從永珍 到清邁府的巴士

Fully understanding this company is local, I get why they only speak their language. However, when you have a large percentage of travelers who are tourists, and a vast majority of them speak English, it might be a good idea to have a local who is multi-lingual to assist travelers at the bus station AND on the bus. The stops that offer toilet breaks is confusing when people are constantly loading and unloading throughout the trip. At the very least, the rest stops should be listed on 12Go's site when purchasing the ticket, or on the app, or via text (LINE, Whatsapp) before arriving at the stop so passengers can prepare. The transfer was horrendous! Was told IN WRITING via email, "Vientiane Transfer" meant I'd be picked up at my hotel, only to find out, it was too far out, which caused me to miss the bus AND had to pay another night at the hotel. Next day took a taxi to one of the pickup places (One Vientiane Hotel) only to be told to walk (with all my luggage) to what appeared to be a laundry location, to wait for transportation to the bus station. I could've just gone to the bus station, it was closer to my hotel than the pickup spot and less LAK! Then, while waiting, the laundry person's cat, which I'm not a fan of (not a cat person) kept bothering me. It was annoying and uncomfortable, she kept calling it away. After waiting for 40 minutes she hurries me into a car with 2 other people and drives like a lunatic while arguing with someone on her cell. Get to the bus station (where I could've gone in the first place) load the bus after 30+ minutes of waiting, get to the LAO border and immigration to check out, back to the van, to Thailand immigration/boarder, then to the final bus to get back to CM. The experience was INSANE, with no one explaining anything. We all were just following each other. The best thing was the lady who waited for all passengers to get through Immigration before we boarded the van, to get to our respective buses at different locations. She spoke enough English to communicate with us effectively. I hope she gets paid very well, cause that seems like a harrowing job. But I was very thankful for her and her assistance during the entire debacle. Finally, the bus to CM arrived, but it was shaky, meaning it rocked side-to-side, and the suspension had us bouncing like balls. We were ROCKING AND ROLLING, literally! Not fun, through winding roads in the mountains! I've taken several bus lines before, but will never use this one again. Unfortunately it was the only one available for the time I wanted to get back to CM. Next time I'll fly.

The steps for purchasing the tickets were unclear and when the driver dropped us off at the first bus station they didn’t tell us anything but the rest they were good about making sure we knew where to go. And then they said we were going VIP and when we got there it was a total different bus and we were told we were to Nong Khai but they dropped us at Udon where nothing was opened and we were not able to get anything to eat and they didn’t stop. The transportation to and from the border was great but after that we didn’t have great service

Excellent service, small problems rectified with a smile.

3 hours waiting at the station. .

The trip that should take approximately 10-11 hrs and 1-2 buses, instead became a 19 & 1/2 hr trip and consisted of a taxi ride from Vientiane to the laos border @ 3pm, then a bus to the Thai border, 45 minute wait, then a taxi to Nong khai bus station, a hour wait, then a 1 hr bus trip to Udon Thani bus station, then another 2 hr wait, then a 11 & 1/2 hr bus ride to Chiang Mai, arriving at 9.30 am. Considering a bus ride from Vientiane to Bangkok is only around 11-12hrs . The tour company should maybe a little more transparent about the 6 transfers and the 20 hr journey, instead of the 14 hr , seemingly hassle free service they claim to provide.