Mae Sai/Tachilek Border Info

[sceadugenga]

Thanks mousey, sounds like an interesting stopover.

[kandahar]

Just returned from an overnighter in Mae Sai. They have moved some desks around in the immigration office, added some chairs and have an intern or newbie working the 90 day desk. Have an old hand sitting at the desk next to her for the harder questions. Things went smooth, as usual, but the office is a little crowded with the extra furniture.

The Thai locals that previously got the forms for a crossover into Burma at the border office now have to report to the same immigration building that the expats have to go to. They closed the little office at the border that used to handle the papers for the Thais wanting to cross over for a little shopping. Maybe that is old news. I dunno. We don't cross very often. The wife was surprised and decided to forego the crossing since we had just come from the immigration office to take care of my business and she didn't want to go back there.

The Piyaporn Place Hotel in Mae Sai has dropped the English language TV movie channel and replaced it with an Indian language movie channel. They have dropped the VOA English news channel, so the only English language channel they have now is Bloomberg. Not sure what that is about. I have never seen an Indian in that hotel. Still, always a nice, clean stay. But, I always wonder if some of the other hotels offer a better selection of TV channels. Gonna have to ask one of these days. Mae Sai trips are the only time I get to watch the news on TV in English.

All in all, I think we are really lucky to have such a great immigration office in this area of the country. I read enough detrimental stories about some of the other immigration offices out there. I've never had bad service at Mae Sai nor have I ever met a surly worker in that office.

[ChouDoufu]

question about heading inland from mae sai:

i'm currently living in chiang mai, have a non-imm ed, one year extension valid

until october, and a multiple re-entry permit, also valid until october. in about

two weeks, i need to do 90-day reporting. this would involve a 20-minute

walk to immigration, spend a half hour in line, then next door to the mall to

catch a avatar in 3D. too easy. i want to bicycle up to mae sai, spend some

time in myanmar, and get a 90-day reentry stamp instead.

what's the latest on the requirement for a guide? i'd like to get the 14-day

travel permit for $10, leaving my passport at myanmarese immigration. the

plan would be to bicycle the approved route as far as mongla and return. if

a guide is still required, i'll just go over for the day, and enjoy the return ride

to chiang mai.

oh, and if they accept a US$10 bill at the border instead of 500 baht, will they

accept one showing normal circulation usage? doesn't need to be crispy,

crunchy, shiny?

[Matan]

I think I will do the Mae Sai run in a week or two, but do you need to take 20,000 baht with you? I would prefer not to have to carry around that much cash when I'm staying in a mountain village.

[villagefarang]

I think I will do the Mae Sai run in a week or two, but do you need to take 20,000 baht with you? I would prefer not to have to carry around that much cash when I'm staying in a mountain village.

I'm sure there are people carrying around a lot more than that. In all my years in Thailand I have never had any problem, carrying any amount of money. Just don't leave it unattended or pull it all out at once. Be discrete, but take as much as you think you need.

[sceadugenga]

I've never been asked to produce B20,000 at immigration in dozens of crossings.

[Matan]

Yeah. Just because some people in Thailand are happy to carry a lot more than £400 in cash around on them doesn't mean I'm going to do it. I'll just print off a copy of my bank statement.

[sceadugenga]

Probably safer than walking around with that sort of money on you in New York or Manchester.

[brahmburgers]

Just did another 24 hr r&r in Tachilek. Some observations:

>>> dogs bark a whole lot less than in Thailand. Why is it Thailand has gnarly dogs on every block? When I have friends visit, at my rural house in Chiang Rai, they can't walk up or down the road without packs of shitty little dogs barking ferociously. They bark and nip at Thai also. I haven't experienced more than a modicum of that problem in Burma.

>>> Burmese, like Thais don't know how to make a sandwich. Burmese are less adept at Thais in that dept. A Thai sandwich is 1 cm thick with 2 mm of colored jelly, a Burmese sandwhich is 60 mm thick with 1 mm of something between the lifeless bread. We need the Laotians and farang to go out and teach the other SE Asians how to make a sandwich.

>>> MSG is prevalent, as least as much as in northern Thailand. Must be because Shan State is closer to China than Thailand. Stopped at a roadside eat place in the evening. They hyper salty veges and meat were palatable, barely. However, I tossed and turned all night at my hotel, because of MSG poisoning.

There were good things to report, such as long bicycle rides down country lanes, but it's more fun to hear about the complaints, isn't it?

[chang35baht]

Just did another 24 hr r&r in Tachilek. Some observations:

>>> dogs bark a whole lot less than in Thailand. Why is it Thailand has gnarly dogs on every block? When I have friends visit, at my rural house in Chiang Rai, they can't walk up or down the road without packs of shitty little dogs barking ferociously. They bark and nip at Thai also. I haven't experienced more than a modicum of that problem in Burma.

>>> Burmese, like Thais don't know how to make a sandwich. Burmese are less adept at Thais in that dept. A Thai sandwich is 1 cm thick with 2 mm of colored jelly, a Burmese sandwhich is 60 mm thick with 1 mm of something between the lifeless bread. We need the Laotians and farang to go out and teach the other SE Asians how to make a sandwich.

>>> MSG is prevalent, as least as much as in northern Thailand. Must be because Shan State is closer to China than Thailand. Stopped at a roadside eat place in the evening. They hyper salty veges and meat were palatable, barely. However, I tossed and turned all night at my hotel, because of MSG poisoning.

There were good things to report, such as long bicycle rides down country lanes, but it's more fun to hear about the complaints, isn't it?

No.

[el jefe]

Just did another 24 hr r&r in Tachilek. Some observations:

<snip complaints>

There were good things to report, such as long bicycle rides down country lanes, but it's more fun to hear about the complaints, isn't it?

BB, how "long" were those bike rides? We're you allowed to ride beyond the checkpoints at the edge of town?

[Matan]

Just checking, you have to wait a minimum of one hour before you can go back across the border, right?

Also, from the border, how easy is it to get to Mae Chan?

[sceadugenga]

I've seen people go through Burmese immigration and walk straight back to Thailand.

Mae Chan is a short bus ride from Mae Sai.

[mcgriffith]

I once entered the Burmese Immigration office on the bridge in Tachilek, stated "no shopping", stood there while they processed my entry, stamped passport, etc.

Walked right back across the bridge into Mae Sai.

Total elapsed time ~10 minutes.

No minimum time stay requirement in Myanmar.

[Matan]

Ah well that's excellent news. I feel I might as well have a quick look around, just to say I've been to Burma, but it's nice to know I can come back sharpish if it turns out to be rubbish.

[sceadugenga]

Yeah, there's plenty of rubbish there.

The pirate you know whats can be a bit tempting though.

[Ricardo]

Yeah, there's plenty of rubbish there.

The pirate you know whats can be a bit tempting though.

Flags ? Cutlasses ? Planks ?

[sceadugenga]

Peg legs.

[CP3]

In what kind of situation we can ask for longer period other than 15days?

Did anyone try massage at massage shop near to wang thong hotel..name is like neuullaw or something like that?

[sceadugenga]

I can't imagine them giving you any longer visa exemption at Mae Sai than the law provides.

To stay longer in Thailand you need a visa, you can get this in a number of ways but through the proper channels.

[el jefe]

Just did another 24 hr r&r in Tachilek. Some observations:

<snip complaints>

There were good things to report, such as long bicycle rides down country lanes, but it's more fun to hear about the complaints, isn't it?

BB, how "long" were those bike rides? We're you allowed to ride beyond the checkpoints at the edge of town?

I forgot that when brahmburger posts, you never know whether it's fact or fiction. I can't believe I got suckered into replying to him.

[ChouDoufu]

trip report: bicycled up to mae sai from chiang mai last week. plenty of guesthouses/hotels in mae sai

within a few minutes walk of the border crossing. as low as 150 baht if you're not too picky. decent

room with a couple english channels was 400.

border crossing was very fast and efficient, took less than ten minutes. immigration officer asked for

500 baht. i gave him a twenty, got ten ones in change.

travel inland to kengtung and mongla does require the 'services' of a guide at 500 thai baht

per day plus expenses (food+accom+transport). individual bicyclists and motorcyclists not

permitted; that would require a group of twenty or more. i'm told the permit processing

takes about a month.

returning to thailand, there was a small sign requiring 20,000 bath, but no one asked whether

i was carrying this amount. maybe i look wealthy?

my new entry stamp allows me to stay until october, the date of my extension. was not given a

"report in 90 days card." i asked the officer about this, and he told me i DO NOT need to

go to immigration for 90-day reporting. i suspect he is mistaken.

mae chan is 33 km south of mae sai. bus station is about 3 km south of town, on the west side

of the highway near the tesco-lotus.

[el jefe]

trip report:

travel inland to kengtung and mongla does require the 'services' of a guide at 500 thai baht

per day plus expenses (food+accom+transport). individual bicyclists and motorcyclists not

permitted; that would require a group of twenty or more. i'm told the permit processing

takes about a month.

Thanks for the report, Stinky.

But just to clarify, you do not need a "guide" to get to Kyiang Tung, just a driver. You can stay as long as you want in Kyiang Tung without a guide, doing day trips, etc. You can then hire a new driver to take you to Mong La. Spend as much time as you want there (not much to do), then hire a driver to return. No need to pay expenses for the driver other than his fee.

Interesting that they told you that a group of 20 cyclists would be able to ride from Tachilek to Mong La. I bet that if you put a group together to do it, they'd come up with a new rule to stop you.

Don't tell any of this to BramBurger. He thinks he's done it a dozen times.

[brahmburgers]

Just did another 24 hr r&r in Tachilek. Some observations:

<snip complaints>

There were good things to report, such as long bicycle rides down country lanes, but it's more fun to hear about the complaints, isn't it?

BB, how "long" were those bike rides? We're you allowed to ride beyond the checkpoints at the edge of town?

I forgot that when brahmburger posts, you never know whether it's fact or fiction. I can't believe I got suckered into replying to him.

Can you please quote me anything that I've stated prior that appears fictional to you. I'd hate for you to get suckered again.

I was going to reply to your q about riding/hiking beyond checkpoints, but if you have such a thick attitude, why should I bother?

El Jefe wittingly states; "Don't tell any of this to BramBurger. He thinks he's done it a dozen times."

I don't mind you mis-spelling my pen-name, but where did I mention cycling to Mong La? If you want to try and be witty, go ahead, but try to stick with what's been stated, and not make things up. That's what naughty little kids do. Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not good to fib.

Edited January 21, 2010 by brahmburgers

[sceadugenga]

[Matan]

I did this crossing, was fine, fairly dull. I wrote about it on my blog but it essentially just says I went across the border and came back

[sceadugenga]

Thanks Nick. That's pretty well what most people do unless you're into rummaging around markets in obscure border towns.

Nice blog by the way.

[sceadugenga]

I took my visitor to MaeSai today to renew his visa exemption and the lady at immigration told me that because my Non- Imm B Visa had been granted an extra 90 days the day before it expired it became only single entry and I would lose it if I left the country, even for a couple of hours.

She then suggested I obtain two photocopies of the front page of my passport (6B across the street) and paid 100B she would grant me a VIP pass and I would not receive stamps in my passport (oh frabjous day!) and subsequently my visa would not be effected.

Full points to Thai immigration from a grateful sceadugenga!

[lannaman]

I plan to take a trip to Kengtung this week.

Anyone done it recently?

Can I go there freely by bus from Tachileik, I read something about having to engage a guide to do this.

Do they exchange pound sterling there?

Any recommendations for accomodation there?

[sceadugenga]

We've had a couple of quite informative threads on it Lannaman, nothing really up to date though.

Personally I've heard of no changes in travel requirements.