chiang rai day trip to laos

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Day Trips Burma and Laos from Chiang Rai - Chiang Rai Forum

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Day Trips Burma and Laos from Chiang Rai

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1 Is it worth crossing the border and spending a few hours in the border towns?

2 Are there any day trips covering a journey over the border.

Simple answer is yes! But be aware that Myanmar is a scammers heaven! Starts with the border guards, the cost of a visa for the day is US$10, the guard will tell you it's 500 baht. Stand your ground, he takes the 500 if he can get it and changes it into US and pockets the difference, about $4, not a lot, but 5 times a day and he's probably made more than his weekly pay. The correct cost is $10!!!You then have to leave your passport with the guy who has just tried to cheat you. Something I was really worried about but was assured by Jermsak, our guide in the north, that this would be ok.

Once in, it's an eye opener. From street hawkers selling cheap Burmese cigs re-packaged as American brands and packets of Viagra (who knows what they would be)to the difference in living conditions from one side of the river to the other, you will be amazed.Try and walk away from the market as far as you can and take it all in. On your return over the bridge, you will be escorted from one side of the road to the other by a small boy, for this "service" he expects payment. You will be amazed at how aggresive and persistant he will become if you don't think he should be paid for his unrequested "service". I don't mind being scammed by kids if they do it with a smile, but these young fella's are over the top! All in all, a worthwhile excursion.

Take a look at Broders Trip Report - it's on page one of the forum. This report includes this info. Our guide Jermsak takes tours into Laos and Burma from Chiang Rai. There is also a current thread about him on page one of the forum - take a look.

Having done the Laos crossing many times I can say that Laos is a great place with generaly realy nice friendly people and worth visiting.

I only went to Burma once and decided there and then that I wouldn't bother to make the journey again. The people are aggressive the place is dirty and smelly and had a very "unsafe" feel to it. Even sitting INSIDE a cafe you are beseiged by beggars. That said I only have experience of a border town, maybe if you get further into Burma it is different but from what I saw I doubt it.

I loved going into Burma. I have done it more than once. On my last trip (July 2008)my husband and I took my sister and my 16 year old niece. My sister was very nervous about our day trip but at the end of the day she said it was one of the best and most adventurous days of her trip.

We used Jermsak as our guide. On our first trip we crossed the border and spend time at the market, in the Shan slum and at the major temple at the border town.

The second trip, we went further into the countryside and visited a rural village, a rural school and met a lot of local folks. The village chief even invited us into his open air home for tea (which scared my sister cause his dog was growling at her feet, but all was ok). Visiting the school was a real eye opener. It was desperately poor. The village chief, the school principle and the village priest (this was a christian community, which is unusual in Burma)took us on a tour of their village. It was simply an amazing day. We rode by tuk tuk and when it rained a bit, they wrapped syran wrap around the front of the tuk tuk to operate as a windshield!

We didn't have any problems at the border, but as the above post states, your passport is detained at the border and you are given this little paper Burma passport for the day. It can feel a little intimidating the first time but we haven't experienced any problems. You have to leave the country by 6 p.m. and you get your passport when you return. I have seen the additional "charge" of the extra few bucks by the border patrol but haven't experienced the young kids "escorting" you back to the border.

We didn't find the people to be overly aggressive in the market or on the street, but it is definitely a very poor, oppressed country and the people are desperate to sell anything and thus there are scams. We found one woman at the beginning of a market who wanted to sell us a necklace for 5 times the amount someone at the end of the market was selling it for, but we also felt we could tell from the personality of the vendor that one was honest and the other was not.

The people in the village were incredibly welcoming to us and we spent quite a bit of time with them that day and really enjoyed it.

Whether you will enjoy going into Burma from the border depends on how adventurous you are, how much you require "comforts" in your travel and what it is you want to experience. I certainly wouldn't want to live there, but I liked experiencing another culture and seeing the lifestyle and observing the differences from my own.

Let me know if you have more questions.

Thank you Broda and others. At the moment the jury is still out. I am afraid I get myself really wound up at scammers. If I am considering making a purchase I go into the establishment and ask my questions. See my comments on the Kalutra forum in Sri Lanka.

I can cope with Thai traders, even the tailers, just.

I will no doubt make a decision when in Thailand.

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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Chiang Rai Day Trip: Golden Triangle with boat and Laos border from Chiang Mai

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• Hotel pickup and a stop at a hot spring for relaxation and a mineral water soak.
• Explore the stunning architecture of Rong Khun Temple with its white buildings adorned with glass.
• Visit Wat Rong Seur Ten, symbolizing tranquility, purity, and healing in Buddhism with its blue color.
• Explore the Black House Museum, a collection of art by Thai national artist Ajarn Thawan Thanchanee.
• Depart for the Golden Triangle, and enjoy a boat ride along the Khong River to see three countries: Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand.
• Tour timing: 7 AM - 9:30 PM
• Duration: 12 -14 hrs (approx.)
• English-speaking tour guide
• Bottled water
• Air-conditioned vehicle
• Hotel pickup and drop-off (available for selected hotels)
• Boat trip along the Mekong River (approximately 20 minutes, please bring your passport)
• Admission to Wat Rong Khun
• Admission to the Golden Triangle
• Admission to the Blue Temple
• Admission to the Black House
• Personal expenses and gratuities
• Laos land tax of 50 THB per person

Join us for an amazing full-day tour of Chiang Mai, one of Thailand's top tourist destinations. Experience the beauty of Thailand's most captivating attractions. Explore the Golden Triangle and enjoy a peaceful boat ride along the Khong River to witness the stunning scenery of Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand.

Discover famous Chiang Mai landmarks, including Wat Rong Khun, the Black House Museum, Wat Rong Seur Ten, and Mae Khachan Hot Spring. This tour encapsulates the essence of Thailand and is perfect for families looking to spend an incredible day exploring Chiang Mai. Elevate your Thai experience and join us for a day filled with fun, mystery, and adventure!

• 07:00 - 07:30 AM - Pick up from the hotel or meeting point, and then head directly to Chiang Rai. After approximately 1 hour of transportation, you will arrive at Mae Khachan Hotspring.
• 08:45 AM - Stop at Mae Khachan Hot Spring for a break. This is a halfway point to stretch your legs and soak in mineral water.
• 10:45 AM - Visit Wat Rong Khun. Admire its unique decor made of glass, sculptural pieces, and murals, all designed by a famous Thai artist. Explore the stunning architecture with white buildings adorned with glass.
• 12:00 PM - Visit the Black House Museum, a large compound collecting artworks by Thai national artist Ajarn Thawan Thanchanee.
• 01:30 PM - Stop for lunch.
• 02:30 PM - Depart for the Golden Triangle, the frontier between Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand, separated by the Mekong River.
• 05:15 PM - Visit Wat Rong Seur Ten. The temple's blue color symbolizes tranquility, ascension, the infinite, purity, and healing, which are at the heart of Buddhism.
• 09:30 PM - Return to the hotel.
• Infants between the age of 0-3 will not be charged for this tour.
• Children from the age of 4 to 8 years will be charged according to the child rate.
• Everyone else will be charged according to the adult rate.

From our given pickup area point

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PickUp Time Start : 07:00| PickUp Time End: 07:00 | Booking Cutoff : 08

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To receive a full refund, travelers may cancel up to 24 hours before the experience start date in the local timezone. No refunds will be given after that time period.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Wat Rong Khun, Lahaul-Spiti Pa O Don Chai Subdistrict, Chiang Rai 57000 Thailand

Then we will go to White Temple (Wat Rong Khun). Admire its unique decor made of glass, sculptural pieces, and murals all designed by a famous Thai artist. Explore the stunning architecture, white buildings adorned with glass.

So well organized - great extra touches.

Great tour! I would gladly recommend it for anyone interested in Thai temples and food. Our guide was really knowledgeable and kind.

This was a great tour! Our tour guide was great (sorry i dont remember her name but she was so nice and answered all of our questions).

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How to Travel from Chiang Rai to Laos [Huay Xai]

It is easy to cross the Thailand border from Chiang Rai to Laos or vice versa in the far north of either country. We have just completed this border crossing after staying in Chiang Rai for a few nights and thought we would share the details for anyone looking to take the same route.

Overall it was hassle-free to cross but it is good to know what to expect and the fees involved.

Bookings: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a booking, we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank You!

Bus from Chiang Rai

From the provincial bus station in the centre of town take the bus heading to Chiang Khong. It will be the red bus and will leave at every 30 minutes past the hour.

At the time of writing the bus station was being rebuilt so the stops may move but if you ask around someone will point you in the right direction.

The journey takes around 2 hours and costs 70 THB per person (as of 2022), you pay the attendant onboard so just hop on and pick a good seat.

This is a local bus so no aircon, just open windows, and doors to cool you down but we found it comfortable even in the baking early afternoon sun. The real selling point seems to be a straight road but I’m not sure there’s any other way to go!

Tell the driver or attendant that you want to go to the Laos border. This way they will drop you off by the roadside a few km before Chiang Khong and you can take a Tuk-tuk from here the few km to the Thai border. If you miss this stop and end up in the town you can get a Tuk-tuk from there for a few THB more.

At the roadside, the Tuk-tuk drivers had a sign stating the prices. 60 THB for 1 person and 50 THB each for 2 or more people. I saw a couple of guys trying to haggle but these prices seem pretty fixed. You could always try hitching a lift as the road only goes down to the border.

Top Tip: Use the superb 12GoAsia for your transport booking across Southeast Asia to save time and get the best deal. Search for tickets here...

Crossing the border from Chiang Rai to Laos

Arriving at the border on the Thai side building we presented our passports with departure cards and got stamped out of Thailand.

Next, we needed to get a ticket for the bus to cross the friendship bridge, this is a mandatory 20 THB per person.

The lady selling the bus tickets also offers to exchange your TBH for USD as it is generally cheaper to pay for a Laos visa in Dollars. I calculated that we saved around $5 to $10 each by doing this so it’s good to carry some spare Dollars.

There’s a sign stating that you cannot cycle or walk across the bridge so it’s a road bridge only. Ironically there was a large group of cyclists crossing at the time and their bikes had to be wedged in between the bus seats when they could have just peddled over.

Personally, I found this a bit of a shame as I think there’s something quite epic about walking out of one country and into the next, but I also didn’t want to get arrested.

I’m not sure what timetable the buses run on but it left after we waited for around 10 minutes. The journey took about 3 minutes across the bridge to the building on the Laos side.

At the Laos border

Next, we went to the Visa on Arrival window and got the necessary paperwork to fill in. There is a visa form and an arrival and departure card to fill out. You need to give a passport photo with the form or pay a little extra.

You hand all this in to the person at the right-hand window and line up to get your passport back at the left window once they have processed your visa. At the left window, you also pay the visa fee .

Kristina paid $30 as I’m not sure they knew where Lithuania was, We just kept smiling and saying ‘EU’, ‘EU’, and I had to stump up $35 as some kind of weird $5 being British tax!

We did however avoid the lovely ‘overtime fee’ of an extra $1 which gets levied on you if crossing the border from Chiang Rai to Laos after 4 pm or at the weekend. We got our visas at 3.52 pm on a Wednesday, we know how to play the system!

It all went very smoothly though and with our Laos visas stuck in our passports, we walked through to the passport control booth. The chap here was more interested in playing Clash of the Clans on his phone than inspecting my shiny new visa and just waved me through.

So that’s our journey from Chiang Rai to Laos, and there was a big sign to prove it!

Getting to Huay Xai from the border

So the last step was to get to the border town of Huay Xai in Laos. I’d done a little bit of research online and it was suggested that it should be 10,000 LAK (£0.90) for the ride into town but we paid 100 THB (£2) and they wouldn’t accept any less.

A couple of chaps did walk off but no lower price was offered as a result and it was a 15 minute ride to the centre of Huay Xai in the heat.

We had to wait about 20 minutes for some more people to come through before they would leave as the previous Tuk tuk was full but we were in no hurry and just relaxed in the shade.

Top tips for the Chiang Rai to Laos border crossing

• We left Chiang Rai on the 1pm bus and got to our accommodation in Huay Xai at before 5pm, including a 20 minute wait for the next Tuk tuk to go from the Laos border.
• You can pay for the visa in LAK, THB or USD but it’s cheaper in USD.
• You’ll need 1 passport photo of yourself for the Laos Visa or be prepared to pay more.
• There’s a $1 extra fee for ‘overtime’ after 4pm or at weekends and public holidays.
• Don’t forget to have a pen handy to fill out the visa forms.
• There’s a currency exchange point to convert your THB into LAK before and after the visa window on the Laos side, they close at 3pm daily.
• The Tuk tuks on the Laos side will accept THB if you have no LAK.
• There’s a decent toilet block, snack bar, ATM and currency exchange on both sides of the bridge.
• We travelled from Chiang Rai to Laos border in March 2016 and it was pretty quite at the border but I can imagine that it’s much busier in the ‘high season’ so be prepared for lengthy waiting times.