Hello. I want to tell how to get to Laos, namely in Vientiane, from Thailand. I can not say that the "Tarakanya run for a visa" in Laos from Thailand is pretty simple, but it is worth it. From Pattaya walks a direct bus to the Thai-Lao border, which covers the hellish distance in fact through the entire Tha in 12 hours. A company owned by these wonder-buses is called "407", and it is located at the intersection of Sukhumvit and North Pattaya street. By the way, the buses themselves are departed from here. Do not attempt to detect a bus station here, this is a gas station, in the far left corner of which are the companies of the company "407".
Finding the refueling is not problematic: in the wipe to her, behind the fence there is a pretty big mosque, which is difficult not to notice at least in the afternoon, at least at night.
I sincerely recommend Take Tickets for VIP-Express at 20.00, because in this case you will arrive in the border Nonghai at about 8 am. The cost of the ticket to Nonghai (the second floor of the bus) is 551 baht. Bass's first floor tickets are more expensive for 130 baho-rubles, but comfort, they say where more, because On the first floor there is a VIP-salon. Football and water are provided there and there. The ticket is better to take in advance, because there wants a lot of local from Pattaya in that direction, and therefore the Last Minute ticket should not hope. We, for example, were inhabited for a week not to be nervous. In Nonghai, I advise you to use the services of International Bus, which in one hour and 55 baht briskfully drives you through the Thai and Lao gearbox, passes the bridge of friendship and takes you right in Vientiane, the capital of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which, you see, it is incredibly convenient if Your goal, like ours, is a study and study of Vientiane actually.
And I saw him very and very interesting and worthy of attention, contrary to the emerging opinion of one-day tourists running in Vientiane for a long-term Thai visa (there is such an opportunity, but this is a completely different story). Laos is grateful to remember the most important assistance and support for the Soviet Union and sincerely loves the Russians, and therefore we, the Russians, the visa to Laos do not need - we are stamped by free entry-viza for up to 15 days. The return route from Vientiane to Nonghai, the same bass occupies (often) a little longer, because Thai border guards at the entrance "with love" are brazed by tourists for drugs. These meticulous nerve checks lead to the fact that the time of movement of the International BUS with the expectation of tourists who fell under additional inspection on the Thai side increases to one and a half, or even two hours. From Nonghai in Pattaya, we left with the same company "407", the office of which is two steps away from the non-khai bus station. We left at 17.30 and arrived at the "City of Sin" in about 6.30 am. Look in advance map and remember some objects along the succumber closer to the place where you need to go out. The fact is that the bus will not go to the gas station, from where it left, and follows Suchumvit to his ultimate stop in the Rayong. Therefore you have to "whistle" the driver to exit in the right place. What is the feature of 407 buses? There is cold (catastrophically !!!) from air conditioners. And there is not particularly clean (unlike sombat tour, which we traveled from Chiang May in Bangkok), though, however, whom in Tae can surprise the lack of purity?