Vientaine

[Crustasian]

Spent 5 days in Vientaine recently.The city is a sleepy hollow but has enough bars and restaurants to occupy me.Booze is incredibly cheap but the bars close at midnight so go out early!!
If going by air you get a Visa on arrival at the Wattay International Airport which is only a 5 minute taxi into the city.Cost of a Visa is 1600 Baht for the entry.You also must pay 10 US Dollar on leaving /departure tax.It has to be US dollars.(When I paid in with 2000 Baht they gave me the change in one 10 Dolllar bill so I just kept it)

Alternately some people fly up to Udon Tani and take a 2 hour mini bus ride to the bridge and do their Visa there but it is a prolonged procedure and has long queues.

The local currency is the KIP but all bars and shops accept Thai Baht and also US Dollars.The exchange rate can vary so you can shop around.

Prostitution is illegal and most hotels are not GF. There are plenty of pretty ladies around so you can still have fun.The main bar area is centred around the Fountain Monument and there are several day time cafes.There are also a lot of bars situated along the bank of the Mekong River and these are great places for sundowners.

[faultytowers]

Glad you enjoyed your trip and got back safely. Good post which will be useful if anyone else is planning a trip.

[Nicke]

Thanks for the report, I hope to try a similar visa run one day.

[barfly]

Originally Posted by Crustasian

Spent 5 days in Vientaine recently.The city is a sleepy hollow but has enough bars and restaurants to occupy me.Booze is incredibly cheap but the bars close at midnight so go out early!!
If going by air you get a Visa on arrival at the Wattay International Airport which is only a 5 minute taxi into the city.Cost of a Visa is 1600 Baht for the entry.You also must pay 10 US Dollar on leaving /departure tax.It has to be US dollars.(When I paid in with 2000 Baht they gave me the change in one 10 Dolllar bill so I just kept it)

Alternately some people fly up to Udon Tani and take a 2 hour mini bus ride to the bridge and do their Visa there but it is a prolonged procedure and has long queues.

The local currency is the KIP but all bars and shops accept Thai Baht and also US Dollars.The exchange rate can vary so you can shop around.

Prostitution is illegal and most hotels are not GF. There are plenty of pretty ladies around so you can still have fun.The main bar area is centred around the Fountain Monument and there are several day time cafes.There are also a lot of bars situated along the bank of the Mekong River and these are great places for sundowners.

1600 baht or US$30 visa on arrival for about 15 days.
You weren't there for the Indo-China Hash were you?
Very sleepy town, and very small. We struggled to find many bars and restaurants away from the fountain but a nice strip of eateries by the river if you don't mind a 15min walk.
I had a massage which couldn't have been more "proper".

[Crustasian]

Yes,I was up there for the Mekong Hash Event and enjoyed every single drop of Beer Lao.I also did a Visa with the Thai Embassy and got another single entry 60 day Tourist Visa.

The Embassy hours for Visa requests are from 0830 to 1230 on week days.Visas take two days to process,ie. put it in one day and collect your passport the next day.Collection of passports is from 1300 to 1500 each working day.Cost of a single entry Tourist was 1000 Baht.You need two photos and a photocopy of your Laos entry stamp and details page.There is a photocopy shop two minutes up the road.

[Denver]

Originally Posted by Crustasian

Yes,I was up there for the Mekong Hash Event and enjoyed every single drop of Beer Lao.I also did a Visa with the Thai Embassy and got another single entry 60 day Tourist Visa.

The Embassy hours for Visa requests are from 0830 to 1230 on week days.Visas take two days to process,ie. put it in one day and collect your passport the next day.Collection of passports is from 1300 to 1500 each working day.Cost of a single entry Tourist was 1000 Baht.You need two photos and a photocopy of your Laos entry stamp and details page.There is a photocopy shop two minutes up the road.

Great advice Crustasian, thanks for the heads up Hope to do the trip with you one day and buy you a few sundowners, properly attired of course!! 555555

[wylos]

i was there myself the time of the hash,met a nice guy Richard who seemed to be pulling in the punters,tried to get me involved,the grub and the booze sounded good,but didnt fancy the run.
i like Vientiane,nice little city,not much to do,but enough to keep u occupied for a few days,bars and clubs.
Enough totty about,met loads.but prostitution is a lot more low key.its illegal for a farang to sleep with a laos girl if there not married.
i stayed at 2 different hotels,managed to blag the nightman at one of them, but kicked my girl out a 6am ,before the boss started work.
also got asked at the other hotel how long i was staying because they had to inform the police,whats all that about?,made me a bit paranoid,but they allowed the chicks after havinn a quiet word,all good.
going back into laos in a day or 2,looking forward to it,and its fooking cheap as chips which is what i need at this stage of my tour,20p a beer and about 50p for some top quality grub in Cop cheu deu,nice bar with live music,reccomend it.

[t0rn]

Had no problems with hotels in Vientianne - prob best stay in one with a 'club' or disco attached then you can guarantee GF.
I stayed in the Anou - no probs with a couple of FL's (together) staying with me for the duration. There were also many 'house' girls available.
Any relationship between foreigner/local is supposed to be registered with the police so this may be why some girls want to get away early am. My two weren't bothered any we had a great time exploring the town toghether (even met both sets of parents which was a bit wierd).