They asked me nothing. With no agent. Drop off your passport the 1st day and pick up next day. My passport was full of stamp with no problems in Vientiane

Yes KL has rejected a few from what I have heard. But in Penang everything went smooth, and its a much better place to visit than KL. I was in Penang last week

I just got a tourist visa in Penang, Malaysia no issues and 2 months ago I got a tourist visa in Laos also no issues with a history of stamps in my SA passport :-)

They asked my passport at the immigration counter. Then saw im from SA, they pointed at room/office. Gave me a form and pointed to sign with some details on including the 20k requirement and he said I must show 20k cash. No other documents requested. I showed the 20k and filled in the form, they stapled my arrival card to this form with a copy of my passport and they said I can go. No questions, almost like it was a formality. So I only needed passport, onward ticket, hotel booking and 2 passport photos for the application and 20k to show at the crossing

Took me 3 - 4 hours yesterday, the driver wasn't racing. This includes both immigrations + 1 pit stop. Left Penang at 3pm and arrived at the Bus terminal in Hat Yai at +- 7pm, then another 20 mins to Hat Yai Airport

Awesome man! I need to do exactly this in 2 months as my old passport expires soon and I have my new one with me. Just need to do the switch :-) Much appreciated

I recommend staying close to the river where all the nightlife and restaurants are. Minimum is 2 nights. So you can make a short trip out of it and travel around Vientiane. The embassy is little bit far away from the restaurants and tuk-tuks are expensive if you want to travel to a bar/restaurant (But if you never gonna leave your hotel its properly a better option then) ;-)

Yes completely agree but thats not how the school system works out of my experience

Out of all the teachers I know in Thailand, everyone had a SETV and started working right away. I know this is not right but thats what happened. You need 14 days on your visa toe be able to finalise the last step. It takes quite a while and schools don't want to wait. This is government schools and private schools. Don't know about Int schools. And I have no knowledge about any other line of work.

If you are staying for more than 30 days and less than 60 days you do not need a SETV. You can just get stamped in (30 day exempt stamp) for free when you arrive at the airport. Then about 2-3 weeks into your 30 day entry stamp you just go to the immigration building in changwattana and buy a 30day extension (B1900). Thats 60 days for only B1900 ;-)