Saigon

Hi, I just saw this news that The Mae Sot - Myawaddy Friendship Bridge reopened on Thursday 12 January for the first time since March 2020. Do you know if foreigners are allowed to travel through this land border or if there is any other land crossing will also reopen soon? Thank you in advance! https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/bridge-01132023145249.html

Thanks very much for the details! Yes, I'd always enjoy the food in Penang, Indian and Chinese!

I'm very curious to know where you could make your first 3 visa-exempt entries last year (at airports or at border crossings). I made my 2nd visa-exempt entry back into Thailand via Padang Besar last month, when I wasn't even asked by the IO to show an onward ticket out of Thailand or 20kB in cash.

At first I had to join the queue for the kiosk and wasn't even told to go to the office till I handed my passport over to the IO at the kiosk, when I left Thailand. There was actually a Thai woman queuing ahead of me, and the IO asked her the same questions like 'Where are you going?' and 'How long there for?' so that must of been their standard process, I'd say.

That reminds me of the time that I was moving from Savannakhet, Laos to Huế, Vietnam by land. At the immigration on the Vietnamese side, a Chinese couple from the same bus got denied entry because they didn't have a visa on them. They thought that they could get a VOA at the land crossing. The Vietnamese officials wouldn't even care about them flashing bank notes before them and the couple ended up fuming like crazy! No wonder they got sent back to Savannakhet for a VN visa (240km each way)! And we ended up having to stop at the border crossing for more than 1 hour thanx to them, though..

That's a very interesting but amazing report about the immigration at Poipet, which is believed to be a land crossing to be best avoided! It's proved to be as notorious as other reports say! I did a border bounce at Padang Besar last month for my 2nd visa-exempt entry in the calendar year. Only Thai and Malaysian passport holders were allowed to queue for the kiosks so I was told to go to the office where I was asked the same questions by the IOs as you were (even when I left The Kingdom), but was never asked if I had booked an onward ticket out of Thailand yet when I came back here.

Because I wanted to take the train back to Padang Besar, hoping that the train service back to Hat Yai had resumed by then (but in vain). I went to one of the travel agencies in George Town to check how much a Penang- Hat Yai mini-van cost and they said that it was RM55 (440B), while a Butterworth- Padang Besar train cost RM11.40 (90B) and a mini-van back to Hat Yai 60B from Padang Besar (150B altogether).

Yes, I did get stamped in and out of Thailand no problem, I'm pretty sure! I was actually surprised to be told to go to the office when I left The Kingdom. I was afraid that I'd surely get asked at least 1 or 2 questions then. The IO might of been curious to know what I've done in Thailand as I've got so many Non-B stickers and stamps of visa extension in my passport. (I got my last Non-B visa extension stamp and visa-exempt entry stamp in the same 2-page spread of my passport.) The last question by The IO was if I was planning to come back to Thailand again soon, and I answered him that I had no idea because it would depend upon how long I'd stay in Malaysia. I did decide to stay in Malaysia for at least a few nights to stay on the safe side, as I heard that you might get in trouble or even get turned back if you came back to Thailand on the same day without a visa on you. I'm not sure.

That's great news! https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2473084/hat-yai-padang-besar-train-services-resume

No worries, Mate! If you drink, maybe you'd stop over at Duty Free Shop 'The Zone' right before going back to The Thai Immigration from The Malaysian Immigration, where the booze there is too cheap to be true! A small can of Scandinavian beer costs RM2.80 (21B) and a 1.5L of Carlo Rossi only RM50 (390B) for instance! It's cheaper to pay in RM, though, because the cashier would charge you 450B for the wine! There are lots of other booze to be sold, too!

Happy New Year, Everybody! I did a border bounce through Padang Besar the other day no problem. I first took a mini-van at Hat Yai Bus Terminal 1 (Old Bus Terminal). The sign at the ticket booth said (in Thai) that the first mini-van was at 7:30am (60B) but it left at 7am when it got full. (The Hat Yai - Padang Besar train services were yet to resume at the time.) The mini-van arrived at Padang Besar 1hr 15mins later and stopped in front of The Immigration Complex. I first joined the queue for one of the immigration counters, but the officer told me to go to the office, where another officer asked me some questions (more questions to me because I've got so many stickers of Thai visa and stamps of visa extension). It was actually a nice conversation with the officer for 5mins, I got stamped out and then started to walk (600-700m) to The Immigration on the Malaysian side, where I got stamped in with no problem. I actually went to Penang for a few nights before coming back to this border. After getting stamped out of Malaysia, I walked back to the Immigration on the Thai side. I saw some people selling immigration cards at the entrance for 20B so I walked in to ask one of the officers for one of the cards (for free, of course!). What the officer told me was I wouldn't have to queue for the counters but to go to the office (again!) I waited for a few minutes before another office came back to the room. Yes, the officer started to ask me one question after another (this is my 2nd visa-exempt entry to Thailand in the calendar year). I answered his questions and got stamped in no problem! It was another nice conversation with the officer, too. What the officer added was that only Thai and Malaysian nationals could queue for the counters. When I left The Immigration Complex I saw several bike-taxi drivers saying, '50B to the mini-van station for Hat Yai!' but I decided to walk around 1km there. The mini-van didn't drive past The Immigration Complex on the way back to Hat Yai so you have to go to the mini-van station first to go back to Hat Yai, while the mini-van from Hat Yai did stop in front of The Immigration Complex. Hope that helps! Sorry it's a long story, though.

The train might resume tomorrow. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2468035/southern-train-services-from-bangkok-hat-yai-resume-saturday

Hi, I just checked a post that trains between Hat Yai and Padang Besar restarted to run last weekend. Is that true? If not, do they have bus services for them?

Yes, I was wondering how you could clear immigration, too. You might end up having to walk between the railway station and the road crossing. I'm not sure.. There is a local bus and/or mini-van that is still running in the Hat Yai - Padang Besar section, I'd say.

Thanks very much for the info!

Thank you for your quick response! I actually want to take the 7:30am train at Hat Yai to Padang Besar (No. 947), and is there a bus service for that train?

Hi all, The very sad news is that the railway track between Hat Yai and Padang Besar got bombed a few weeks ago and that twice, killing 3 workers and injuring 4 others, which has stopped the train service now. Would you please keep us posted on the updates on the resumption of the train service? Many thanks in advance!

I will spend a few nights in Penang. I love the food there! And the Thai Baht has still been strong against RM, too!

Thanks for the update. I'm actually planning to go to Penang from Hat Yai sometime next week, and I do hope that the train service will have gotten back to normal again by then. Otherwise I'll take a bus or a mini-van.

I took a train from Padang Besar to Hat Yai last October.

That means that you'd better spend at least 2 nights in Malaysia, doesn't it?

Yes, I used mine to fly within Thailand last October (on AirAsia) no problem!

Hi, Nope, I could move to another country for a new teaching job no problem. Talking of Myanmar, I really wonder how the political situation has been up there. I don't feel like doing a course now, either, to tell you the truth. I heard that St. Theresa International College is the only university in Thailand where you can do a course for a Thai teacher's license now but you'll have to have an on-site (not online) course, which makes me wonder how many foreigners can do it. Thank you for your comments!

Hi, Do you know any good pub in Phuket Town to watch the matches in Qatar 2022, especially the ones that kick off at 2 am? Thank you in advance.

I'm actually interested in this land border crossing for a border bounce. I heard that the IO would ask you to pay 2,000B if you wanted to come back to Thailand from Malaysia on the same day, though.