Category Archives: Blog

Flying to and from the tropical island of Koh Samui off the coast of southern Thailand is a treat. The airport located here must be one of the most beautiful in the world. Somehow it manages to contain all the necessities of a major international airport…shops, security, waiting rooms, etc….but does all of this in an outdoor setting. There is very little that is located behind closed doors or walls, except for the gift shop.

It was built, and is owned and operated, by Bangkok Airways. There are only a few airlines that fly direct to Samui; Bangkok Airways, Thai Airways and Silk Air. Hence, flying to this island paradise from most places in the country is much pricier than flights to other destinations.

There are several options available to get into the nearest town (Chaweng). A taxi will set you back a little less than $15 which is a total rip-off compared to most other locations in Thailand. Here in Chiang Mai, we would pay less than a third of that for the same distance. However, for most tourists, this would seem like a deal!

There are also minivans available for about $4 per person. You will just have to wait until they have at least six people unless you arrive with a group. And, of course, all the major car rental companies are available.

Although there are more than two million passengers per year moving through this little airport, it seemed pretty laid back. I’m sure it picks up during the busy holiday seasons, such as the Chinese New Year and Christmas holidays (can I mention that C word any more?).

I loved the outdoor seating and the open-air waiting rooms. To top it off , there was a “Courtesy Corner” where free coffee, juices, sandwiches and local snacks were available while you waited.

It was definitely one of the coolest airports I have seen, and one of the most beautiful.

A couple of weeks ago, we made a successful visa run to Vientiane after our wasted trip to Malaysia. Ok, it wasn’t really a total waste since we had never stayed in Kuala Lumpur more than one night in transit so we finally got to see the city. But it was certainly a bust as far as trying to get a Non-Immigrant visa.

Because I messed up on the latest extension of our retirement visas that we have had for the last couple of years, we had to leave the country (our attempt in Kuala Lumpur) and start from “square one” again. The basic chain of events to retire here is the following:

• Enter on a Tourist Visa
• Satisfy the financial requirements
• Obtain a Non-Immigrant O Visa
• Wait 2-3 months
• Apply for retirement extension (commonly called the Retirement Visa)

And then you are good to go for another year.

So back into the country we came with a Tourist Visa…check. I opened up a bank account under my own name and deposited enough to satisfy the financial requirements…check. The two problems we had with our recent attempt at renewing our retirement visa; the pathetic Canadian exchange rate which decreased my pension to a level below the monthly amount required and our joint bank account.

Because Nancy is under 50, she is a problem child and has to obtain her visa as my dependent. To do this, she has to leave the country. I could have obtained my Non-O in Bangkok but we decided to both go to Vientiane and do it at the same time. The Thai consulate in Vientiane has been the “go-to” destination for years for those who have been zipping in and out of the country every few months to renew their short-term tourist visas.

Most people on visa runs take the 12-hour bus ride to the border but we opted to fly. Our return tickets on Nok Air from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani were about $100USD. Depending on when you arrive, there are several options to get to the Friendship Bridge on the Thai-Laos border. We piled into a limousine (van?) for the 1.5 hour trip for about $5 each.

Because of the large numbers of people crossing every day, the border process is quick and efficient. After passing though the immigration checkpoints, we purchased two 20 baht tickets for a bus ride across the bridge from a ticket counter to the immediate right. This was a very short but crowded ride!

On the other side of the bridge is the visa assembly line of counters. We picked up Laos Tourist Visa application forms and arrival/departure cards at Counter 1, submitted them at Counter 2 with a single passport photo, passports and cash. At Counter 3 we picked up our passport with the new Laos visas and our change. A 30 day Laos Tourist Visa costs $35 USD OR 1500 baht (about $45 USD equivalent).

Once we were through the final checkpoints we were bombarded with taxi and tuk-tuk drivers. We ended up sharing a taxi with a young couple to Vientiane for about $3 each. The ride into town is only about 30 minutes.

We arrived on a Monday night so the next morning we headed off to the Thai consulate and arrived about 8:30am, in plenty of time to submit our paperwork and make sure everything was in order.

What do you need?

• passport
• 2 passport photos (white background only)
• recent letter from bank stating funds
• letter from your embassy showing proof of monthly income
• marriage certificate certified by your embassy

We picked up our passports the following afternoon and reversed our trip back to Udon Thani the next day.

The border town of Vientiane is not exactly a charming city but we managed to keep ourselves busy during the two days that we were there. A few tourist sites, a great bakery/coffee shop and some good meals made for an enjoyable stay.

A few tips!

• Photos MUST have a white background!
• Don’t count on getting photos at immigration. They were out of photo paper the day we were there.
• Unless you are on a quick trip, stay in town and travel to consulate. It is very out-of-the-way.
• You can take a bus from Vientiane to Udon Thani and vice-versa, probably a cheaper option than what we did.