Day 147 – Dien Bein Phu to Luang Prabang, LAOS
Land crossing to Laos
Today, we checked out of Phuong Nam Hotel, and walked to the Dien Bein Phu Bus Station. We were running a little late, so we went straight to the station and got onto the waiting mini bus. We had purchased the tickets the night before from the Bus Station for 495,000 VND / $29.97 AUD per person.
Bus travel times 
E-Visa notification
The bus was empty when we arrived, so I ran down the road looking for breakfast. Most shops were still closed, so I could only buy food from a few street stalls.
First we had to go through Vietnamese Immigration, which wasn’t too bad. Again, there were more warnings saying the border crossing could not be used with an E-Visa. We waited at the window and handed in the passports. After a while we got it back and everyone got on the bus again.
After a short drive, we were at Laos Immigration. Here we would be getting visa on arrival. We got a form from the window, which was easy to fill out, but you do need the address of accommodation in Laos. Next the payments began. Visa Application Fee $2 USD, Visa Fee $30 USD, Tourism Fund $2 USD, Visa Stamp Fee $2.50 and Health Check 5,000 LAK. Each fee was performed at a different window. At the visa application window, we also converted all our remaining Vietnamese Dong to Laos Kips. The total visa fee was $36.50 USD and 5,000 LAK (~$0.50 USD) for a total of $37 USD / $52.02 AUD. We did not see ATM or Credit Card facilities anywhere in sight.
Please note, we saw signs that added another couple of dollars for after hours or weekend rates. We were not asked any of these as we travelled during a weekday, during the day. Another note, Laos doesn’t accept USD notes that have been damaged, so make sure your notes look in mint condition.
After immigration, we all got back on the bus and drove for an hour or so before stopping for lunch at Muong Khoa. Here we cashed out some money from an ATM. The language barrier was massive, but we ended up having fried rice and eggs for lunch.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. The roads had some amazing views here and there. Toilet breaks were into the bushes.
We arrived in Luang Prabang at night fall at the Southern Bus Terminal. Here we caught a shared tuk tuk towards our hotel, which cost both of us 40,000 LAK / $6.54 AUD. The hotel is located off the main tourist strip. We are staying at Thatsaphone Guesthouse, which we had booked online before getting to Laos. The guest house was nice, but early in the morning, another couple in an adjoining room were having a heated argument, for the entire guest house to hear.