Wald0;305047 wrote: yes, and one other guy from south has been many times in Thailand and he said he never got trouble from Thai border as long that bike is in your name and if its not it is still ok, mostly the problem is leaving vietnam without that "Caravan" paper.
also, Chinese bikes are free to come Laos/Thailand but those country bikes are not so ok to Enter China, they would need to get tour also.
So it is not always the same..
I'm aware that the rules are not always exactly reciprocal - for example, for China/Laos - an individual agreement between the two countries allows Lao vehicles (cars, buses and trucks) to enter China and vice versa. However, buses registered in either country can only travel on designated routes such as Vientiane-Kunming, Luang Prabang-Kunming, Huay Sai-Kunming, Luang Nam Tha-Jinghong, Luang Nam Tha-Mengla, Vientiane-Mengla etc. and they use Lao buses one day, Chinese the next and alternate that way each day. Lao private vehicles can only enter Sipsongbanna without special permission and maybe also Pu'er if they enter from the new northern Phongsali crossing. It is said that getting permission for the rest of Yunnan requires you know a Chinese person to act as a guarantor which will then allow you further access. I know someone who drove a Lao registered truck to Kunming and he had no problems at all doing so.
Unfairly, Chinese private vehicles get access to the whole of Laos. However, indications are that it is getting easier because China has now apparently started to recognize licences from certain countries including Thailand and probably Laos too. I remember reading about this on Thaivisa.com last year.
Another new development is that since late last year, China now allows foreign registered vehicles to freely travel it's highways without a guide (except in Tibet). However, there is still a requirement to register in advance and use a guide to deal with the paperwork at the initial entry point and therefore it's still relatively expensive. After that you're free to go by yourself though. This is a new development that I just read about. It may signal that fairly soon, China will start to honor the 2003 GMS agreement it made with Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar to allow unrestricted access at least to Yunnan and Guangxi and at least for cars, trucks and buses (but maybe not motorcycles as they are not part of the agreement). Given China's warming relationship with both Laos and Thailand, you would expect that kind of reciprocity to be forthcoming quite soon and as part of AEC (even if China is not part of the AEC bloc) I think China is preparing for greater integration.
Cambodian vehicles (at least private cars) can easily enter Vietnam but not vice versa. The Vietnamese customs are generally unlikely to let them leave and even if they do, the Cambodians may or may not grant them entry. If they can leave, a large "deposit" of reportedly US$500 is required, but indications are this is no "deposit" but the "fee" that the border guards ask for and even then, the Vietnamese side only grants a one day exit from the country for the vehicle. A reliable source told me this after inquiring at the Viet/Cambo border. In reality you could easily stay up to 30 days but may need to pay a fine upon re-entry. That's why you see a ton of Cambodian cars on the Vietnamese side but almost no Vietnamese cars in Cambodia; indeed, in all these years I've only ever seen 3 Vietnamese cars driving in Cambodia away from the border areas but I can easily spot numerous Cambodian vehicles inside Ho Chi Minh City on any given day.
But as this is a motorcycle forum, most of you guys will be most interested in how motorcycles can cross the borders - my experience is only with cars though. However, based on my observations, generally speaking, Lao motorcycles are not leaving the country - I heard a rumor that they aren't even allowed to leave for Thailand but the reverse is of course allowed. I have never once seen a Lao motorcycle in Thailand or even attempting to enter Thailand - I've used nearly all the crossings between the two countries and have made something like 25 trips to Laos, the vast majority across the Thai/Lao border - so while they may not be prevented from crossing (except small bikes) in practice they don't cross.
Vietnamese vehicles can not cross into Thailand BUT maybe Thai customs have made an exception for Vietnamese motorcycles, as opposed to cars, buses and trucks. But probably only at some border crossings because Mukdahan and Nakorn Phanom explicitly said NO (though they were probably assuming I was only referring to cars since I came by car myself so why would I ask about motorcycles?) I have to admit I left out an important piece of information in my last posts: one crossing, namely Chong Mek/Vang Tao claimed (on the Thai side) that they would permit entry to Vietnamese vehicles if they have the right paperwork, including a power of attorney if the vehicle is not registered in the driver's name. But all they have ever seen is the rare Vietnamese caravan tour. Getting out of Laos might be difficult though because the Lao border guards told me they would NOT permit a Vietnamese vehicle to exit their country for Thailand though - so unless you have some kind of special paperwork it might be difficult. As you say, a lot might also depend on the Vietnamese border guards allowing Vietnamese bikes to leave the country in the first place.
But it might also depend on the official(s) on duty. Still, I think it's unfair and should not be allowed. Sorry about that but if Vietnam is not allowing the Thais in easily, the Thais shouldn't allow Vietnamese vehicles in, even if they only allow motorcycles in. The Thais are allowing themselves to be taken advantage of.
Case in point is when I crossed into Vietnam via the Phu Keua/Bo Y crossing (the southernmost crossing between Laos and Vietnam) twice in 2012. I was driving a Lao registered vehicle, but it was a company vehicle (a rental) not registered in my name but with a power of attorney allowing me to drive it. Both times a Vietnamese friend accompanied me as we were bringing some goods across the border for his business.
The first trip in February went relatively smoothly. The junior customs agent didn't know what to do but told my friend "I'll put your name on the temporary import documents as you are more likely to be able to handle the driving conditions in Vietnam" the senior agent told her how to do it and signed off on the paperwork. Apart from getting lost on the way back (didn't have a GPS back then and there aren't many reliable ones for Vietnam anyway, especially not back then) I left for Laos and Thailand by myself without incident. The same officials were at the customs desk when I went through.
Then the second trip in October didn't go so smoothly. Again my friend joined me then. Despite seeing all the documents necessary and a phone call to the owner of the company, the female customs agent refused to allow the vehicle to enter citing some new bs law that Lao vehicles must only be driven across the border by Lao citizens, even a foreigner or Vietnamese citizen with a Vietnamese driver's licence (like both of us had) could not drive a Lao vehicle across. A small one paragraph article was shown to my friend and after an argument we had to retreat to the Lao side; bribes didn't work at all. The goods then entered with a Lao police vehicle.
However, at other border crossings on subsequent trips made by other foreigners, they seemed to have few problems crossing in Lao vehicles even if they drove themselves. Apparently a successful crossing was even made at Bo Y some months later. So go figure? I'd say.
The Cambodian border with Laos used to be notorious for refusing every vehicle, including Lao vehicles except if they were going no further than 50km to Stung Treng and sometimes they also insisted on a Lao driver. But more recently they've become more straightforward.
