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Answered3 years ago

What are the latest border bounce procedures from Nong Khai to Laos?

Stathis *******
asked Jun 30, 2023
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Good day everyone

Does anybody have any latest information / updates regarding border bounce from Nong Khai to Laos ?

Some questions from me that i did not find on the group:

How easy is to make it alone without any agent ?

Is it really prohibited to walk or use your car at the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge No1 and cross the bridge to Laos ?

Can i simply pass the Laos immigration check point on arrival, then turn around, exit Laos and enter Thailand again? Do they accept it ?

(I did not wish to stay or visit any place in Laos at the moment)

Thai citizens can enter Laos only with Thai ID card or passport is required?

Sorry for the questions, this is my first border bounce ever.

Have a nice day everyone.
Answer summary
This post discusses the procedures and requirements for expats considering a border bounce from Nong Khai, Thailand to Laos. Key points include the necessity of obtaining a stamp into Laos usually via an eVisa, tips on whether to use an agent or go alone, and clarification on crossing the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. The comments confirm that while driving into Laos presents paperwork challenges, walking or taking a bus is feasible. Thai citizens can enter Laos with just an ID card.
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Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
"How easy is to make it alone without any agent ?"

Very easy

"Is it really prohibited to walk or use your car at the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge No1 and cross the bridge to Laos ?"

Car need paperwork, not worth it. You can walk if you like hour+ walk, but the Bus is like a dollar to the other side and take 5 min.

Can i simply pass the Laos immigration check point on arrival, then turn around, exit Laos and enter Thailand again? Do they accept it ?

Yes, you can. You get your Laos visa on arrival at the booth there and then turn around the corner 30 meters away and can leave Laos, retake the bus over the bridge, and re-enter Thailand.

(I did not wish to stay or visit any place in Laos at the moment)

Thai citizens can enter Laos only with Thai ID card or passport is required?

ID card is fine.
Paul *******
Paul *******
@Maxim **********
Walking across is prohibited. You need to drive or catch the bus.
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
Nong Khai, I dont know about Mukdahan.
Steve *******
Steve *******
@Maxim **********
I'm pretty sure you CAN'T walk across, you certainly cant walk across the Friendship bridge from Mukdahan to Savannakhet, not because there isn't a pavement but because the Authorities dont allow it.
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
@Steve ******
I've done it a few time, yeah u can, I might still have pictures of it but it was before Covid.
Steve *******
Steve *******
@Maxim **********
Really? That's new because you couldn't do it before Covid.
John ******
John ******
Beside the challenge to drive with a left-handed car in Laos you can not just enter Laos and drive there. Formally you export the can from Thailand onto Laos and the reverse. That is time-consuming paperwork especially if you do it the first time !
Paul *******
Paul *******
@John *****
Nonsense. Very easy to do the paperwork and easy to drive in Laos. Unless you're a bad driver in which case you shouldn't be driving at all.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
Firstly, you have to stamp into Laos before re-entering Thailand. For most nationalities to stamp into Laos will require an (e)Visa. Secondly, it is not easy to drive into Laos with your own car among other reasons because you need permission to drive a lefthanded car in righthanded Laos. Thirdly, it is not possible to answer if an agent is needed/beneficial without knowing if you are doing a border bounce on a visa to get new 60 or 90 days or to get another 30 days visa exemption? Fourthly, I do not know if this particular border station is one of the "stupid" ones asking you to stay one night outside Thailand before re-entering. Maybe someone else knows about this...
*****************************
Paul *******
Paul *******
@Henrik ***
Look at your original comment with lies about the situation pertaining to crossing the border by car.

If you don't know the answer, better be quiet, rather than make up some unfounded rumor.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Paul ******
, you are a real troll entertaining only yourself.
Paul *******
Paul *******
@Henrik ***
You did. You made up numerous nonsensical claims about cars from Thailand being banned from Laos. If you don't know the truth, better not say anything. You're probably just some jealous farang who can't afford a car hence you try to discourage people from driving over.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Paul ******
, no I did not say anything about that. You are just making up stories to entertain yourself. You do not need to comment when having nothing to add.
Paul *******
Paul *******
@Henrik ***
I cross the border by car all the time. Just did it the other day. Very easy to do but not worth it for a simple bounce. I know locals who drive their cars across just to go to the duty free, no special documents required for them. Easy to catch the bus, costs around 30 Baht each way.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Paul ******
, are you bored? Nothing to do?
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Paul ******
, ok, so you are bouncing back to me like a baby. I said nothing wrong and you add nothing relevant for the OP. Just massive waste of time.
Paul *******
Paul *******
@Henrik ***
sounds like you're bored....I'm just correcting your misinformation, that's all.
Paul *******
Paul *******
@Henrik ***
Nonsense. Very easy to drive your car across with the right documents. If Laos had such a stupid rule in place (they don't), trade and tourism would grind to a halt.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Paul ******
, even in this thread several others are confirming what I am saying. You even confirm it yourself. You cannot just cross the border. You will need documents. And why doing this just to bounce the border?
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
@Henrik ***
I've use this border probably 20 times since 2010. The last time around 2 months ago.

1) Most people can get visa at the border, no need electronic visa application in advance.

2) No need car in his situation. He just want to in and out quickly. The bus over the bridge is like $1.

3) Yes, I can answer that agent is never beneficial at that border. Whether it's to activate a Non-O multi entry, visa exempt, etc, no need for an agent.

4) No need to stay the night or to show any proof of. Very easy hassle free border.

In general, I always advice people to not use google as a reference for questions like these. Real life experience is much more reliable.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Maxim **********
, btw. the advice I learned about this border crossing is that you many times face a long queue partly because ppl. were paying agents to jump the queue. The trick is to take a bus from Udon to Vientiane to get fast and smoothly thru the border. Then you don't even need a taxi from the border into Vientiane.
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
You probably havent cross that border in years.
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
I left Khon Kaen by car in the morning so I dont know exactly, somewhere between 11am and 1pm.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Maxim **********
, what time at day?
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
@Henrik ***
I did it 2 months ago in 10 min.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Maxim **********
, the point is that when I did it by bus, the border crossing took half an hour. When doing it myself it took many hours of queuing up at the border. It may depend on the time of day.
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
@Henrik ***
I don't get your point? You can go anywhere you want by bus. You still need to be stamped out of Thailand, and in Laos.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
You can also go by plane but expensive.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Maxim **********
, it still looks very much that you can go from Udon to Vientiane by bus and minibus.
********************************************************************************************************************
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
@Henrik ***
It doesn't matter where you get what. You need to be stamped out of Thailand, and in Laos. You can't get back into Thailand if you are stuck between two countries.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Maxim **********
, are you sure that you have to cross the bridge if you have the Lao visa already? The very first time I actually got the Lao visa on the Thai side. I will always go for the eVisa if possible instead of queueing up somewhere.
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
@Henrik ***
You absolutely need to cross the bridge to border bounce/run. To enter Laos, you need your visa on arrival which is on the other side of the bridge. To go there, you need to take the 35 baht bus like everyone else. There is no way around it. Then, when you have the visa, you turn around and leave Laos. Then take the same 35 baht bus back over the bridge. Then, you enter Thailand with visa exempt entry.

Also, those dedicated line I've not seen that for a very long time. And this is part of what I said about not arriving there went group bus are also there.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Maxim **********
, maybe the wrong word, but I guess you understand? I have been using the bus from Udon. They opened a dedicated line for the bus at the border. You are right that the OP is talking about a bounce. Actually, a border run would be the same in usual terms. You won't need to go to Vientiane for any of those if you do not want to. However, he was also talking about crossing the bridge, which is not needed for a bounce or run.
Maxim ***********
Maxim ***********
@Henrik ***
There is no agent at that border. Only thing they have is some "fixer" that will hold your hand in the process and then drive you to Vientiane. But the numbers of people paying for such useless service is very low (only some first timer). Nobody is losing time over not doing this.

Second, if you take a group bus you won't save any time at the border, unless you don't know the process at the border to begin with. You follow the queue like everyone else, you do not skip line. In fact, the reason why the queue can be long is if you arrive at the same time as a few of these buses that go from Udon to Vientiane. If you are unlucky you arrive at the same time or slightly after and can be a lot of people ahead of you. But if you plan ahead and know went these buses usually arrive, you will be fine.

And on top of that, OP is talking about a border bounce, not visa run. Border bounce mean u cross the border, turn around, and come back immediately to Thailand 10 min later, or few hours if you want to shop around. You do not go to Vientiane went you border bounce.
Henrik ****
Henrik ****
@Maxim **********
, yes. 1) I guess easier to buy the eVisa online than queuing up at the border. 2) Yes, no need for car. 3) ok. 4) ok. I have been crossing this border but not very recently.

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