I could not cross Huai Kon - Muang Ngeun (Nan) with motorbike

[blackwolf]

Small bikes (under 250cc)

Just came back from Beung Kan, trying to cross over to Paksan with my 125cc bike. Drove there by placing my bike on the back of my pickup, which is on finance and therefore can't leave the country (yet). Thai customs were very obliging and willing to issue temporary export documents but not quite sure whether the Lao side would be OK with allowing the temporary import of a Thai or indeed any foreign registered bike - I told them it should be OK but only based on information I have read online including Thai language websites which mention Beung Kan to Paksan as a reliable crossing. However, I have to admit I haven't read any recent trip reports from Beung Kan, the last one being from 2012.


The problem then became the ferry - I arrived around 4.25pm on Friday, and at that time there were no more ferries, unless I was willing to pay about 2200 Baht to charter one. However, without any certainty about being allowed to bring the bike into Laos I decided to wait until the next day (Saturday) where I was told there would be a ferry around 9 or 10, which would only cost about 150 Baht including the bike. Accommodation at a brand new nearby hotel was only 350 Baht - very good hotel.


I figured that there would be no rush so I arrived at the ferry pier a bit late (after 11am) on Saturday morning and was told that there may not be any more ferries for the day but luckily another guy came over (a local Thai guy) and confirmed there should be a ferry around 1pm or so if I was willing to wait (lucky!) However, to my disappointment he mentioned his friend had tried to bring in a Thai bike at Paksan about a month or two earlier and was refused so perhaps not so lucky after all and now arriving late at the ferry pier was hardly my biggest problem so perhaps he saved me an unnecessary trip across to the Lao side. I then went back to ask customs what to do, they mentioned I should cross over to the Lao side without stamping any documents or even my passport, bringing along my paperwork (but not the bike), ask for permission then to come back to the Thai side to pick up the bike and process the paperwork IF and only IF the Lao side approved first. If they didn't approve, then I would simply come back to the Thai side without processing any paperwork and forget about trying to cross there with my bike - less than 1 hour wasted an no more than 100? Baht. Thai customs told me I might have to wait until Monday to try that so I decided to leave for Nong Khai and try my luck there as spending another 1.5 days waiting only to likely get refused would just be a waste of time and money. If it were late on Sunday afternoon then I might have waited until Monday morning but not in this case. Indications are that based on an incident some months back where a Thai rider entered at Paksan from Beung Kan and didn't do any paperwork could be the reason why Lao customs are reluctant to let Thai bikes enter there now. However, if you arrive on a weekday, preferably in the morning you could give it a shot as I didn't want to waste time and money trying, especially given a first hand report about a recent rejection there.


Turns out that Nong Khai to Vientiane is straightforward - if you're riding a big bike rated at 250cc or higher (which is why I didn't go there from the beginning and headed straight to Beung Kan). For a small bike like mine (125cc) in addition to the standard documents, I would need to have my bike placed on the back of a pickup (I have a pickup but no permission for the pickup to cross as it's still on finance although it may be possible to cross to the Lao side but not go beyond customs only the duty free area but that doesn't help) and the bike only offloaded after Lao customs. Same procedure on the way back. The Thai travel agent who went over to the Lao side with my documents to ask Lao customs told me that using this method, crossing into Laos would be fine but I may not be allowed to bring the bike back into Thailand, due to being seized by Lao customs on the way back to Thailand, wtf? Although I didn't ask about crossing back into Thailand at another crossing, which may be OK. Both Thai and Lao drivers were willing to transport the bike across, at a cost - but then the Thai travel agent's story got me a bit worried so I figured after spending a lot more time than I was expecting it might be time to give it a miss this time...but let me try one last time.
Another guy from the same travel agency mentioned he was able to get a small bike across at Nong Khai some time ago so that was reassuring at first. A third guy over the phone mentioned the need for either a tour, or a letter from a Lao embassy or consulate (maybe I should have asked in Khon Kaen when I was there on Friday). All in all it was too tedious and becoming quite expensive driving from crossing to crossing so I parked both my pickup and bike in the car parking area at Nong Khai and crossed with a van. Disappointed, but at least I understand the rules for some crossings a bit better. Again if crossing at Nong Khai, big bikes no problems at all, just not if you arrive with a small bike (perhaps understandable if you think about it to prevent lots of locals on small bikes causing accidents etc. - plus bikes were never part of the cross border agreement drafted between Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China etc.

My adventurous spirit still wants to try crossing into Laos somewhere else with my bike, but I am again worried that small bikes could be a problem despite some crossings allowing them in the recent past. Perhaps I will try again in a few months.

 

[blackwolf]

Interesting that you were allowed to enter Laos there Jah, you seemed to be right about the China/ Laos close relationship. I'm going to head down there on a foreign registered (not Thai registered) bike and see if they'll let me enter Laos there. Thanks for the info very useful.

I actually think that the Lao-China relationship is not relevant here. Rather, in order for a Chinese bike to be allowed to enter Thailand, it first needs to enter Laos hence Laos needs to be co-operative and allow re-entry into Laos before heading back to China as otherwise such bikes would need to be shipped back to China by air or sea. If Laos customs were unwilling to allow re-entry of Chinese bikes coming back from Thailand (though they may not allow them back in at all crossings just as is the case with bikes registered in Thailand and other countries not to mention the lack of familiarity in dealing with Chinese bikes at more isolated crossings) then they shouldn't be allowing them to exit for Thailand in the first place.

Since there is no other way around (Chinese and other foreign registered vehicles generally can't enter Vietnam, or only with great difficulty and in a tour) and Cambodia can be a hit and miss too not to mention Myanmar only allowing pre-approved tours (though this may change in the not too distant future) the only realistic way of driving any vehicle from China to Thailand or in the opposite direction is via Laos.

 

[LivinLOS]

I have mentioned the 'small engine size' restictions in the past, not from my own experience but from reading others struggles like yourselves. A few times people have told me that legally theres no difference between big and small bikes but the reality on the ground is one where legally or not, they dont seem as willing to process smaller bikes, at some points, at some times.

I was told the reason is they dont want hordes of Thais on little 125s, which by the nature of their low value might be abandoned etc to cross over. This does make some sense in a real world situation but if thats the case make a law, or at the very least a clear, universal guideline, which applies at all points. Its not rocket science.

 

[blackwolf]

I have mentioned the 'small engine size' restictions in the past, not from my own experience but from reading others struggles like yourselves. A few times people have told me that legally theres no difference between big and small bikes but the reality on the ground is one where legally or not, they dont seem as willing to process smaller bikes, at some points, at some times.

I was told the reason is they dont want hordes of Thais on little 125s, which by the nature of their low value might be abandoned etc to cross over. This does make some sense in a real world situation but if thats the case make a law, or at the very least a clear, universal guideline, which applies at all points. Its not rocket science.

I have been told that it's more likely to be preventing hordes of Thais on small 100-125cc bikes and in the other direction, Laotians on similar bikes potentially causing accidents etc. Additionally, as mentioned the cross border transport agreement never mentioned motorcycles so it's good news that at least big bikes are now being allowed at some crossings, with Nong Khai to Vientiane being one of those. I think I may invest in a good 250cc dirt bike soon, which would be a much better bike for touring than what I own now. Originally, I was hoping just to bring across my truck but having been recently purchased on finance this does not seem to be a possibility until either the loan has almost been repaid or preferably, fully repaid. The only instances of taking a vehicle on finance out of the country that are readily approved by the banks/finance companies would be tours with a tour leader etc. hence I was hoping to just do the next best thing and bring my underused 125cc bike across but it was not to be this time. I can't say whether it's all out for small bikes entering Laos, but it may just be possible at certain crossings that I haven't tried, but would probably take a while to figure out; unfortunately I don't have that much time this time.

It would be great if someone could try to cross at Beung Kan to definitively confirm what I was told but with the bridge at Nong Khai just 140km away open to bigger bikes I suspect only people based locally or those on smaller bikes might be interested in checking out this possibility.