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Breakfast in Thailand, a sumptuous lunch in Laos, and dinner before an overnight stay in Vietnam, with some shopping in between. Not only is this three-country tour drawing lots of curious tourists, it is also providing communities situated along the journey brisk -- and, for some, risky -- business.

Tour bus driver Mr Minh is in fact quite proud of ‘Three Meals in Three Countries in a Day’ package provided by his cross-border tour company. In the comforts of the air-conditioned bus he drives, tourists leave Thailand in the morning, cross the frontier pass in Mukdahan province in the country’s east to go into Laos, and on to Dansavanh located some 280 kilometres away. The journey continues farther east to Vietnam and ends in Lao Bao, on that country’s border with Laos.

This influx of tourists to Vietnam came with the opening of this stretch of the 141,204-kilometre Trans-Asia Highway that links Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. The 44-billion U.S. dollar project, initiated in 1959 under the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, will eventually link 32 countries in Asia and Europe.

Nanh Hoi Restaurant, located in the Dansavanh Trade Centre, is a business enterprise that has benefited from the construction of this highway. Daily, the restaurant serves lunch to some 200 travellers who have come all the way from Thailand and stop here before proceeding to Vietnam. To be guaranteed a table in this restaurant, reservations are needed one or two weeks in advance.

“A lot of tourists come here, but the restaurant space is limited. I can’t serve more. First come, first served,” said Vietnamese Thai owner Hoi, as he pointed to a long list of tour companies that have made reservations with his restaurant.

The number of tourists crossing the Lao-Vietnam border has increased tremendously over the last three years, confirmed Doan Xuan Thuy, head of the customs office at the Lao Bao frontier pass. On busy days, thousands of tourists, mostly Thais, cross this border point, he added.

Beaches, cultural and heritage sites in central Vietnam are common tourist destinations. Boo, a young tourist from Sakhon Nakhon province in north-east Thailand, said: “It’s even closer and more convenient to go to the beach in Vietnam, rather than Thailand. We get the chance to explore international heritage sites as well.”

Boo and her friends were on their way back to Thailand after a five-day, four-night tour to Vietnam. “Many people from Sakhon Nakhon want to visit Vietnam and will do it in the near future,” said Boo, whose T-shirt had a picture of the Thien Mu (Celestial Lady) pagoda, located near Hue province.
 
Many Vietnamese residents who have settled down in north-eastern Thailand are also eager to return to their homeland. Mr Quy, 59, has just become a Thai citizen. He was among the last group of Vietnamese immigrants in the sixties who were eligible to apply for Thai citizenship.

“Since I received my Thai citizenship, and because of the opening of the Asian Highway, I, like many other Vietnamese in Thailand, have been able to return home after many years (of being) away,” said Quy, who earns his living as a tour guide for Thai tourists eager to visit Vietnam.

The Dec. 20, 2006 opening of the Mukdahan bridge, the second bridge crossing the Mekong River that separates Thailand and Laos, marked a turning point in the promotion of trade and tourism activities between Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Along with Myanmar, these three Mekong countries are connected by the East-West Economic Corridor.

The corridor is part of an economic development programme established in 1998 by the governments of the Mekong countries. Opened in December 2006, the corridor spans about 1,450 km and links the four countries via a system of roads, bridges and tunnels.

The 2.5-billion dollar project connects Moulmein in south-eastern Myanmar, with the Thai provinces of Tak, Sukhothai, Kalasin, Phitsanulok, Khon Kaen, Yasothon and Mukdahan, then Savannakhet in Laos, the Vietnamese provinces of Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, and ends in the city of Da Nang. The corridor effectively links the Indian Ocean in the west to the Pacific in the east.

The Mukdahan bridge opens new opportunities for Thailand and Laos, as well as Vietnam, farther down the East-west corridor, to cooperate in promoting and organising tours, festivals and cultural events.

Already, investors are busy improving infrastructure in areas along the corridor. In Lao Bao alone, about 10 hotels, some of them four-star ones, have been built. The beaches of Cua Viet, Cua Tung and Con Co islands in the province are also enjoying a resort boom.