I previously visited the Golden Triangle in Thailand, staying on the Thailand side of the three borders between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. This time we chose to take one of the longtail boats over to Laos, just for the experience.
Arriving reasonably early in the morning after the drive from Chiang Rai, well before the tourist buses had started to arrive, we wandered around on the Thailand side of the Golden Triangle. The opportunity to visit Laos, if only briefly, presented an opportunity that was too good to refuse, especially since you do not need your passport to do so. We approached one of the kiosks offering boat trips on the Mekong River over to Laos. For 800 baht we were offered a private long-tail boat that would take us on an hour-long adventure and eventually over to Laos.
We boarded the longtail boat, having first donned some rather fetching green lifejackets, and headed north, along the Mekong River, towards the eastern border of Myanmar. With there not being too much to see, other than construction of a pathway along the edge of the river, the boat turned around and headed south towards Laos. We passed the Golden Triangle International Border Check Point which I guess is where you would go if you were looking to stay in Laos for longer than the 30 minutes offered by this boat tour. We also passed the Kings Romans Casino, situated in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone.
Arriving to the place where the boat docked, on the Laos side of the Mekong River, we were given 30 minutes by the boat driver to explore the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. First, we had to pay 50 baht each at the check point to be allowed entry into the area. This was easy to find, so much so that the lady at the counter waved us over to make it easier for us to find her.
We wandered around the area for 30 minutes, exploring the various vendors offering all sorts of tourist trinkets, including one selling alcohol with a scorpion in the bottle. To be quite honest, it seems that this place gets less than 100 visitors per day, making it feel pretty much like a ghost town. Unfortunately, the area, once very nice probably, is now pretty much deserted due to the lack of tourists. Vendors offering sneakers and cheap handbags, inexpensive sunglasses and fridge magnets, soft drinks and coffee were everywhere to be found though we did not find anything appealing. Not even a cold cola on a hot day could tempt the Thai baht from our hands.
With the 30 minutes now expired we headed back to the longtail boat for the return to Thailand. Buzzing along the Mekong River, having just set foot into a different country, with Laos to the east, Thailand to the west and Myanmar to the north, one could really appreciate the international feel of this location. Despite not receiving an additional stamp into our passports, we enjoyed our short visit to Laos. With the tip to the boat driver of 100 baht, the whole experience cost us 1,000 baht and was a most enjoyable way to spend the morning in northern Thailand.
How about rounding out your day to this part of Thailand with a visit to the Tham Luang Cave from which those school children and their soccer coach were rescued in July 2018? Consider reading our blog post called Tham Luang Cave: Rescue Operation from a Beautiful Cave.
During our stay in Chiang Rai this time around we stayed at the quite lovely Riva Vista Riverfront Resort, within walking distance of the Blue Temple. For my previous visit to Chiang Rai I stayed at the Lé Meridien Chiang Rai situated on the Kok River. Otherwise, consider one of the options below in Chiang Rai.
Booking.comIf you are looking for day tours around Chiang Rai, consider booking with GetYourGuide. Start your planning by considering one of the tours shown below.
Our other posts on Thailand may be found here.
(Visited February 2025)