Hi there

Planning to spend 3 weeks or so in Thailand and Laos and have so far booked fares to Bangkok only. We will arrive on 2/2/2014 at about 8.00 pm.
Here's the rough plan:
3 nights Bangkok ( we have been twice before) to get some glasses and clothes made.
5 nights Chiang Mai (we have a friend of a friend living there and plan to leverage his local knowledge)
3 nights Chiang Rai (some trekking perhaps and elephants)
Get to Chiang Kong for Luang Say two night cruise to Luang Prabang spend 5 nights in LP, 1 night in Vang Vieng, then 2 in Vientiane, fly to Bangkok.
Questions:

1.We'd like to take a boat from Bangkok to Ayutthaya in the morning, see the temples and then pick up the train to Chiang Mai at about 9.00 pm, is it feasible to take luggage with us on the tour boat ? Would there be somewhere safe to leave it ? Maybe left luggage at the train station??? There will be one small and one medium wheeled suitcase.

2.From CM to CR we are thinking of hiring a car and driver to take us to Tha Ton to pick up the daily 12.30 pm boat to CR. How long does that drive take, and is it relatively easy to hire a car & driver? What should we roughly pay ?

3. Best way of getting from CR to Huay Xai for Luang Say boat which departs at 9.30 am (although you are asked to be there at 8.30) including getting visa on arrival ? Again I was thinking of car and driver, how long is the drive ? May have to stay the night on the border, would you recommend Chiang Kong or Huay Xai ?

4. Any suggestions for guest house type luxury accomodation in Q3 ?

We like boats and trains, not bus travel much and have been to SE Asia a fair bit in the past 9 years.
Thanks for any answers or suggestions !

Given what you want to accomplish, I think your itinerary looks fine.

In my experience hiring a car and driver in Thailand is always easy. I've often just negotiated with a taxi driver, but you can ask your hotel/guest house for a recommendation as well.

Sorry, I don't know about left luggage in Ayutthaya. Also, can't tell you much about drive times. And I'm clueless about what you mean by Q3.

Thanks Kathie.
By Q3, I meant question 3 or any recommendations for accomodation in Huay Xai or Chiang Kong.
Good to know that drivers should be easy to find.

Ok, sorry, I can't help you with that either. But take a look at www.sawasdee.com a local Thai booking site, they likely list places to stay there.

We stayed at the Chiang Kong Teak house in Chiang Kong. We did the boat trip in the reverse and rather than go straight to Chiang Rai, we spent he night in chiang Khing. The next day we arranged for a driver to take us to CR. Cost was 40 USD. I don't recall how long of a drive it was, but not more than a couple hours.
We had to get our Visa for Thailand at the border and there was a long wait. Not sure of the situation on the Laos side.

Thanks Yestravel, that's really good to know. I will have a look at Teak House.
Cheers

Take great care with Lao immigration and do make sure you get ALL the stamps in your passport. We missed one (I think the customs stamp) and ended up getting detained by immigration in LP airport who demanded a $200 per head fine or return to Huayxai cao to get the missing stamp. We negotiated them down to $50 in the end. An easy mistake to make as we had to visit several different huts to get different stamps. That was about 6 years ago and the process may be different now but I would double check with a guide if you have one.

There is manned luggage storage at Ayuthaya station although, in common with manny such places I would be wary of leaving anything really valuable there.

My only comment would be to reenforce crellston's comments re Lao immigration, although my experience was at a different crossing point. In fact, if possible, I would probably try to avoid Laos altogether, due to scalping issues.

To avoid Laos because of a few bad experiences with getting a visa at a land border would be a shame. Many borders have scams of various sorts, the most notorious being the crossing to Cambodia at Poipet. Just know the rules and insist they be followed.

Thanks guys.
Good advice to know the rules Kathie.
Crellston, how many stamps should we get ? Or, where can I find out ?
Caroline

I certainly would not avoid Laos or anywhere, for that matter, just because of a few problems at the border. I have been to Laos several times and would return in a heartbeat. It is a wonderful country. As Kathie points out, the Thai/ Cambodia crossing is one of the more notorious. Just smile and travel with a sense of humour. At other overland crossings into and out of Laos it is almost the norm to be charged a $1 "admin fee" with that amount, it is just easier to smile and pay up.

Sartoric, sorry but I can't recall how many we were supposed to have ( I THINK 3) but I am sure the one that was missing was the customs stamp. That was 6 years ago and things may have changed but I remember having to visit several different office and having to get a stamp at each.

As to where you would find out, I really couldn't say. I think your best bet would be to seek out an English speaking guide on arrival and ask and maybe compare stamps with other travellers. You could also try asking luangsay but I doubt they will know. I think we were just unlucky.

Hi, Sartoric,
We are doing a similar route from Thailand to Laos, including the 2-day boat trip from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. So I was considering many of the same questions as you are.

We're also staying in the Chiang Khong Teak House the night before. We are traveling with Nagi of Mekong, and they will pick us up from the hotel and take us across the river and assist with the visa process.

For the 3 days in Chiang Rai, I've hired Jermsak (tour guide), so we will have him drop us in Chiang Khong at the end of the day. Since this will be a regular touring day, it solves the question of how to get there.

When do you go Progol ? Will you be posting from the road ? Thanks for the info, we hope to make some contacts for guides via a friend in Chiang Mai, so winging it for now.
Hope you have a fabulous trip !
Thanks Crellston, smile and comply is definitely the way to go at border crossings (within reason).
I've seen your thread about long term visas in Thailand, the guy we are visiting is expat (has lived in many countries) so may be able to shed some light, will let you know !

Hi, sartoric,
We leave Jan 18 for Bangkok, and will be traveling on the Nagi of Mekong on Jan 31 & Feb 1.

I'm not sure if I'll be posting from the road or not, but will try. I tend to write reports soon after I return, but will see if I have enough time or internet access to check in here occasionally.