Riding in Isan and Laos Part 1
« on: Jan 17th, 2003, 10:34am » Quote Modify Remove
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After buying my bike a Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 in Bangkok i had the shop send it by truck to Ubon Ratchathani in Isan province. The first trip i made was to Chong Mek on the Thai Lao border riding along route 217. This road is dual all the way and the traffic is fairly light. You should watch your speed though as there are a few nasty unexpected bumps in the road. At Chong Mek foreigners are not allowed to enter at all now without a visa. This was not the case a year ago when they would let you across to the local market for 10 baht. It is not possible to bring a bike into Laos through this border checkpoint but exiting Laos back into Thailand should be OK.
Just North of Chong Mek is a pleasant town called Khong Chiam from where you can see the first sunrise in Thailand and where the Mekong and Moon rivers meet. There is a very nice resort here called Torseng which overlooks the Mekong with room rates from 1500 to 3000 baht. They have interestingly combined Thai and Balinese style and have a great swimming pool.
A few days later i set off again from Ubon Ratchathani to Mukdahan on route 2050. This road is fine until you get to Amnat Charoen and then from there the road is under repair and just a dusty dirt track all the way to Mukdahan. In Mukdahan the Thai immigration officer said it was possible to take a bike into Laos. But without a visa i had already planned to try and get the bike in at Nong Kai..
From Mukdahan route 212 to That Phanom is a fast and pleasant road. The river is too far away to be seen from here though. In That Phanom there is an interesting temple which is supposed to hold a relic of the Buddha. Not many foreigners here.
From That Phanom i took route 223 to Sakon Nakhon where i spent the night. This is a fast single laned smooth road. But watch out for stray cows. I had two suddenly appear in front of me.
From Sakon Nakhon to Udon Thani on Route 22 is a long straight fairly boring road but with light traffic. The scenery tends to become monotonous after a while.
From Udon Thani to Nong Kai along route 2 is a very quick three lane road with hardly any traffic but it was a Sunday morning.
At Nong Kai taking your bike to Laos is not a problem as long as it is registered. At Thai immigration i paid 50 baht for the document to go with the bike and you need to pick up another document at customs (no charge)Then i was allowed to ride over the Friendship bridge to Laos. If you arrive in Laos on the weekend you will have to pay US$31 for your 14 day tourist visa rather than the normal US$30.
To legally import the bike you first have to go to meet Mr Vinavong in Room 5 in the upstairs of the main building. You need to tell Mr Vinavong where you intend to travel and show him your registration book. If you intend to leave Laos through another border crossing you need to tell him. Without his authorization you can't get your bike in. After he has signed another document you will be sent next door to see his secretary where she will fill in all the forms for you (2500 kip / 10 Baht). After this you go to Customs and pay a fee of 250 Baht. Your are now allowed in the Vientiane area for 7 days. The only way you can extend the 7 days is by getting to another international border crossing or returning to the Friendship Bridge where they can give you a 7 day extension. They will not issue a 14 day pass. If you overstay your 7 days be prepared to pay a hefty fine.
After passing through Customs you will need to get insurance in the small Office opposite. About US$3 for 7 days.
The last document you need is to let you travel outside Vientiane. For this you must go to the office of Communication near the French Embassy. You should tell the lady where you plan to go and from where you wish to exit Laos. If her boss approves you will be given a document with the places you are permitted to travel to printed on it. Without this document you may have problems in other provinces
David_Mingins
« on: Jan 17th, 2003, 10:34am » Quote Modify Remove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After buying my bike a Kawasaki Zephyr 1100 in Bangkok i had the shop send it by truck to Ubon Ratchathani in Isan province. The first trip i made was to Chong Mek on the Thai Lao border riding along route 217. This road is dual all the way and the traffic is fairly light. You should watch your speed though as there are a few nasty unexpected bumps in the road. At Chong Mek foreigners are not allowed to enter at all now without a visa. This was not the case a year ago when they would let you across to the local market for 10 baht. It is not possible to bring a bike into Laos through this border checkpoint but exiting Laos back into Thailand should be OK.
Just North of Chong Mek is a pleasant town called Khong Chiam from where you can see the first sunrise in Thailand and where the Mekong and Moon rivers meet. There is a very nice resort here called Torseng which overlooks the Mekong with room rates from 1500 to 3000 baht. They have interestingly combined Thai and Balinese style and have a great swimming pool.
A few days later i set off again from Ubon Ratchathani to Mukdahan on route 2050. This road is fine until you get to Amnat Charoen and then from there the road is under repair and just a dusty dirt track all the way to Mukdahan. In Mukdahan the Thai immigration officer said it was possible to take a bike into Laos. But without a visa i had already planned to try and get the bike in at Nong Kai..
From Mukdahan route 212 to That Phanom is a fast and pleasant road. The river is too far away to be seen from here though. In That Phanom there is an interesting temple which is supposed to hold a relic of the Buddha. Not many foreigners here.
From That Phanom i took route 223 to Sakon Nakhon where i spent the night. This is a fast single laned smooth road. But watch out for stray cows. I had two suddenly appear in front of me.
From Sakon Nakhon to Udon Thani on Route 22 is a long straight fairly boring road but with light traffic. The scenery tends to become monotonous after a while.
From Udon Thani to Nong Kai along route 2 is a very quick three lane road with hardly any traffic but it was a Sunday morning.
At Nong Kai taking your bike to Laos is not a problem as long as it is registered. At Thai immigration i paid 50 baht for the document to go with the bike and you need to pick up another document at customs (no charge)Then i was allowed to ride over the Friendship bridge to Laos. If you arrive in Laos on the weekend you will have to pay US$31 for your 14 day tourist visa rather than the normal US$30.
To legally import the bike you first have to go to meet Mr Vinavong in Room 5 in the upstairs of the main building. You need to tell Mr Vinavong where you intend to travel and show him your registration book. If you intend to leave Laos through another border crossing you need to tell him. Without his authorization you can't get your bike in. After he has signed another document you will be sent next door to see his secretary where she will fill in all the forms for you (2500 kip / 10 Baht). After this you go to Customs and pay a fee of 250 Baht. Your are now allowed in the Vientiane area for 7 days. The only way you can extend the 7 days is by getting to another international border crossing or returning to the Friendship Bridge where they can give you a 7 day extension. They will not issue a 14 day pass. If you overstay your 7 days be prepared to pay a hefty fine.
After passing through Customs you will need to get insurance in the small Office opposite. About US$3 for 7 days.
The last document you need is to let you travel outside Vientiane. For this you must go to the office of Communication near the French Embassy. You should tell the lady where you plan to go and from where you wish to exit Laos. If her boss approves you will be given a document with the places you are permitted to travel to printed on it. Without this document you may have problems in other provinces
David_Mingins