(Do read up on Fansipan Mountain. Inside SunPlaza, there're funicular train and cable cars to the mountain top. Obviously, I skipped Fansipan Mountain and many, many other popular tourist spots in this shoestring budget trip.)

There's 2 daily train to Hanoi, at 12.05 and 9pm. Arriving at about 8pm and 5am. Vietnam trains are often fully booked, and difficult to purchase at the last minute. Maybe due to the sleeper cabins - less seats in comparison to Thailand's trains. In Thailand, they would sell 'standee' tickets, that is ticket without seat number.

The ticket I paid (250,000 dong/RM40) is among the cheapest sleeper, lower bunk, as in the photo with empty table.

(95 million dong)

- took a van to Tay Son (a small town) and then a car (taxi) to the border.

(Why Vinh? Because it is close to the border checkpoint and this Vietnam-Laos border crossing, among other crossings, is the nearest border crossing to Vientiane.)

The last photo, looking back at immigration building. Long queue of lorries before both borders and in-between the borders. There's nothing at this crossing except for 2 roadside restaurants/wooden cafeterias. Had to pau a private car (taxi) to get to Lak Sao, about 20-25 minutes drive.