Veun Kham/Dom Kralor, on National Highway 7—Laos/Cambodia. - Border Crossings on Waymarking.com

There is one official land border crossing point between Laos and Cambodia, and this is it. A decade ago it was no more than a mud track used purely by locals, but now it has become an almost busy crossing—indicative of the slowly rising prosperity of the region and the growing number of tourists who visit these two countries.

The checkpoint links the Laos province of Champasak with the Cambodian province of Strung Treng, however, the crossing is usually referred to by westerners as the Veun Kham/ Dom Kralor crossing, which refers to the sub-districts on both sides of the border.

There are 'horror' stories about this crossing, and in the past these were partly true (long delays, excessive 'handling fees', being dumped on the border as your bus heads back to where it came from, and so forth), but these are now over. The locals now realise that there is more money to be made keeping tourists happy, than not.

The layout of the border crossing follows the expected protocol. Crossing from the Laos side one first encounters a Laos checkpoint, with a few uniformed guards sitting in the shade. As I was on an 'international' bus, with everything pre-paid (the local tariff, so as to speak), my bus was waved through without stopping. Onwards there is a stretch of 100m or so, at which point one will reach the Cambodian checkpoint. Here the bus stopped while the bus staff completed our paperwork on our behalf, and expedited our processing with the Cambodian immigration police.

A one month visa on arrival for both countries can be obtained at these checkpoints. Cost for Cambo (with all processing charges) is $25us, for Laos ~$35us (depending on the processing charges).

At this point the bus picked up a bunch of young people, backpackers, who were loitering on the Cambo crossing, waiting for ongoing transport. There are also a small market area, run by locals, with food, drink and snacks, and a small range of tourist souvenirs on sale.

There were no security checks, except for a health check. We (westerners only) were required to be checked with a hand scanning device to determine if we had a high temperature. Apparently, there is a health concern about foreigners bringing disease into Cambodia, umm.

Welcome facilities: no more than the small market, with a few tables and chairs.

The area around the checkpoint is natural jungle. Thick and dense, with trees, bushes, lots of green things, hot and humid, birds making bird sounds, and insects making insect sounds. Interestingly enough, on both sides of the border new immigration buildings were under construction. In a year or two there will be new buildings with which to monitor foreigners moving between both countries—as opposed to locals, who merely walk through the jungle.

Waymark made at the Laos checkpoint.

Type Of Crossing: Country Where is the border located?: Interstate Welcome Center/Facilities: Yes

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