I have a personal car and am looking to drive to Thailand via Mengla and Laos to Chiang Mai. Does anyone have experience driving through Laos? Can I get my Laotian visa at the border (and for my wife and kids) or do I need to go to Kunming? Is it possible to get my car across the Mekong at Huay Xiay on the Lao-Thai border. I heard there might be a car ferry. Any help much appreciated.

this post appeared a few months back: www.gokunming.com/[...]

i passed through the Mohan/Boten border crossing recently. most nations can get a visa on arrival. you'll need a passport photo. the fee's something like US$40. not sure of the state of play for Chinese nationals. plenty of Chinese were crossing the border the same time as me, but it did look like they'd prepared paperwork in advance.

Chinese-side, roads are generally good, though there was a poorly signposted diversion off the highway between Mengla and Mohan for some unknown reason.

Laos-side, the road is under repair/resurfacing (by a Yunnan construction company) and hold-ups are frequent. expect a bumpty ride.

hope this helps.

go to my website buckchucko.com and read my post about driving in Laos. I drove my car from Kunming to Luang Prabang. It is not without it's, shall we say "major BS"and expense. Have a handfull of tea money ready!

Thanks a lot bucko. Really enjoyed the music on your site and photos. I have also come across a document that kind of outlines the border crossing process. It seems to indicate that the visa and car paperwork can be taken care of at the Mohan border as long as I have my ownership papers, license, etc. And I will definitely have a bit of money handy.

Be aware that they don't tell you much info at the border. Their big trick is that after you spend 3 hours going from window to window getting visas, car inspections, health certificate, etc. you think you are ready to go. After you drive through the border, there is one more detail they don't tell you. "You must purchase Laos car insurance." To do this you drive about 8 clicks down the road to a dirty little village and stop at a unposted little building and go through about another 1.5 hour's paperwork and pay through the nose for 30 day policy. This is a trap whereby the police hide out and watch for cars that do not stop there to get insurance. Then they stop you out of the village and nail you with BIG fines for not having insurance. 9 out of 10 people never know about this law, and they don;t tell you at the border so they can collect their big $$ in fines from you.
Also at the border, when you drive up to the Stop sign, they nail everybody with a 50,000 kip fine for not stopping the correct distance from the sign. Of course you cannot read the "correct distance" until you are already too close to the sign! Another tactic employed by the border guards.

When I returned to Kunming, I wrote a complaint to the Laos embassy here and personally delivered it. They could care less, and said to me that this border is not monitored by the govt, so the workers there pretty much do what they want. Notice the many new cars parked around the border buildings. These workers make a fine living ripping you off there. Be very aware of the traps!
When they charge you 20,000 kip to "sterilize" your car, they are only spraying water on the tires. I watched this carefully, and saw the cleaning guy go around back to the water spigot to simply fill his sprayer!

Enjoy Laos! Thanks for your comments on my site Dad 0f 3.

As a footnote, I will also warn you about driving. Laos used to be left hand driving not long ago, and then switched to right hand. Many cars still have right side steering and cannot look before passing. Many head on collisions happen in Laos.

Finally, be aware that many in the countryside produce illegal drugs and are dangerous people. Do not loiter around in the quaint villages you pass while driving to your destination. Gas up at the border and don;t stop until you hit Luang Prabang. If you plan to drive from Luang Prabang south, be aware there are many bandits that can stop you and rob you. This happens frequently, so do not drive at night. Make sure your car is mechanically sound and avoid stopping except in the bigger cities. Always carry bribe money as the police will use every means to stop you. Offer them 20% of what they demmand, they will usually accept it.

Do you mean that Laos used to drive on the left hand side of the road like Thailand? I don't think so. Laos has always driven on the right due to the French colonizing their country until 1945 although they officially gained independence in 1954 I believe it was.

Myanmar (Burma) used to drive on the left until 1970 until a fortune teller told the then leader to switch to the right to improve his karma or something. You can do a search on the internet and you can easily confirm what I just said.

You are right about Laos having many right-hand drive vehicles though. Many, if not most of these are from Thailand, but since Laos has legitimate car showrooms now, there's little reason to buy a Lao-registered right hand drive vehicle unless a particular model is not available in Laos these days.

I have stopped in many Lao villages between Vientiane and Vang Vieng along the way (driving a Lao vehicle) and they were a pleasure to pass through. People were friendly and helpful. Mind you, the only reason to stop would be for petrol/gasoline, a toilet break or buying some snacks to eat or stopping for a meal.

Don't drive at night because there's no lighting, you can't see the stray animals/kids/grandmas and grandpas etc. on the roads, dangerous overtaking/passing is prevelent and many vehicles drive without their lights on. No service stations would even be open at night either (all gas/petrol stations even in Vientiane close by 7 or 8pm, in the countryside possibly even earlier). Also, no sane local would drive at night outside the cities and yes banditry may be an issue on some routes though I think things are considerably safer these days. I would say the risk of driving at night comes more from the fact its extremely dangerous in terms of all the things described above - don't do it, just get up early and start driving again during the morning and you'll be fine.