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A simple river crossing connects Tha<br />
Khek in <strong>Laos</strong> to Nakhon Phanom in northwestern<br />
Thailand. <strong>The</strong> trip, on a floating<br />
vehicle platform, runs about six times a day.<br />
Visa on arrival is available. <strong>The</strong> two towns<br />
are right opposite each other and you can<br />
virtually exit the restaurant in Nakhon<br />
Phanom where you had a late breakfast and<br />
step <strong>of</strong>f the ferry into a restaurant on the<br />
Lao side for an early lunch.<br />
<strong>The</strong> mainland entry point from Thailand<br />
is at Nong Khai/Vientiane. Visa on<br />
arrival is available. <strong>The</strong> bridge is 22km (14<br />
miles) from Vientiane and 2km (1 1 ⁄4 miles)<br />
from Nong Khai. Transport is easy at every<br />
stage. Since 2009, this is also where the<br />
international rail connection enters <strong>Laos</strong><br />
with trains running direct from Bangkok’s<br />
Hualamphong Station to Thanalaeng station<br />
near Vientiane (p. 210). <strong>The</strong>re is little<br />
point in staying on the train; it is far simpler<br />
to disembark in Nong Khai and cross<br />
the normal way.<br />
Huay Xai/Chiang Khong is the northern<br />
entry point if you are making the river<br />
trip to Luang Prabang via Pakbeng. Visa<br />
on arrival is available.<br />
If you’re coming by land from Vietnam,<br />
you can cross from Sop Hun to Tay Trang.<br />
This consists <strong>of</strong> the road from the rugged<br />
former battlefield <strong>of</strong> Dien Bien Phu, which<br />
has only just recently opened to international<br />
travelers. Visa to <strong>Laos</strong> is available on<br />
arrival, but not so if you’re going the other<br />
way. <strong>The</strong> road on the Lao side can close in<br />
rainy season.<br />
NamCan to Nam Khan is a convenient<br />
crossing if you want to travel from Hanoi<br />
to Luang Prabang (although its still a bit<br />
<strong>of</strong> a slog from Hanoi to Vinh) and the rest<br />
<strong>of</strong> northern <strong>Laos</strong>. Visa to <strong>Laos</strong> is available<br />
on arrival, but the same is not true if entering<br />
Vietnam from <strong>Laos</strong>. <strong>The</strong>re are buses<br />
covering the 12-hour, 400km (248-mile)<br />
trip from Vinh to Phonsavan. You actually<br />
can do the through trip all the way from<br />
Luang Prabang to Vinh, but it’s not<br />
advised unless you are in a very great hurry<br />
or have tendencies to self harm since it is a<br />
fearsomely arduous journey <strong>of</strong> 690km<br />
(428 miles).<br />
Dansavanh to Lao Bao was the first<br />
land border to open between <strong>Laos</strong> and<br />
Vietnam in the early ’90s, and is now an<br />
international highway and the main artery<br />
from Thailand to Vietnam. <strong>The</strong> advantage<br />
<strong>of</strong> going this way is that on the Vietnamese<br />
side you are treated to the spectacular<br />
scenery around Khe Sanh. <strong>The</strong> disadvantage<br />
is that if you are doing Vietnam from<br />
north to south or south to north, this<br />
border crossing brings you right to the<br />
middle <strong>of</strong> the country near Da Nang and<br />
Hue. Visa to <strong>Laos</strong> is available on arrival,<br />
but a visa to Vietnam is not. Buses run<br />
directly from the Savannakhet on the<br />
Thai/<strong>Laos</strong> border to Hue in Vietnam.<br />
If you are coming to <strong>Laos</strong> from China,<br />
crossing from Boten to Mengla between<br />
Luang Nam Tha province in <strong>Laos</strong> and<br />
Yunnan in China is the only option. Visa<br />
on arrival is available for <strong>Laos</strong> but unavailable<br />
for China if heading in the opposite<br />
direction.<br />
By Bus<br />
From <strong>Cambodia</strong>, Sorya Transport<br />
(012/631-545; www.ppsoryatransport.<br />
com) runs a bus from Phnom Penh to<br />
Stung Treng on the <strong>Laos</strong> border. It leaves<br />
daily at 7:15am from the bus station south<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Central Market (the return trip also<br />
departs Stung Treng daily at 7:15am) and<br />
costs 42,000 riel. From Stung Treng, you<br />
can arrange transport to the border.<br />
Getting from any major Thai town or<br />
city to any border crossing with <strong>Laos</strong> is a<br />
very simple task since buses are frequent,<br />
cheap, efficient, and ubiquitous. Buses<br />
from Bangkok’s Morchit Northern Bus<br />
Terminal take about 9 hours and usually<br />
leave Bangkok in the evening and travel<br />
197<br />
PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO LAOS 10<br />
GETTING THERE & GETTING AROUND