Phu Do is perfectly OK to cross from the Thai side into Laos. I did so on Sunday, March 22 at 5.30pm. But unlike most of you I don't need a visa on arrival for Laos as I am visa exempt. Just FYI though, Phu Do is the closest and most convenient crossing between Thailand and Laos if you are coming from places like Mae Sot (exactly 400km away, which is where I arrived from earlier that day), Uttaradit, Lampang, Sukhothai and Phitsanulok (although Ban Nakraseng/Nam Heuang is also convenient if coming from Phitsanulok). It is also convenient for Chiang Mai based travelers if heading for Vientiane and southern Laos. But for northern Laos including Luang Prabang, Chiang Khong or Nan (Thung Chang) are closer.
However, being a new crossing I encountered a few oddities. First of all, the presumably new customs officer on the Thai side first claimed that my power of attorney, which I was using as the truck I was driving is not yet registered in my name and thus was not valid as I am a foreigner who does not reside in Thailand permanently and that according to him, there was a risk of not coming back. He thought that foreigners can't use powers of attorney, only Thais can even though (if you can read Thai like I can) there is clearly a field which says "nationality" i.e. สัญชาติ in Thai, hence if it weren't allowed, why would there be that field? I told him I have always crossed the border with a vehicle not in my name with no problems, just not with this vehicle yet. What I didn't specify was that in every case I was driving a Lao vehicle into Thailand but after just a couple of minutes of patient waiting he decided to give me the go ahead.
The other customs guy told me to make copies of just about every document I was carrying - the blue book, power of attorney, ID card copy of my fiancee, my passport front page, my Thai driver's licence front and back, ITP (all the important pages), even the English "registration certificate", which is the translation of the blue book required for Malaysia. Overall 32 pages and it took me a long time to find a place to photocopy my documents, everywhere was closed except for the guesthouse about 500m before the crossing. I should have known and stopped off there when I first arrived. Given I can read Thai, the sign said: "photocopies" in Thai so I should have known better because photocopies are something most Thai bureaucrats love.
Anyway, after returning to the border checkpoint with all my documents in hand, all the border staff became friendlier and immigration even took a few pictures with me, as they claimed they needed evidence to show their superiors they were providing "superior service", haha. The staff only wanted like 1/4 of all the pages I photocopied, the rest I kept in my envelope with the car documents. Customs took no interest in the goods I was hauling for my business in Laos; I was initially afraid that after all the hassle with my car documents I'd now have to face customs on this issue, but no. Overall, after spending an hour at the border (I asked about the closing time thinking that while I may get through the Thai side OK, it's 6.30pm already, when do you actually close? Oh, 8pm they told me).
The other slight oddities were - they put an immigration stamp in my ITP as well (this is not standard procedure at other crossings, as I was told by Tha Li customs on a subsequent trip) and the exit stamp you get says "Nan, Thailand". Yet this wasn't Nan, some 250km away, but Uttaradit or Phu Du to be more precise. The customs stamped said "Thung Chang customs, Phu Du customs house" something like that. Again...a bit odd. You would think they'd have their own stamps by now. On the Lao side however they did, and the stamps said "Phou Dou".
So after waiting like 15mins for the temporary car export documents to be filled out, my ITP stamped and everyone wished me a safe journey, I drove up the hill, stopped the car and took a few pictures of the traffic switchover on the Lao side and then it was a long downhill to the Lao side. I arrived there at 6.40pm but oh no, the gate was closed and locked! Nobody was there and the fact that the only car to cross over to Laos from the Thai side left at 5.30pm while in the full hour I was on the Thai side not a single other person or vehicle crossed was not very re-assuring.
So after a couple of honks of my horn, flashing of my lights and seeing some activity on the Lao side, I had to wait for 15 mins before someone finally came to open the gate. I was about to give up and return to sleep on the Thai side. But alas, a guard came with his rifle and I asked him what time they closed, he claimed 8pm. Hmmm...but the gate closes when? Therefore, don't arrive as late as I did...better make sure you are at the Thai side no later than about 4.30pm in order to cross to the Lao side before 6pm, just in case.
After 1 hour at the border and some very friendly banter (my ITP was again stamped with both an immigration and customs stamp, but this seems to be standard at all crossings on the Lao side), the customs agent wanted to know what goods I was transporting and warned me I would have to pay some customs duties. But in the end she decided there was no need. A car with 3 Thai engineers from Uttaradit was heading back in the opposite direction around 7.30pm; they seemed quite well versed in the closing times but I thought they were risking it coming so late. That was the only other vehicle I saw until I reached the route 4 turn-off at nearly 8pm.
Overall a good crossing despite the initial scare I got from Thai customs, but it went smoothly in the end. While you can certainly cross relatively hassle-free if your documents are in order (and if you need a Lao visa, already have one), I think it will take them some more months before they are used to regular crossings since it's an isolated crossing that even on the Thai side takes you cross 148km of very isolated countryside where I didn't even spot one 7-11 along the way, very unusual for Thailand. In fact, I'd highly recommend refuelling in Uttaradit because afterwards there will be very few petrol/gas stations until you get to Paklay (though you may find one in Ban Khok, just before the border but that would require a slight detour) and you don't want to run out of fuel somewhere along the way.
