Air Asia is one of the worst airlines I've ever encountered. Of course they are going to weight it. They want to extract more profit from you. You can also consider yourself lucky if the flight is not delayed.
You spend all day in a van filled with sketchy people, and usually you risk your life in the process since the the dude that drives the van is usually pushing the van to the limit. Pedal to the metal and shit without any seatbelts while talking on the phone at the same time.
I rather just pay the few bucks and not have to deal or exchange energy with those people and their bullshit. It's a matter of priorities. I value my time, tranquility, and peace over a small amount of money.
If you're slumming it like a lot of expats are to the point where the petty corruption that you will experience on a day to day basis starts affecting you emotionally.
Then at that point I would rather just go home, than to live within this society. Thailand is no place for a broke man. It's even worse if that man is a foreigner.
What you’re trying to do which is likely a visa run has been done a lot before throughout the years by other people. There’s a whole commercial industry that revolves around it.
The moment you get to the Udon Thani airport there’s services that are specifically oriented towards getting you to Laos from taxis, buses to mini vans. It’s not a problem. Just show up to the airport, and pick whatever works best for you. You don’t need to book anything in advance.
Is 500 baht. Not 50,000 baht. So your problems are minimal. Also, you’re in south east Asia which is one of the most corrupted places on earth. This is normal. I just had to deal with some petty corruption crossing the border from Laos to Thailand and I don’t care. The way I see it that dude had something to eat for the night. It is what it is.
It's a common issue that a lot of people are dealing with in Thailand. Specially since a person can buy a testing kit from 711, and confirm an infection on their own. Effectively avoiding overpriced tests, and outpatient visits at hospitals. Also, avoiding exposing anyone to an infection of Covid during the commute to the hospital itself. The problem is the fact that the certificate of recovery carries importance, and Im just wondering how a person would go about getting one if they just simply stayed home. I guess proving the infection is where issue is, but if a person can prove a legit infection—what are the options?