Leaving Chiang Mai we took a bus journey upto Chiang Khong, where we stayed just one night before crossing the border over to Laos. We were pleasantly surprised by how nice this little place was. It wouldn't be somewhere you could stay for a week as there's not much to do, but we got lovely views of the Mekong river from our hotel balcony and it was really cheap! With great advise from the owner she helped us organise our Laos visa.