TotallyOz Posted April 3, 2006 Posted April 3, 2006 I am going to Laos on my next visa run. Any suggestions as to where to go or stay? I will most likely stay about 5 days. I am also flexible on where to go once I am there. Thanks. GT Quote
Bob Posted April 3, 2006 Posted April 3, 2006 I am going to Laos on my next visa run. Any suggestions as to where to go or stay? I will most likely stay about 5 days. I am also flexible on where to go once I am there. Thanks. GT Depends what you want but I'd suggest spending 2-3 days in Luang Prabang. Really nice small town, probably a lot like Chiangmai about 75 years ago. Several in town hotels and guesthouses. A couple of guys suggested a particular guesthouse and I made reservations for myself and my Chiangmai friend. When we got there, the place was pretty bad and we ended up staying at the Villa Santi Resort which is a mile or two out of town (but they have a very good Mercedes bus service to town and back every hour). Place was more expensive (I paid $62.00 per night) but it remains the nicest place I've ever stayed at in Southeast Asia (hmmm.....maybe second only to the Goodwood Park in Singapore). Not much open gay activity up there although there's a couple of gay-owned cafes/bars (the one just northeast of Mount Phousi was a lot of fun). You can fly to Luang Prabang from Bangkok or Chiangmai. Quote
Guest hajuthai Posted April 11, 2006 Posted April 11, 2006 I have 2 times gone to Vientianne. Take airplane Bangkok - Udon Thani. I prefer NOK air. Then the minibus from airport to Friendship bridge, it is 100 bath. Shuttlebus over the bridge is 10 bath. Then visa to laos, 30 dollars and entryfee to Laos, 20 bath. Then I take a taxi to Vientianne 300 bath. I prefer a guesthouse called Dragon Lodge, gayowned, a room with hotshower, toilet, aircon 15 dollars a nigth. It is central. Of course Luang Prabang is a nice town, but then you go ChiangMai and then Luang. Bangkok air have a fligth Bangkok-Luang via Sukhothai. I stayed at Villa Ban Lao, gayfriendly, very nice staff, 25 dollars for a big room with everything. They have webside www.banlao.laopdr.com and e-mail. banlao@laotel.com Have a good trip Quote
Guest panh Posted April 28, 2006 Posted April 28, 2006 Welcome to Laos, we are very pleasure that u visit here. next time if u dont know where to go please contact me. my No. 0205736217 Quote
Guest shockdevil Posted June 4, 2006 Posted June 4, 2006 I am going to Laos on my next visa run. Any suggestions as to where to go or stay? I will most likely stay about 5 days. I am also flexible on where to go once I am there. Thanks. GT GT: I have a really silly question. What is a Visa Run? Quote
billyhouston Posted June 4, 2006 Posted June 4, 2006 GT: I have a really silly question. What is a Visa Run? I too would recommend NokAir to Udon Thani, it's just a pity that they are so late releasing their timetable and seats. They have also had a problem with International credit cards recently, necessitating a phone call to Thailand. In spite of that they are my preferred airline. Dragon Lodge is great and very central. Villa Ban Lao is a little way out, maybe 2Km from town and I prefer to be in the Temple District of the old town. Sayo Guest House is a great old French house though far from visitor friendly. Don't like Bangkok Airways because, for one thing, they are expensive (look at the cost of flying to Samui) so I fly from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai with Lao airlines. Visit LaoPDR a couple of times each year and spend perhaps 5 weeks there. It's a fabulous laid-back country with wonderful people. [some people who need to exit Thailand in order to get a new 28-day visa use Lao PDR for a 'visa run'. If that's all they do, they are missing out] Quote
Guest stef Posted June 5, 2006 Posted June 5, 2006 GT: I have a really silly question. What is a Visa Run? Shockdevil, a visa run is a way to get your passport stamped for an other 30 days. The legal stay on vacation is 30 days from the moment you enter Thailand. So to prevent you to fly out to an other country and spend monney on airlines and hotels, a lot of people just go for a visa run and end up going to Loas or cambodia for the day by car or bus or even private taxi. ( severals hours driving distance at least ) They cross the border and come back the same day and their passport is stamped for an other 30 days Very cheap but really stressful I have to add. A very long day most of the time. Quote
Guest shockdevil Posted June 6, 2006 Posted June 6, 2006 Shockdevil, a visa run is a way to get your passport stamped for an other 30 days. The legal stay on vacation is 30 days from the moment you enter Thailand. So to prevent you to fly out to an other country and spend monney on airlines and hotels, a lot of people just go for a visa run and end up going to Loas or cambodia for the day by car or bus or even private taxi. ( severals hours driving distance at least ) They cross the border and come back the same day and their passport is stamped for an other 30 days Very cheap but really stressful I have to add. A very long day most of the time. Thank you stef for answering my silly questions. I was trying to figure out a way to stay for the winter. I am planning to rent a condo from November 2006 to January 2007. I was trying to figure out how to do this and now I know. Thank you. Quote
Up2u Posted June 15, 2006 Posted June 15, 2006 Thank you stef for answering my silly questions. I was trying to figure out a way to stay for the winter. I am planning to rent a condo from November 2006 to January 2007. I was trying to figure out how to do this and now I know. Thank you. Depending on your exact length of stay in may be to your advantage to get a tourist VISA at a Thai embassy before you enter Thailand. Enrty good for 60 days and 90 days from the date of issue. When I stay longer than 30 days I always get a tourist VISA because it can save me a VISA run or a trip to the Imigarion Office for an extension. http://www.thai-la.net/ I am going to Laos on my next visa run. Any suggestions as to where to go or stay? I will most likely stay about 5 days. I am also flexible on where to go once I am there. Thanks. GT Just curious if you've seen Angkor Wat? Definitely the first choice, then followed by Luang Prabang. Vientianne was a disappointment. Quote
Guest shockdevil Posted June 15, 2006 Posted June 15, 2006 Depending on your exact length of stay in may be to your advantage to get a tourist VISA at a Thai embassy before you enter Thailand. Enrty good for 60 days and 90 days from the date of issue. When I stay longer than 30 days I always get a tourist VISA because it can save me a VISA run or a trip to the Imigarion Office for an extension. http://www.thai-la.net/ Thanks Up2u. I did not realize that I could get such a Visa. This will save me a Visa run. Quote
