Escort across 4th Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge
I came across this bridge the other day from the Laos side to Thailand and am still trying to work out if what happened was a scam or not.
I got stamped out of Laos but then they said that motorbikes need to be escorted across the bridge by a car from the immigration department. Of course I needed to pay for it - first it was 400 Baht, then 100,000 kip, then 1000 Baht, then $35, then 250,000 kip, later on 500 Baht - all of which just reeks of bullshit so I refused to pay. After wasting huge amounts of time they let me go without paying anything but they actually did come across the bridge with me which makes me think that maybe there is a regulation about motorbikes needing an escort. But I can't really find any good information about it.
Anybody else know anything? Is it actually required to have an escort across the bridge? What about coming from the Thai side? And what about the price - where they trying to line they own pockets or did I refuse to pay an official fee?
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