Thuy Trang is a content creator pursuing the digital nomad lifestyle. Recently, Trang just completed a backpacking trip across two countries, Laos and Thailand, by bus. In response to Travellive, because she wanted to celebrate her birthday, Trang and a close friend went from Da Nang to Hanoi early in the morning. In the evening, the two friends took the bus to Laos without any specific schedule.
"I feel that Laos is peaceful and beautiful. Laos deserves, very deserves to become a peaceful and quiet place we can come to in a dreamy autumn like this," Trang shared.
From Vietnam to Laos
Thuy Trang went to Laos in early October. This is the time when the Land of a Million Elephants has a lot of rain, the climate is hot around 29 degrees Celsius. To save money, the female content creator took a sleeper bus at Nuoc Ngam bus station. There are buses running every day, with Lao or Vietnamese license plates.
Thuy Trang and her best friend took a bus from Hanoi to Laos.
Thuy Trang did not make any schedule before starting.
A street corner in Luang Prabang.
The bus usually departs from the station at 6pm and arrives in Vientiane around 4-5pm the next day. At 2pm every day, visitors can call to inquire about information and book tickets in advance for around 800,000 VND. Currently, all Vietnam-Laos immigration procedures are handled by the bus company, visitors only need to show their passport when registering to buy tickets.
At 7am the next morning, the car will take you to Cau Treo border gate (Ha Tinh), after completing the procedures, go to Nam Phao border gate (Laos). At Cau Treo grocery store, there is a place to buy SIM cards and exchange money, you can spend 70,000 VND for SIM cards and top-up cards. When arriving at Vientiane bus station, you can take a tuk tuk or hire a Vietnamese taxi to the city center, about 12km away.
The next day, Thuy Trang took the train to Luang Prabang via the China-Laos high-speed railway. Currently, this railway line stretches 422 km to 6 stations in Laos including Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Muang Xay, Luang Namtha and Boten with a speed of 120-160 km/h. This Laos-China Railway (LCR) has both high-speed and regular trains.
"There are only 3 trips per day from Vientiane to Luang: 7:30 (C82), 15:05 (C84), 8:00 (K12), so if we arrive in Vientiane at 17:00, we won't be able to catch the high-speed train. We need to book a room for 1 night in Vientiane and then go to the train station early the next morning to book tickets 1-2 hours in advance. Because Thai and Chinese people come here in large numbers, tickets sell out very quickly," Thuy Trang said.
Kuang Si Falls in Luang Prabang.
Thuy Trang poses for photos at Kuang Si waterfall.
Walk around and take pictures in Luang Prabang.
Besides, train tickets cannot be booked for you because you have to bring your passport to register. Tickets are only opened 2 days in advance, so as soon as you arrive at a station, you need to book tickets for the next leg to avoid the situation of sold out tickets. In particular, all train stations have shuttle buses to the center, visitors just need to go down the elevator, go to the vehicle area and you will see them.
After arriving in Luang Prabang, Thuy Trang rented a motorbike to begin her journey to explore this tourist destination. In the afternoon, the couple went up Phousi Hill to watch the sunset. Trang chose to leave early at 5:30 p.m. because this is a place that attracts many foreign tourists. In particular, in Luang Prabang, visitors will experience a unique religious ceremony every day.
The alms-begging ceremony takes place at 5am-6:30am every day, and is a very typical cultural and religious activity in Luang Prabang, which is very popular with tourists. Tourists should get up early and choose a corner to experience it. The nuns also sell sticky rice and cakes, and arrange chairs so you can sit and make offerings to the monks like a local.
"Around the center of the night market, there are many places worth visiting: the National Museum, Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Mai, Luang Library, and peaceful little corners that look very similar to Hoi An where you can take street photos," Thuy Trang said.
From Laos to Thailand
After 2 days in Luang, Thuy Trang took the express train C81 at 1:45 pm to return to Vientiane, conveniently going to Udon Thani in Thailand the next day, bordering Laos only about 60-70 km away. From Talat Sao bus station, you take a bus for about 2.5 hours from Laos to Thailand. There are many departure times: 8:00, 11:00, 14:00, 15:00, 17:00. The ticket counter at Talat Sao Bus Station is open from 6:30 am to 18:00.
Early morning alms round in Luang Prabang.
Tourists wait for monks.
The immigration procedures for Laos and Thailand are quite simple. Tourists get off the bus and look at the line of people carrying their belongings, line up to get stamped, go through the security check, and then get back on the same vehicle with the same license plate. The Thai immigration declaration and the Lao immigration declaration will be available outside the stamping area. When you get off the bus, prepare a pen and fill it out quickly, go in and get the stamp and you're done.
"Remember to prepare a lot of 20 baht notes (Thai currency) because you have to pay the exit and entry fees 2-3 times with the same price," Thuy Trang shared. From Thuy Trang's perspective, Udonthani actually does not have many places to visit. Trang believes that the backpacking journey from Laos to Thailand, which only takes 2.5 hours, is a memorable travel experience.
Thuy Trang only spent about 5.5 million VND for the whole trip.
"In the morning I had breakfast in Laos, and in the afternoon I was sipping milk tea in Thailand," Trang joked.
In particular, if you only go to Thailand for 2 days, around Udonthani, you don't need to buy a sim. You should download Map.me, then download the Udonthani map or the offline Thailand map. If you go further (Chiang Mai, Bangkok, ...), you can buy a sim at the Thai border (Nong Khai border) or buy a Thai sim delivered to your home on Klook. At the end of the Laos - Thailand backpacking trip, Thuy Trang only spent about 5.5 million VND for the whole journey.
