doctorbailey

 

Went to Yangon, Myanmar to receive a new non-immigrant O 1-year multi-entry Thai visa based on marriage. I have in the past received these in NYC, Washington DC, Savannakhet, and HCMC with various documents required. I can confirm that you can promptly receive this type of visa if applying in the appointed morning hours (9-11:30AM) the next afternoon (1:30-3PM) if you have all of your documents and financials. You can apply for a Myanmar visa over the internet for $50 USD and receive a letter back from them in email in about 1-2 days. There are other ways as well. If doing the eVisa, you need to bring this letter to the airport for checkin and have it ready when you reach Yangon Immigration. Myanmarevisa.com

 

The reason I went to Yangon was it is somewhere close and easy to visit now and something different. Yangon is probably not as cheap as Savannakhet, HCMC, or Penang when factoring the visa fee, taxis, plane tickets, and hotels, but could be if one spent enough time researching it and got lucky with the plane tickets. The food ranged from nearly free-cheap street food to very expensive for high end Japanese or dry-aged steaks. Drinks were definitely cheaper than Thailand by 50-95% - same as Vietnam or Cambodia but higher quality mixed drinks. The street food honestly scared me but I have traveled so much that novelty and rolling the craps dice do not appeal to me anymore. 

 

Thai Visa Application: Here is what I submitted

• Completed application form from their website with a note for a Multi-Entry Visa (M) in the top right corner. On the other parts of the application I listed a permanent USA address as my address and the reason for the visa is to visit family and I listed my wife’s address as where I will be staying in Thailand
• Passport - need 6+ months and probably 18+ months for a 1-yr or will need to get the visa transferred if possible
• Copy of photo page of passport
• 2 photos (mine were on white background 3.5x4.5 cm)
• Copy of marriage certificate with signatures of applicant and Thai spouse in Blue ink. The Thai spouse signature needs to be done with a diagonal line, their signature and whatever else they write to make it official (they should know). It is what is referred to as “Certified True Copy". This does not need a lawyer, ministry of foreign affairs, a notary, or any other type of official. It is just signing documents in the formal Thai style in Blue ink.
• Original marriage certificate - though did not ask to see mine but said they would ask to see it if they had any questions
• Copy of my yellow house book signed in blue ink - Not sure this is really required but I had it and it was on their list. I think instead if one does not have a Yellow House book go for an invitation letter from your spouse. There are standard forms on various Thai embassy websites (such as Denmark maybe other European countries as well per google). This letter is required by other embassies such as HCMC and can be hand written as well. Apologies for adding another vague point to the confusion.
• Copy of wife’s identity card with the official signature in blue ink
• Copy of wife’s house book with the official signature in blue ink
• Copy of relevant pages in updated bank passbook demonstrating 400,000 THB for several months. Note they listed a different amount below so again apologies for the confusion. I tried to ask about this but could not communicate with them through the plexiglass barrier
• I had my bank passbook with me just in case but was not asked to present it
• Fee is $200 USD for 1-year multi-entry or $80 USD for single entry. Note that the bills must be off the mint pristine with no folds, tears, or marks of any kind. Most people had their money in envelopes from the bank. This also applies to any USD to be used anywhere in Myanmar

 

I arrived at 9:30AM and was out of there by 10AM. There was a short cue for counter 1 where they take your application and then tell you to take a seat and then review your packet and later hold up your passport and call your name. Then you pay the fee and get a receipt at counter 2. You return the next day and collect your passport from 1:30-3:00PM at counter 3 - they will probably recognize you as the few staff there seem to be the ones that print out the visas and put them in your passport. I was in there only a minute to get my passport and check out my visa. The embassy staff scrutinized the Myanmar nationals and two young African men to a very high degree and did not accept all of their applications. They did not do that to any of the Western people while I was there. A note - all men were wearing long pants and respectable attire despite the 30-33C weather.

 

Below is the correspondence from the Thai Embassy in Yangon. I asked about a 1-year visa based on marriage but they did not completely respond and included the fee for a single entry visa instead of 1-year.

 

 

 

 

Visa processing  time : 1 working day

*Please also note that Consular Officer reserves the right to request addition documents or interview as necessary*

Office hours: 9.00 - 11.30 hrs. Monday - Friday.

Recommendations:

• Go to an ATM in the arrivals hall and get some Kyat MMK 1USD=1500MMK
• Many upscale places will list prices in USD but will accept Kyat, pristine USD or credit cards
• Get a Telenor SIM card with a data package 3500-4500 Kyat gets 2-4GB data for 70-90 THB (Now you have change!)
• You can install Grab taxi to order taxis and save some money and reduce issues or just take the regular taxis but negotiate the fair before getting inside. The taxis at the airport started high and some outside night venues started very high but 95% were 2,000-3,000 Kyat for a 1-3 KM ride. You can also use the Grab rate to negotiate a better deal with a regular taxi if inclined
• Get a taxi to your hotel. Downtown is 8000-10,000 MMK. It is not far but may take 45-60+ minutes due to traffic
• I recommend staying somewhere centrally located like Pan Pacific Junction City, Sule Shangri-La, Hotel Grand United (21st Downtown Branch), Hotel G, or Park Royal. There are lots of cheaper hotels around these areas as well. Park Royal has a night club open some nights (closed Sunday) and good Japanese and Pan Asian restaurants. Hotel G has a great bistro and bar Babett Eatery and live music Saturday night. The Shangri-La has great restaurants and a mall attached with more restaurants. Pan Pacific is attached to Junction City Mall and has loads of restaurants. Hotel Grand United 21st St is in the middle of the downtown mix. The Strand Hotel is the old dame and it is nicely restored but a bit out of the way and too stuffy for me longer than a brief visit. You can find cheap rooms for 500 THB, 3 stars such as Grand United (21st Downtown branch) for 1000 THB, and the luxury hotels for 2500-3500 THB. Some hotels may come with hassles such as noise from traffic, construction, bars, clubs, poor location, tour buses full of folks, or non-joiner policies if bringing in guests
• You could visit for 1-2 nights and just get the visa or you could make it a 3-5 day trip or even extend it once you have your passport back and visit other areas - there are lots of day trip possibilities and obviously lots of further away and more interesting places to visit

 

Streets and places to check out:

• Phone Gyi Street: Thai food restaurants and massage places if you have a Thai with you or can’t live without Thai food. One Zaap Thai Restaurant
• Bogyoke Market: Lots of tailor and jewelry shops and some souvenir shops. Something different to see. Closed Mondays
• 19th Street: Chinatown There are lots of bars, restaurants, and coffee shops on the street and it is closed to traffic starting around 4-5PM with tables and chairs set up in the street
• Sin O Dan Street (Between 18th and 19th Streets): Restaurants, Burmese beer shops, coffee shops, Thai massage parlors
• Maha Bandula Park Street (Between 34th and 35th Streets): Lots of guesthouses, restaurants, and bars
• 50th Street: Bars, restaurants. 50th Street Bar had live music, a pool table, and decent food menu. Also Rosie’s, Cuba, and Union Bar on the weekends
• The Strand Hotel: Strand restaurant, cafe, lobby, and Sarky’s bar. Lots of history. Also the bar has air-conditioning, a pool table and is open 10AM till late at night - very nicely seasoned cashew nuts free with a bar order. The Pegu Club cocktail is $7 and the lunch set menu in the cafe was not that expensive
• Yaw Min Gyi Street: Upmarket street with many restaurants, massage parlors, bars, coffee shops, and upscale boutique shops. Also the adjacent streets. The street is located near Hotel G, Park Royal, and The Loft hotels
• Shwedagon Pagoda (10,000 Kyat entrance fee includes a bottle of water). One side has a lift (facing the city) and the other has escalators. Need knee length shorts, to rent a longyi, or wear long pants. Shoes and socks off. The side with the escalators is more visually appealing and has a large garden but walking on bare feet that long and far is pretty tough for some bare feet. You can get a plastic bag from them and carry your shoes with you so you have the option of leaving a different way and not losing your shoes
• Roof top bars for the sunset: Yangon Yangon in Sukura Tower (Bogyoke Street and Sule Pagoda Road), Atlas, and Attic - probably others plus some of the hotels. Go about 5PM and there will likely be a cover charge fee
• National Museum (5,000 Kyat fee) The museum is about 700-800 meters from the Thai Embassy. The ground floor with the Lion Throne and 4th floor with cultural dress exhibits were interesting. The lighting was flickering and so dark and dismal on many floors that you got that terrible socialist vibe. It is still worth a look for an hour or so. I suggest seeing the ground floor and then taking the lift up to the top and working your way down if time constraints, over load or boredom
• Kwandawgyi Lake: Beautiful lake and a nice place for a jog or walk. Lots of Burmese out strolling around in the morning and evening. You can make a route and include the Shwedagon temple grounds as well. There also is an entertainment area with Utopia Tower and restaurants, bars, and snooker tables. There are other sights and restaurants all along the way. Utopia tower is an artificial rock tower and one of those touristy if you build it they will come sort of places.
• Inya Lake: Nice for a walk or stroll in the morning or evening when the heat lessens a bit
• Burbrit Brewery: Next to the Thai Embassy. Ok for a tasting flight or a pint of some different beer. Be forewarned they are not served ice-cold and some were dreadful and others something different than the usual SE Asian beers. There are other restaurants and places to go before or after the embassy on the same street within walking distance
• Sule Pagoda: I just looked on from outside and from the elevated crosswalk. They had a fee but don’t recall it
• You can walk from Sule Pagoda Road toward Chinatown and see places of worship for the major religions within just meters of each other
• Notes: For people watching go out in the morning, lunch time, and after 5PM. Many bars and restaurants and hotels have real Happy Hour promotions like buy 1 get 1 free, free or discounted food, or buy 2 get one free or something like that. Use the taxis to save yourself and time. Use google maps so you know where you are going and more or less guide the taxi. Use google images and translate if they don’t understand you. I found the people much friendlier and more helpful than the Thais in tourist areas. Their English skills ranged from almost nothing to university professor level so if you aren’t blocking traffic take a minute and clarify where you want to go and use the calculator on your phone or fingers to be sure about the fare
• Night time entertainment: The disco in the Park Royal hotel has a live band and professional female entertainment. The Emperor Club is a large bar/disco that is essentially a dine in or take out brothel. You can find out more about these places on Youtube if that is your thing. They both have cover charges. The Park Royal and Sule Shangri-La are guest friendly hotels as are some others that you can find by doing an internet search. The Hotel G had good live music on Saturday night. There are many regular discos all over the city and they have different styles of music and cater to different demographics and are “hot” different days of the week and different times of the night. Check out Youtube and do searches if that is your thing. I suggest there is a large Asian professional expat community and they party on weekends so you will see many more people on the weekends. Some venues will be closed on the slower Sunday and Monday nights. You will see young Myanmar nationals out eating and partying as well and a mix of Asian tourists of all nationalities

 

The Good: No motorbikes, less pollution, cheaper food and drinks, very high quality Western and Northern Asian food available, people watching - many women wear traditional dresses and look stunning, very interesting and a glimpse back in time, very friendly intelligent hardworking curious people - like Thais were 35-45 years ago.

The Bad and The Ugly: Traffic, some places were very dirty and some people had poor hygiene, people spitting betel all over the place, the heat, the unfortunate poverty and decay caused by governmental policies