Vientiane - Bangkok without the 12 hour bus/train journey..

Hi there, Im just wondering can anyone advise me on a way from Vientiane - Bangkok maybe stopping over in a thailand town or village as I%26#39;m in no rush to reach BK....and preferably not suffer a 8+ hour trip

many thanks in advance

Vientiane - Bangkok without the 12 hour bus/train journey..

Easy. Take the international bus from Talat Sao, (Morning Market) to Udon Thani and fly from Udon with a budget airline. Udon is worth a stopover. Aletrnatively take the bus to Chiang Mai and train it or fly from there.

Vientiane - Bangkok without the 12 hour bus/train journey..

another alternative make your way back through Isaan. Buses go from morning market bus station to Khon Kaen,

We%26#39;ll be staying in Khon Kaen in January, and then heading north to Vientiane. What%26#39;s the recommended method of travel, bus, train, or ??

Is it still possible to cross the Mekong by boat at Nong Khai, or must one take the Friendship Bridge?

Thanks!

Bus from Khon Kaen straight to the Morning Market. No baot at Nong Khai.

Just a general comment/whinge re direct buses from Vientiane to bangkok:

The service from Talat Sao to Nong Khai, Udon and Khon Kaen are good, but I would avoid the %26#39;direct%26#39; bus from Vientiane to bangkok, and not only because of the 8-9 hours it takes.

I took this bus (through the normally good Green Discovery) before xmas as the Nok Air flight and sleeper train were already full, and found it to be an unashamed rip-off from start to finish:

-They charge 800 baht from Vientiane, whereas the exact same bus costs 350baht from just over the river at nong Khai. It costs 55 bt to go Vnte-NongKhai on the hourly Talat Sao bus.

-The bus pickup is intentionally always at least 1 hour %26#39;late%26#39; from the advertised time, so that you spend money on drinks etc at the pick up point.

-The advertised %26#39;free evening meal%26#39; at Nong Khai is a bowl of plain low quality rice, the stop being designed to get you to buy more overpriced drinks

-Because you arrive at the border with several other overnight buses, you queue at immigration with 100 people who are unfamiliar with the process and havent filled their forms in - it took 90 minutes standing on the Thai side, whereas it usually takes 10 minutes or less.

If you make your own way to nong khai (very easy, quick and cheap) you save 400bt on the bus fare and save 2-3 hours of overall journey time.