The Thai-Laos Border Crossing

We had stayed in Thailand for almost 90 days. Of all the countries we have visited, it is my favorite, but it was time to move on. Laos was our next adventure. We chose to cross into Laos from the Northern Region of Thailand from the city of Chiang Rai. Of course, you can fly into Laos, but we learned of another option, and that is taking a 2-day cruise down the Mekong River.

After a lot of research, we identified the Nagi tour company. It was a little more expensive than some of the other companies and regarded themselves as a VIP cruise. The term "VIP" is relative, but I have to admit it was very nice and very well organized, and has been a highlight of our trip. Please see our article "Slow Boat on the Mekong" for details about this amazing cruise and experience.

Prior to our departure, we stayed one night in the Chiang Khong Teak Garden Hotel on the Thai side of the border. As promised, the Nagi tour company had an envelope waiting for us at check-in with all the customs and immigration forms we needed, luggage tags, and instructions for our 7:45 pick-up the following morning.

At 7:45, the journey began, and we, along with 4 others, were picked up at our hotel. Of note, we do recommend the Chiang Khong Teak Garden Hotel if you are doing this trip. It appeared to be the nicest hotel in the city and was very clean with a good restaurant. It also had complimentary breakfast. All can be booked on Booking.com.

The van took us from our hotel to the Thai border crossing site. The tour company managed all of our luggage and pushed it straight through customs with no issues on both sides. Once you complete passport control on the Thai side, you then get loaded onto a large bus and are driven across the bridge to the Laos Custom and passport office. Our tour company set us up for success by providing all the required forms and info about the fees. There were other people trying to scramble to get everything done. To get into Laos, it requires two forms, 40 THB at one window, and $40 USD (or equivalent) at another. The process is very smooth, but from the time we arrived at the Thai office until we were complete, it took about 45 minutes.

Then we were whisked away in another van to the boat ramp to load our slow boat to Luang Prabang.

What can be better than a bathtub on your balcony over looking the Mekong River at the Chiang Khong Teak Garden Hotel