Popular Post Saigon Posted January 1, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 1, 2023 (edited) 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. Edited January 1, 2023 by Saigon 1 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the jungle Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Thank you. That is very helpful to me as I will be doing the same border run in about three and a half months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fugitive Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Most helpful report! Thanks for your time and effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saigon Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stocky Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 4 hours ago, Saigon said: The Hat Yai - Padang Besar train services were yet to resume at the time The train service between Hat Yai and Padang Besar resumed today Jan 1st. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saigon Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 1 hour ago, Stocky said: The train service between Hat Yai and Padang Besar resumed today Jan 1st. That's great news! https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2473084/hat-yai-padang-besar-train-services-resume 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoseThailand Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 16 hours ago, Saigon said: 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! Questions, questions, questions... Are you sure it's called "no problem"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saigon Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 (edited) 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. Edited January 2, 2023 by Saigon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardandtubs Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 On 1/1/2023 at 10:37 AM, Saigon said: 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, Why did you not get the van from Penang to Hat Yai? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saigon Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 1:31 PM, edwardandtubs said: Why did you not get the van from Penang to Hat Yai? 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). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stocky Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 1:31 PM, edwardandtubs said: Why did you not get the van from Penang to Hat Yai? Actually with the potential for being held up for some time at immigration, your van may go on without you. Pre Covid coming through Sadao there was a poor lad ahead of me who was becoming quite frantic because immigration were refusing him entry but the van with his bag on it was waiting on the otherside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardandtubs Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 44 minutes ago, Stocky said: Actually with the potential for being held up for some time at immigration, your van may go on without you. Pre Covid coming through Sadao there was a poor lad ahead of me who was becoming quite frantic because immigration were refusing him entry but the van with his bag on it was waiting on the otherside. My only experience with the Penang to Hatyai van was when a family who were traveling in the van were being held up at immigration. We waited and waited and waited with no end in sight and it looked like I might miss my flight so I paid 800 baht for a taxi to the airport instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saigon Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 50 minutes ago, Stocky said: Actually with the potential for being held up for some time at immigration, your van may go on without you. Pre Covid coming through Sadao there was a poor lad ahead of me who was becoming quite frantic because immigration were refusing him entry but the van with his bag on it was waiting on the otherside. 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.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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