 9 hours and costs $5.00
In Sam Neua, it is not posted, but the bank will exchange baht or USD to Dong
at a lousy exchange rate (13000/1 USD)

One route is to go directly from Sam Neua to the border that leaves at 7 am from
the bus station - takes 2 hours, not sure of the price.

Or you can stop in Vieng Xai and see the caves, before going on. Sam Neua to Vieng Xai
there are frequent morning buses from the station - we left at 10:30 and it took an hour
for a cost of 7000 Kip. (In Vieng Xai, there seems to be only one functioning guest house at this time - Naxan G.H., 20,000 Kip a night.)

From Vieng Xai to the border, we caught a truck at 7:00 am, it cost 15000 Kip and took 1.5 hours.

At the Na Maew - Nam Xoi border, things were very smooth, it took about 1/2 hour to get across,
they charged us a fee of 2000 Kip for something-or-other. At this border, they seem to routinely check all bags.

An interpreter at the border told us that there was one bus to Mai Chau from Nam Xoi that left Saturday mornings costing $10.00. We were unable to confirm this.

He also tried to sell us on a hired vehicle for $100.00 for the same trip.
We walked up the hill a bit and were offered the same ride by another car and driver.

The doctor at the border who we had talked to a bit (I am a nurse) came up after us and
arranged a ride for us in a jeep with driver for $50.00. he insisted we pay up front, and
we did since it seemed the only option. But it was no problem, the driver spoke no english
but took us straight to Mai Chau and even drove us around till we found somewhere to stay.
So look around, I am sure you can find a car for this price or cheaper.

After a few days in Mai Chau, we borded the public bus at 7 am. There are apparently
busses at 5 and 6 am also, and one in the afternoon, but we got conflicting info on this.
The bus charged us 50,000 dong each and 20,000 dong for each pack, and the bus was
STUFFED with people. It took about 5 hours and dropped us in Ha Dong on the outskirts
of Hanoi. From there, we caught the #2 city bus just outside the bus terminal for 2500 Dong,
it dropped us about 2 blocks from Hoan Kien Lake in the old Quarter in Hanoi.

At both Mai Chau and Ha Dong, the local Xe Om Motorcycle taxis assured us that there were
no busses, and tried to sell us their services - The busses do exist!

Anyone who can add to this info, feel free - hope it helps!

UNQUOTE

 

hey, despite of the several reports i didn´t understand whether the dien bien phu border is open for tourists now or not ?!?

 

Yes, some tour groups are using the Dien Bien Phu crossing. See

http://www.visit-mekong.com/tours/laos/laostour.htm

and

http://www.passionasia.com/trip_info.cfm/itin/1543.htm

Note that the cost of these tours is over 200 US dollars a day. Maybe the cost to cross at Dien Bien will come down one of these days? Please upload your news if you get up there to talk with the Dien Bien border guards. Why is the price so high?? Cheers,

 

Thanks!