Arrival in Chiang Saen, Thailand was pretty easy. Being opposite the Chinese Casino's that the Chinese have leased for 99 years from the Laos side of the river, there are hundreds of tourists going back and forth getting their passports stamped. They had NEVER seen motorcycles arrive before and of course the phone calls started to figure out what to do. There was additional confusion that one of the riders didnt have an exit stamp in his passport and 15,000 Bht was asked for to fix this problem. It was eventually negotiated down to 8,000 Bht. Apparently timing was bad. As of 1st March, 2016, Chiang Saen, Thailand is no longer a port of entry for vehicles (thats what they were told) and the bikes would have to be unloaded on the Laos side of the Mekong. So off the Cargo ship goes across the Mekong so that the motorcycles could be unloaded on the Laos shore at the Chinese casino's. The Thai Customs wouldnt allow the bikes to be unloaded on the Thai shore and then transit the Mekong on the car ferry.
Unloading the bikes on the Laos shore
Bye bye Chinese cargo boat, hello Laos
IMG-20160306-WA0003.jpg by
Triangle Golden 007, on Flickr
Then to deal with the Laos entry. More phone calls, Laos Customs said this wasnt a port of entry and wanted 10,000 Bht a bike to "solve" the problem. Once this was paid they were told to ride quickly to Houay Xai, Laos (the international border crossing with Chiang Khong, Thailand) where the bikes were cleared in and out of Laos and they could then ride across to Thailand.
So it is kind of possible!!!!