Here is a small "illustrated" guide in 5 steps to renew or change your visa for Thailand by going to Savannakhet in Laos, a small town facing Mukdahan on the Thailand side. With "only" 124 inhabitants, it is the second largest city in Laos in terms of population... I had decided to go there as a change from Vientiane where I had been the last time I had set foot in Laos.
1) Bus ride from Bangkok
We opted to travel from Bangkok to Mukdahan by bus, purchasing tickets through Thai Ticket Major (which at the time sold bus tickets), the advantage being that they have sales outlets in several large stores.
[Edit: now 12GB is perfectly fine for that, for example]
For 29-seater VIP bus costs 778 baht (in 2019), or about €24, it was a night journey departing at 20:30 pm and arriving around 6:45 am (the 34-seater "First Class" buses are around 500 baht).
Once in Mukdahan, you need to take a local bus that will take you to the border via the Friendship Bridge. You should buy your ticket directly at the Mukdahan bus station; you shouldn't miss it, as at this time of day there will only be one ticket booth open and a long queue.
2) Cross the border
After a meal on site at Mukdahan station (there is a small restaurant in the background from which I took the photo of the station), you will take a bus to the immigration post located just before the bridge for the Thailand side (where you will get an exit stamp).
Please note that there is no assigned seat. As soon as the bus opens its doors, it's a frenzy with all the Laotians rushing to the seats to avoid finding themselves on the floor waiting for the next bus (well after that there are departures every 30 minutes).
After crossing the Friendship Bridge, the second of its name, on the Laos side, you will take steps to obtain a Laotian visa. Ask for a form to fill out, preferably have passport photos with you and a pen. For French passports, you have to pay $30, knowing that it is better to pay in dollars rather than in baht (otherwise you will lose out on the exchange because you are asked for 2000 baht, which is not $30...).
3) Join Savannakhet
This is the tricky part. Indeed, the bus is supposed to be available on the other side and goes to the Savannakhet terminal, but it can be confusing and the latter does not wait for you... The first time, we were not sure whether we had to take another ticket or what and so we had to take a tuk tuk... Knowing that they ask for 100 baht per person! And again because I was with my Thai wife, alone, I heard that they offered 200 baht to foreigners anyway (or even 300!)
So to sum up, if you can, make sure to take this bus once you have passed the Laotian border and immigrationThe journey to Savannakhet takes no more than 15 minutes, while the border crossing will take almost an hour in total.
Being in a taxi, it took us directly to the Thai consulate (the old one, located near the river). There is a new Thai embassy which was inaugurated in 2016.
Here is a map showing the location of the consulate you need to go to (the new location):
4) Submit your documents
When you arrive, you will see this courtyard and these buildings with green roofs. The new consulate is along the main road. The choice to come here to Laos was due to the ease of the procedures, which differ concretely from one embassy/consulate to another. I was there for a student visa and here is the list of documents to provide:
- Documents provided by my school (learning Thai language)
- Passport (valid for at least 6 months)
- Photocopy of passport, main page only
- 2 passport photos (can be obtained on site via the visa service opposite)
- An application form to fill out
- 2000 baht (payable in USD).
No proof of income or anything normally. For a tourist visa, there is just no need for the documents that were provided to me by the school.
Opposite the consulate you will find shops offering services but these are only used to check your documents, possibly make photocopies, etc. It is better to come with all these documents ready and go straight in like I do every time. No ticket system, everyone just queues up. Simple, rather quick and efficient if in the middle of the week (it is often crowded on Monday mornings as well as on Fridays).
5) Collect your passport and the precious sesame
Last step, probably the easiest and fastest! Even if everyone arrives at 14pm, it will normally take you no more than 30 minutes to get out of there. From there, you are free to go back to the bus station and leave directly (most do this) or like us, take the time to visit the surroundings. Knowing that the city is not very big either, we will avoid the tuk tuks at the exit and we will start looking for a guesthouse.
For this first trip to Savannakhet (2014), we walked along the river with Thailand facing us before arriving at the first hotel we came across, the Mekong Hotel.
We'll look a little further and consider the New Sabai. As its name suggests, it's indeed a new hotel, very clean and well located along the river, but it costs 1,000 baht a night. So we'll settle for the Mekong Hotel, where a night costs only 380 baht, with air conditioning, no less!
And it was needed! It was really hot (in the middle of May)!
I've since had the opportunity to return several times, having much better accommodation options. I've also explored the city a bit more and provide all the information and details in the dedicated article:
Savannakhet: what to see and do in the city and its surroundings?
