Mae Sai/Tachilek Border Info

[villagefarang]

Last week I did my fastet border run ever there. 5mins out, 1 min stamp and pay B500, 5 mins back in.

Glad things went smoothly for you.

[Dancealot]

This was last week. Notice the grey pick-up doing a U-turn...^

[phonebooks]

Hey guys, I did another border run today. Thai border officer said I could only do two more runs after this one. I did one last month, so that is a total of 4 runs allowed. I'm pretty sure this is the new policy across all of Thailand borders. Will flying outside the country will reset the land visa policy, so I can do a new set of 4 runs?

[brianmarinus]

Then read the new one...going to be rough for some people.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/725053-final-crackdown-for-border-runners-new-strict-immigration-regulation-in-force-from-today/

[Will27]

Then read the new one...going to be rough for some people.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/725053-final-crackdown-for-border-runners-new-strict-immigration-regulation-in-force-from-today/

Sounds as if it was a real fiasco at the border.

The crack-downs were inevitable I guess but surely a bit of notice by Immigration

would've been the sensible thing to do.

[brianmarinus]

Latest from imigration:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/725610-thailand-visa-crackdown-banning-walk-in-visa-runs-to-begin-august-13/

[boomerangutang]

I just did an overnight in Tachilek. Was woken at about 4:30 am by loud amplified Buddhist chanting, one voice, going on for hours. I asked the hotel clerk and she said shrugged and said it happens every morning. Another friend on the Mae Sai side said no, it's because tomorrow, the 13th, is a Buddhist holiday. I lean to the 2nd explanation. Either way, Tachilek is becoming degraded for me. It was ok, now it's less than ok.

One of its best features, the big regular market, is gone. 2 of the 3 tea houses near the bridge are gone. The remaining one has a loud Buddhist voice booming from 5 to 8 am every morning.

the river is muddier than I've ever seen it. Sure, it's muddy each year, but there must be gargantuan earth moving going on up-river, for so much mud. Burmese don't care. The river, for them, is no big deal. Some place to drop bags of garbage. The Mai Sai side is not much better. How long ago, historically, did Asians cease to appreciate rivers? Perhaps about the time they eradicated all wild mammals bigger than rats and bats.

I've come to the conclusion that Asians generally don't care much for nature. Prove me wrong if you can. But look around Asia, and you'll see a hundred thousand battles going on against nature, and nature is losing every one. Look at any city or town in Thailand, and you'll be lucky to see a couple little parks, largely covered with concrete. No wilderness areas, no large parks, no breeding programs, little reforestation (and if there is any, it's monotypic and for show only). No re-introduction of native species, no environmental programs in schools (that I've heard of), zero environmental initiatives by any governing entities, no animal shelters, no back-to-the-land movements. For Asians, living in harmony with nature is on a par with having your kids marry a black person. It's just out of whack. Asians are focused on getting malls and apartment complexes built, and concrete and asphalt covering everywhere in between.

[Tomtomtom69]

I just did an overnight in Tachilek. Was woken at about 4:30 am by loud amplified Buddhist chanting, one voice, going on for hours. I asked the hotel clerk and she said shrugged and said it happens every morning. Another friend on the Mae Sai side said no, it's because tomorrow, the 13th, is a Buddhist holiday. I lean to the 2nd explanation. Either way, Tachilek is becoming degraded for me. It was ok, now it's less than ok.

One of its best features, the big regular market, is gone. 2 of the 3 tea houses near the bridge are gone. The remaining one has a loud Buddhist voice booming from 5 to 8 am every morning.

the river is muddier than I've ever seen it. Sure, it's muddy each year, but there must be gargantuan earth moving going on up-river, for so much mud. Burmese don't care. The river, for them, is no big deal. Some place to drop bags of garbage. The Mai Sai side is not much better. How long ago, historically, did Asians cease to appreciate rivers? Perhaps about the time they eradicated all wild mammals bigger than rats and bats.

I've come to the conclusion that Asians generally don't care much for nature. Prove me wrong if you can. But look around Asia, and you'll see a hundred thousand battles going on against nature, and nature is losing every one. Look at any city or town in Thailand, and you'll be lucky to see a couple little parks, largely covered with concrete. No wilderness areas, no large parks, no breeding programs, little reforestation (and if there is any, it's monotypic and for show only). No re-introduction of native species, no environmental programs in schools (that I've heard of), zero environmental initiatives by any governing entities, no animal shelters, no back-to-the-land movements. For Asians, living in harmony with nature is on a par with having your kids marry a black person. It's just out of whack. Asians are focused on getting malls and apartment complexes built, and concrete and asphalt covering everywhere in between.

I agree. Whilst the Burmese side (or if you've ever been to Poipet in Cambodia) are dirtier than the Thai side, the actions of some Thais are also pretty dispicable. For example, in 2011 I was eating dinner at the restaurant in Mae Sai next to the border, overlooking the river. One of the managers or staff was throwing bag after bag of garbage into the river. Whilst I didn't see any such actions at Chiang Khong where I just came from earlier that day, perhaps the bigger Mekong river just hides garbage better.

[boomerangutang]

I agree, it's disgusting to throw bags of garbage in to the river. What will it take for Asians to change that ugly habit? I've seen it from both sides of the river. They also toss garbage from boats, big and small, at sea. It's weird, Asians have all sorts of rules about what's proper and what's rude, regarding feet, legs, head, etc. But when it comes to despoiling natural bodies of water, anything goes. In California, I used to go skinny dipping in several mountain rivers. At all of them, I could open my eyes underwater, and visibility was sometimes 50 feet. The Mai Sai river, right now, visibility is about 1 cm. At Lake Tahoe or Mammoth Lakes, the visibility is measured in dozens of meters. Any lake in Asia, outside the Himalayas, you'd be lucky to get 2 meters.

Every creek and river that runs near Tachilek has trash all along its banks. Sometimes, even feces.

[villagefarang]

I agree, it's disgusting to throw bags of garbage in to the river. What will it take for Asians to change that ugly habit? I've seen it from both sides of the river. They also toss garbage from boats, big and small, at sea. It's weird, Asians have all sorts of rules about what's proper and what's rude, regarding feet, legs, head, etc. But when it comes to despoiling natural bodies of water, anything goes. In California, I used to go skinny dipping in several mountain rivers. At all of them, I could open my eyes underwater, and visibility was sometimes 50 feet. The Mai Sai river, right now, visibility is about 1 cm. At Lake Tahoe or Mammoth Lakes, the visibility is measured in dozens of meters. Any lake in Asia, outside the Himalayas, you'd be lucky to get 2 meters.

Every creek and river that runs near Tachilek has trash all along its banks. Sometimes, even feces.

While I agree that Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes are lovely, I am less convinced that your generalized accusations that Asians are this or Thais are that really serve any purpose other than you letting off steam. Regardless it is nice to see you posting again and I hope you feel better now.

Edited May 15, 2014 by villagefarang

[heybruce]

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Then read the new one...going to be rough for some people.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/725053-final-crackdown-for-border-runners-new-strict-immigration-regulation-in-force-from-today/

Latest from imigration:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/725610-thailand-visa-crackdown-banning-walk-in-visa-runs-to-begin-august-13/

Interesting that the news reports are only two days apart. So the new rules began on May 10 and will begin on August 13. Ok, that's not at all confusing.

I don't think any of this affects people with multiple-entry one year non-immigrant visas (in other words, my visa), but under current circumstances I don't want to assume too much.

[Bardeh]

I went to Mae Sai today to get a 30 day stamp. I was a little nervous because of the recent crackdown, and the fact that my passport is filled with old non-B visas from when I used to teach. No troubles at all though, the staff were friendly and it was all done within a half hour or so.

[boomerangutang]

I agree, it's disgusting to throw bags of garbage in to the river. What will it take for Asians to change that ugly habit? I've seen it from both sides of the river. They also toss garbage from boats, big and small, at sea. It's weird, Asians have all sorts of rules about what's proper and what's rude, regarding feet, legs, head, etc. But when it comes to despoiling natural bodies of water, anything goes. In California, I used to go skinny dipping in several mountain rivers. At all of them, I could open my eyes underwater, and visibility was sometimes 50 feet. The Mai Sai river, right now, visibility is about 1 cm. At Lake Tahoe or Mammoth Lakes, the visibility is measured in dozens of meters. Any lake in Asia, outside the Himalayas, you'd be lucky to get 2 meters.

Every creek and river that runs near Tachilek has trash all along its banks. Sometimes, even feces.

While I agree that Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes are lovely, I am less convinced that your generalized accusations that Asians are this or Thais are that really serve any purpose other than you letting off steam. Regardless it is nice to see you posting again and I hope you feel better now.

Thanks. I had a bad injury 16 months ago, fell thru a roof (while sweeping leaves) broke heel bone and both wrists. Doing better now, thanks, including some hiking.

As for my venting on things like trash in rivers: Sometimes discussion will prompt people to take action for the better. Other times, embarrassment can be a motivating factor. Most often, nothing changes much. So, if word trickled over to certain people (who could affect positive changes) re; trashy Mae Sai river, then so be it. It's easy to say, as one of my good friends tells me; 'nothing you can do or say is going to make a bit of difference' ....still, there are those who are quixotic.

Incidentally, I met a gal today (she came to Boomerang Park) who is not only a good climber but a Thai lady who speaks perfect English. She just started a job in Mae Sai. Came up from Bangkok (doesn't like it there), is young, attractive and highly intelligent. She was articulating on all types of topics which I didn't think Thais were apprised of. A definite plus - addition to our little community. Am I thinking romance? No, I wouldn't want to muddle up someone else's life.

[jmdf103]

went 2 days ago for an extra 30 days visa exemption with my UK passport. when i reentered thailand the officer looked through my passport for any recent walk in entries. He found one from earlier in the year and wrote in a circled 1 next to the stamp and wrote in a circled 2 with the stamp he was giving me. He said that i was allowed 4, not sure if he meant that on the 4th time he would refuse entry or after 4th entry that i would be refused.

[boomerangutang]

Mae Sai river has improved. Gone from extremely muddy to muddy - still with floating trash.

I went walking around downtown (near bridge) one recent morning. Several tea houses are gone, the large locals' market is gone. The tea houses remaining have very loud man's voice layering on Buddhist preaching through the hi-fi. Does the Burmese gov't require that? I don't know. I found one tea house without loud hi-fi man's voice, but not one of the 9 employees there could understand any English or Thai. Tachilek was ok in earlier years, but it's going downhill in my view.

Perhaps I need a pair of rose-colored glasses.

[thomasrussell]

Hi I'm planning a trip to Chiang Rai and wondered if there's been any change to VIP regulations. There seem to be a lot of tightening up in other areas.

Also I've read that its possible to swop passports between for example Cambodia and Thailand. Is this still possible?

Thanks

Thomas

[rijb]

Does anyone know where the Mae Sai temporary office for 90 day reporting is (while the main building is being remodeled)?

[squarethecircle]

"Tachilek was ok in earlier years, but it's going downhill in my view."

No clue where you all get this complaining from, it's dirty but IME locals in TCK are friendly as hell, a distinct change just crossing the river. YMMV

[boomerangutang]

"Tachilek was ok in earlier years, but it's going downhill in my view."

No clue where you all get this complaining from, it's dirty but IME locals in TCK are friendly as hell, a distinct change just crossing the river. YMMV

You can call it 'complaining.' I call it something like: 'seeing room for or suggesting improvements.'

If someone dropped trash on your shoes, you might complain.

Some of the things about Tachilek that annoy me, and which could be improved:

>>>> tearing down the only large market - to make way for concrete buildings (a mall?). It put hundreds of vendors out of work.

>>>> tearing down tea houses. There are many young Burmese men who have no jobs, and they hang out at tea houses. With less tea houses, they're apt to roam aimlessly around.

>>>> tossing whole bags of trash in rivers and creeks. It's no longer an excuse that 'mother nature will take of it.' That was valid when our ancestors used banana leaf for plates, but with tens of tons of plastic, no way.

Yes, folks there are generally friendly. I could list other things I like about Tachilek.

Treks west of town:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hiking-Tachilek-BurmaMyanmar/722190301160336

[anto]

Went there yesterday for my 3 month stamp .Very quiet ,and few Falang .The bottle shop right by the bridge had far less a selection of beers than on my last visit .

When you pay the B500 ,they no longer take your photo ,and no longer take your passport ,with a card in exchange as before .You keep it with you all the time .

The hawkers seemed more desperate to the point where i had to be rude to them ,but stopped short of telling them to Fxxx off .

[squarethecircle]

">>>> tearing down the only large market - to make way for concrete buildings (a mall?). It put hundreds of vendors out of work."

What do you mean, seems the large market just to the right of the border crossing after you enter Myanmar is going strong, albeit not so many Thai shoppers when I was there recently.

>>>> tearing down tea houses. There are many young Burmese men who have no jobs, and they hang out at tea houses. With less tea houses, they're apt to roam aimlessly around.

No clue what you mean about this, I was there 2 years ago and again this past week and found the same teashops, well one the 24-hour one called Nine Nine got moved but is still open. Also I was told TCK is the richest city in Myanmar with all the cross-border traffic, ever seen the people riding with bundles of cash on their motorcycles? Those are at least $10,000-$20,000 worth of Myanmar Kyet in one bag, just riding around without any security. Crazy

>>>> tossing whole bags of trash in rivers and creeks. It's no longer an excuse that 'mother nature will take of it.' That was valid when our ancestors used banana leaf for plates, but with tens of tons of plastic, no way."

Hey, well it's better than having some bourgeois environmentalist lecturing you on throwing out beer bottles. Remember George Carlin said that the Earth invented humans as it wanted to decorate itself with plastic but couldn't figure out how to make plastic, so it made humans.

Main issue with Tachileik for me is food poisoning, I have yet to find a consistent place to get clean food there, and I don't mean just the runs I caught some kind of nasty fever which fortunately washed over after a day, last time I was there, from the Burmese tea leaf dish called "La Pet El". But this scares the other tourists away so it's a nice respite from the "inundated with tourists" mentality u get even in Mae Sai.

[boomerangutang]

No clue what you mean about this...

I think you squared the circle with that statement.

Tourists know about the Tourist Market, but few tourists knew about the local market - which is now completely torn down. I went there dozens of times, usually at dawn, when many of the vendors arrive from long treks from the countryside. Now they likely stay idle at their villages, because they have no viable outlet for their produce and wares.

As for 'TCK is the richest city city in Myanmar with all the cross-border traffic,' ....That may have been partially true months ago, but because Thailand is fast becoming a basket case in regard to tourism, it adversely affects its connecting border towns with other countries. I was at Tachilek's tourist market 2 days ago when there should (ordinarily) have been throngs of tourists, and there were very few. Perhaps 2 dozen instead of the ordinary hundreds. Thailand has successfully bolloxed up its visa-renewal parameters, and the # of farang crossing the border has gone from several hundred/day to about 2 or 3 dozen.

Hey, well it's better than having some bourgeois environmentalist lecturing you on throwing out beer bottles.

I probably shouldn't ask 'what's meant by that?' Tossing whole bags of raw trash, in the river is 'better than what?' pray tell?

[squarethecircle]

"Tourists know about the Tourist Market, but few tourists knew about the local market - which is now completely torn down."

Well if it's the one I'm thinking of back behind the main road, seems like they are rebuilding it. Or at least building something.

"Thailand has successfully bolloxed up its visa-renewal parameters, and the # of farang crossing the border has gone from several hundred/day to about 2 or 3 dozen."

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think you're overestimating what westerns contribute to the economy. Plenty of trade between India, China, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, ever seen those huge stacks of Myanmar kyat being carried out of the bank?

"I probably shouldn't ask 'what's meant by that?' Tossing whole bags of raw trash, in the river is 'better than what?' pray tell?"

Having some snotty environmentalist lecturing you about not throwing out plastics etc. Same thing in South America, garbage gets thrown out on the street and mostly cleaned up. Seems like the earth has handled plenty of large-scale catastrophes, meteorites, volcanic explosions, etc., so isn't it arrogant to think a bit of plastic is going to really hurt?

[boomerangutang]

We don't have to agree, but plastic trash is a factor locally and worldwide. Google: Pacific Trash Vortex. Environmentalists like myself are concerned about sustained trashing of the environment. Others don't care. It's a person's choice. BTW, why use the adjective 'snotty'? Do you have a personal problem with people who care for the environment? Do they irk you?

What's the alternative? Someone who can watch the environment being trashed and have no problem with that? Are they somehow superior? I probably shouldn't feed the troll.

more on topic: there are some whitewater falls at the southeast corner of Tachilek. Ordinarily, there would be rocks with water tumbling/rushing over. Because of the plethora of trash dumping in to the river, there is as much plastic and crap in that section as there are rocks. It's disgusting, and it doesn't have to be that way. that's just one tiny % of what's going on all over SE Asia. For some reason, it seems more pronounced in Burma. I've seen other small rivers in Burma which have floating turds added to the mix. People really need to understand what trash is and its impact. It's not just about a farang looking at a little section of stream and seeing a thousand pieces of trash - it's about the other living things. If a person doesn't care for amphibians, reptiles, mammals and hundreds of other species, then that's their choice. But don't cast aspersions as those who do. If nothing else, let's try to clean things up for younger generations. We'll all be dead in years/decades. If you stay at a house, do you leave it trashed and toxic for the next person? I don't.

[squarethecircle]

"Do you have a personal problem with people who care for the environment? Do they irk you?"

Yes now this is getting way off topic but I lived in lefty bourgeois paradise for 4 years and know that most environmentalist concern is not actual concern for Mother Earth, but concern that the little space around them will be dirty. Hence why the plastic garbage here is kind of funny, we've been here 100,000 years, the Earth has been around for 4 billion years, just a small earthquake on the surface can kill us by the thousands. So I'm not concerned about the plastic in rivers here and glad they can tell the lefty westerns to bugger off.

But the floating s*** in the river is a major concern as this can easily lead to food poisoning or disease outbreaks. There is rational concern for that but I doubt the locals will address it soon. I just hope TCK stays relatively untouched, I don't know if it's just me but I find it much friendlier than the other (Mae Sai) side of the river.

[boomerangutang]

....so let me see if I read you correctly;

Some trash is bad, such as human feces floating in a river,

but other trash is fine, such as hundreds of tons of plastic, some of which won't decompose .....ever.

You "know that most environmentalist concern is not actual concern for Mother Earth"

How insightful. Not.

[squarethecircle]

Well remember what George Carlin said: the planet invented us to create plastic, which it could not create on its own. That's the final response to the lefty environmentalists.

I'm curious if you've ever been up to China. Environmentalists would certainly be offended at what is going on up there. Put it this way: for every bag recycled in the west, 10-20 if not 100 plastic bags are thrown directly into the earth in Asia. Nothing they or we can do about it. But I think the Earth is smarter than we mere mortals and has the ability to OFF us if we pose a genuine threat to its existence. Worry not.

So about Tachileik. You can see direct insults to the organic matrix there. But it is nice enough in terms of people, culture, etc., to stay for a time. Very few westerns do but I have not found anywhere in northern Thailand that just takes a westerner in like Tachileik does. I'm in love with the place and will be back.

[boomerangutang]

I can say good things about Tachilek. That's why I've visited there hundreds of times.

as for China and it's obsession with tossing plastic. They're the main contributor to the Great Pacific Trash Vortex.

I like George Carlin, but he's not my guru. Like all comedians (and to some degree social commentators, like Bill Maher) I often enjoy listening to what they say, but I don't see eye to eye on all their pronouncements.

Carlin also believes the Sun is God. If I had to choose a God, it would be nature.

[nellyp]

Completed my border run on the weekend. Same old, same old. 500 baht, no pics, (I'm Non-o spouse) over and back in less that 20 minutes. Only difference was there was a sign on the Thai entry side saying how much money you needed to show you had for the different types of visa. I only thought about that after I had gone through (I wasn't asked to show any), so I can't remember how much the funds were. The sign may have been there before, but I failed to notice it. Easiest crossing in Thailand by a country miles.

Cheer

[boomerangutang]

Completed my border run on the weekend. Same old, same old. 500 baht, no pics, (I'm Non-o spouse) over and back in less that 20 minutes. Only difference was there was a sign on the Thai entry side saying how much money you needed to show you had for the different types of visa. I only thought about that after I had gone through (I wasn't asked to show any), so I can't remember how much the funds were. The sign may have been there before, but I failed to notice it. Easiest crossing in Thailand by a country miles. Cheer

They will take us$10 if the bill is like-new with no flaws. They sometimes also take $$'s for a VIP/day pass. It depends on who's running the tiny Imm. office on the Burmese side. BTW, they're usually in good cheer (more so than Thai Imm authorities on the other side of the bridge) and are fun to jive with. Try it.

The sign mentioning 'Tourists have to show 10,000 Baht' is ridiculous. For starters, it was only enforced the first week it was put up, and it's been there several years. Secondly, it would indicate to would-be thieves in Tachilek that each tourist walking around has at least Bt.10,000 cash in their pocket. Fortunately, Tachilek has no history of rip-offs that I know of. I feel as safe walking around there as anywhere I've ever strolled. Even then roughest-looking young dudes hanging out on street corners, will grin and get eye contact, when you acknowledge them.

The earlier sign, which said the same: "Please Show (next line) 10,000......" was taken down because people like myself drew graffiti on it.

When entering back in to Thailand, there's still the dumb-ass policy of requiring each tourist to stroll to the tiny desk with the 2 surly young men - who will pass you an entry form - without eye contact or any words. Just rude, if you ask me. Plus, they still can't figure out that putting a little sign at the fill-out-form desk would be helpful (better would be to simply have the blank forms at the fill-out desk). So what happens is: about half of all farang who go through there, spend at least several moments wondering what to do. Thai officialdom is great at causing confusion and inconvenience when it wants to.