Land border visa run from Chiang Mai

[jackdd]

In the near future i have to make a visa run from Chiang Mai and want to make it at a land border.

Which land borders in the area allow me to do this?

I assume that Mae Sot and Tachileik to Myanmar are possible options, as well as Huay Xai and Muang Ngeun to Laos. Is this correct?

Going to Laos costs me 30 USD for the visa on arrival, how much does it cost to get into Myanmar?

Are there any other border crossings where i can get my stamps?

[BritTim]

Entering Myanmar at Myawaddy/Maesot or Tachileik/Mae Sai costs US$10 for a border pass. Both are good places for a border bounce.

[jackdd]

Ok thanks for this info, then i currently tend to go to Tachileik.

If somebody else has any experiences, please share it with me.

[freedomnow]

Re: Tachilek Burma bridge visa-run...

Pay in dollars ($10/300 baht) vs Baht (500 baht) when you cross..small saving lets you upgrade to a single big seat at front on Green bus both ways...book the seat in advance to get a single seat at the front left.

 

Consider overnight in a hotel at the border town...its an endurance trip as its about 12 hours all-in if you give yourself more time to do the border hop...

If you like Hoegaarden (6 max) you can pick them up for about 1/3 of Thailand in the duty free on the bridge...(has a restaurant out front) , also random craft beers and  also bottles of hard booze can pay for your trip if you drink that stuff. I've also seen cheap Guinesses in small cans in the pit of a market....just ignore all the touts on Burma side.

 

What they sell in the markets on both sides of the border is identical.

 

Take a wooly hat or hoodie for the bus, at this time of year it can be like being in a freezer vs a fridge, and it generally just gets too cold on the Green Bus. Take a scarf to cover your nose in case someone drops a nightmare in the toilets and the back door swings open..(hahah)

 

LASTLY, enjoy how exceedingly FRIENDLY the Burmese immigration is.

 

Avoid female Thai immigration officer coming back in, she is usually a b***h if you have not printed your address clearly....chilled out guy usually next to her.

[jackdd]

I did recently cross the border in Mae Sai / Tachilek.

When arriving in Mae Sai in the evening Superrich and the banks options were already closed, and in the morning i was too early (they open at 8:30am, i was at the border at about 7:30am), so Superrich and the banks were not open yet. Thus i had only 500 THB, and no 10 USD.

The initial plan was to go together with my girlfriend, and have a stroll at the market, but as we then learned: Thais can't enter Myanmar visa exempt, they either have to get a visa in advance or get a border pass at the amphoe somewhere (ASEAN???). So she had to wait on the Thai side and i went alone.

The queue for people with a border pass was maybe 30 people long, and they already had to wait outside of the building. There were no people in the passport lane, and it looked like i was the first person to arrive there, they were still cleaning their booth.

 

In the passport departure booth were two male IOs, one of them seemed to be new, because the other IO explained everything to him.

I heard one interesting thing while they went looking through my passport, the senior IO said: "He can use this visa to enter Thailand again" (i have a METV)

From this i get the impression, that they only let you leave there if they also can let you back inside. I was wondering about this before already, because upon entering Myanmar we only get some type of border pass, so if Thailand would not let us back inside we would be somehow "trapped" in this area.

Up until today all land border crossings except Poipet seem to be trouble free anyway, but at this border crossing it looks like nobody has to be afraid to get caught by surprise one day, because they will only let you out to Myanmar if they can let you back in again (with a proper Myanmar visa they will probably also let you leave if you don't have the option to come right back)

Took him a few minutes to explain everything to the junior IO, no questions asked, stamped out and off i went.

 

The Myanmar IO was indeed very friendly. After looking through my passport (i assume looking if i have a visa), i noticed that he asked me outright for 500 THB not mentioning 10 USD, so i asked him back if he would also except 10 USD. His answer was "yes sure, 500 THB or 10 USD". Since i didn't have 10 USD i paid him the 500 THB, but sounds like paying 10 USD is no problem if you have them (next time i will be better prepared)

He also asked me if i want to go to Myanmar or if i go right back into Thailand. I told him right back to Thailand (i don't drink alcohol anyway, and my GF was waiting), so he stamped the entry and exit stamp for me (no need to complete any forms like in Laos, and since he did both stamps, no need to walk arround the building), and told me that i can just walk back where i came from.

 

The way which he told me to go back is supposed to be oneway, and probably less than 1 meter width, so after i somehow squeezed through 20 other people against the traffic, i headed for the Thai immigration.

Only one passport lane counter open (nobody with a passport there except me), a female IO inside. I greeted her, she even greeted back (i've had worse), asked for an arrival card.

Sat down at the table there, completed my card and went back to her. I give her the passport, she does the usual stuff, no questions asked. "Khob khun krab", "ka", and i was done.

 

The complete in / out took me maybe 15 minutes, i have nothing to compain.

[jethro69]

Seems you decided for Myanmar anyway, the only crossing you forgot is the one at the "Golden Triangle" Sop Ruak (THai) Sam Liam Thongkham (Lao) side.

You want see much of Lao there anyways (besides immigration) as the land is rented by the Chinese for 99 years.

[jackdd]

9 minutes ago, jethro69 said:

Seems you decided for Myanmar anyway, the only crossing you forgot is the one at the "Golden Triangle" Sop Ruak (THai) Sam Liam Thongkham (Lao) side.

You want see much of Lao there anyways (besides immigration) as the land is rented by the Chinese for 99 years.

Can you give more details? Never read about it before.

I don't see a bridge there, so i assume you go by boat?

Visa on arrival in Laos available?

Possible to take a vehicle?

Visa exempt on the Thai side available?

[ubonjoe]

44 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Can you give more details? Never read about it before.

Not sure but that might be the Chiang Khong crossing to Laos from Chiang Rai. There is bridge there.