Johahn

With two and a half weeks off in December, I decided to pack my bag and go explore Laos. I heard so much about that place from my friends and other fellow travellers in the past, I just had to. You can read a detailed account on my blog but I wanted to list down some helpful tips and what you can expect to pay while there. http://www.asiaescapades.wordpress.c...aos-experience

<b> TIPS: </b>
1 If travelling by land to Laos (e.g. through Nong Khai in Thailand), get your visa beforehand (where your passport usually leaves blank eyes at customs)
2 Land travel within Laos can be long and tiring. Choose your mode of transport (VIP coaches, vans, minivans) carefully.
3 Luang Prabang is cold in December so bring suitable wear
4 Book your hostel in Luang Prabang early during peak seasons to avoid staying in an expensive guesthouse
5 Luang Prabang is more expensive than Vang Vieng and Vientiane
6 Ride a bike to Kouang Si and Tad Sae waterfalls in Luang Prabang to enjoy some pretty nice landscapes along the way
7 Catch a sunset on Mount Phousi in Luang Prabang
8 The best place to try local food in Luang Prabang is at the night market
9 Enjoy a lunch along the Mekong in Luang Prabang
10 Sip a great mojito at Utopia in Luang Prabang
11 Rent a motorbike and ride to the lagoons and caves in Vang Vieng. Tubing is not everything
12 Drop by Gary’s bar in Vang Vieng
13 Grab a Philly cheese or a falafel burger at Ray’s Grill in Vientiane
14 Sihome Backpackers Hostel in Vientiane is a great place to meet fellow travellers
15 Explore Phoukham cave in Vang Vieng

Read more about Vang Vieng: http://www.asiaescapades.wordpress.c...03/vang-vieng/
Read more about Luang Prabang: http://www.asiaescapades.wordpress.c...luang-prabang/
Read more about Vientiane: http://www.asiaescapades.wordpress.c.../03/Vientiane/

<b>TRAVEL BUDGET:</b>
1. Train from Bangkok (Hualamphong station) to Nong Khai (Thai/Laos border) for an upper berth second sleeper class with fan (no a/c): THB488 (USD15)
2. Travel from train station to visa agency in Nong Khai: THB50
3. Service fee for visa application, facilitation, fee, transport to Vientiane from Nong Khai: THB600 to THB2000 (depending on nationality)
4. Dorm bed in 8 bunk-bed room at Sihome Backpackers Hostel in Vientiane : LAK50,000 (USD6)
5. Van from Vientiane to Vang Vieng: LAK50,000
6. Dorm bed in 3 bed room at EasyGo Hostel in Vang Vieng: LAK23,000
7. Van from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang: LAK110,000
8. Dorm bed in 8 bunk-bed room at LPQ Backpackers Hostel in Luang Prabang: LAK50,000

Cheers,
Johahn
Asiaescapades.wordpress.com

thursdaysd

Don't understand the visa agency. I've had no problem getting the visa at the border. Suspect you got taken.

Vientianeboy

The visa comment is silly. VOA is so easy. I also don't understand the Ray's Grille,sic, comment. Why on earth would you want to eat a burger in Lao?

Lolazahra

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Laos is a special place. I can't wait to go back and explore more of the country. Thanks for sharing.

Johahn

Again, as I've been telling everyone who disputes this, people with a widely recognised passport take visas on arrival for granted.

I have a Mauritian passport which is not at all common. Do you know where Mauritius is? No? Well, neither do the customs officers. Which is why they rejected me at the border and I had to travel back 3 hours to Khon Kaen to get it done at the consulate.

Vientiane Boy: It's very simple. Their food is Awesome, by ANY standard. Plus by your logic, people in London should stick with fish, chips and peas? Or maybe Shepherd's pie? Somehow they have some of the best Indian food in the world. What about Pho in Australia? Some say as good as in Vietnam. It's called globalization so take it as it is.

thursdaysd

So, you are a citizen of Mauritius (why would you assume that people on a travel forum have never heard of it?), and you get treated differently by immigration officials. Sorry about that, but you should NOT present the result as applicable to everyone. Why didn't you say in your first post that you had trouble at the border because of your nationality?

Johahn

Yes I am and yes, it's a nightmare at times. I didn't elaborate here although I did on my blog. Like I said here though, it's when your passport usually leaves blank eyes at customs. I asked around and apparently it's mostly for passports from Africa.

msjuly

Hi there,
Very happy to come acrross your post as I'm planning to go backpacker in Laos this year.

Thanks!

Johahn

Hi msjuly, glad I could help. Anything you need help with you can just drop me a note.

Cheers,
Johahn
www.asiaescapades.wordpress.com

khunwilko

See you had a good trip....some useful tips....you might find Thorn Tree a more responsive forum for this sort of info, you will have noticed that the welcoming committee does't like to admit mistakes!

LancasterLad

Johahn. Thanks for sharing, lots of excellent information and v.useable template for anyone planning the same trip.

The overnight sleeper train from Hualmaphong is a great way to travel to the Thai/Laos border. We took a 1st Class carriage, a bit more expensive but a 2-berth cabin was worth the extra.

Shame you never stopped in Nong Khai for a few nights. It's a lovely laid back border town sat right on the Meekong. We stayed at The Mutmee, and loved it...

http://www.mutmee.com/

We got our VOA on the Friendship Bridge, and it was v.busy and quite chaotic at the time. So I can imagine that if you're travelling on a not too familiar passport that you could have a problem or three.

We travelled up to LP by bus having had 3 nights in Vientiane, and ditto in Vang Vieng. The scenery between Vientiane and Vang Vieng is fairly bland apart from the last few miles. We enjoyed Vang Vieng, and hired pushbikes every day and got out into the countryside.

The 6 hour bus ride from Vang Vieng to LP was awesome.

We stayed in LP for a week, and thoroughly enjoyed it. At the end we were tempted to take the slow boat to Huay Xai to get back into Thailand, but I had a bad back, so we decided to 'bottle-it' and take a Laos Airways flight to Chiang Mai.

thursdaysd

For all but a vanishing small number of posters/readers on this forum, getting a VOA at the Thai/Lao border is not a problem. There are, however, many reports of travelers at the Thai/Cambodia border being scammed into paying over the odds for visas at "travel agencies" when they could get VOAs. Reading the OP's post <i>without the information about his nationality</i> it appeared that the scam had migrated to the Thai/Lao border.

The OP's nationality was crucial to the proper understanding of his post. Omitting it was misleading.

LancasterLad

@thursdaysd<<<The OP's nationality was crucial to the proper understanding of his post. Omitting it was misleading.>>>

Apart from that, which has been adequately clarified, Johahn has taken the time to put together and share some excellent stuff.

thursdaysd

@LL - I was responding to khunwilko's complaint.

wally34949

Thanks for sharing. I just spent 9 days in Laos. I would add that one night in Vientiane is long enough.

Vientianeboy

So Wally, I am curious what you saw in your one night in Vientiane. Would you care to elaborate? You climbed the Patouxay, you visited Hor Phrakeo, you went to Buddha Park, you explored some of the old French architecture, you visited Buddha Park, you went to Thanon for lunch, you visited the night market, you saw the museums. That must have been a busy one night.

LancasterLad

A visit to the Beer Lao brewery on the road between Vientiane and the Buddha Park is a must.

And the 10-pin Bowling place is unlike any other you'll visit, and with a great vibe.

Kathie

I hadn't realized that this was a trip report from the title, but got the mods to flag it as such.

Johahn, traveling with a Mauritius passport must make things more complex. Your experience is a useful caveat for those traveling on less commonly seen passports. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Johahn

Thank you, Kathie. Appreciate it.
LancasterLad, a Beer Lao brewery. Man, a trip to Vientiane I believe is in order!