Border Run From Chiang Mai, How Is This Done

[apo]

Hi I live in south so I dont know Chiang Mai area very well

have a O visa and must leave the country every 3 months (how crazy is that one?)

need to hit a border for my visa at the end of May

I will be in Chiang Mai then with family from over seas

what is the most easy way to handle this?

just need to leave Thaialnd for one min and come back

I will have a car to use too

do you know the full costs of this too and can you give me the tips how to do this all from Chiang Mai?

thanks a bunch!!!!!!!!!

[wolfmanjack]

take a bus to Mae Sai. Have US$10 or 500 baht for the burmese stamp. Not sure what the cost of the bus is but it isn't much.

[Steve2UK]

Hi I live in south so I dont know Chiang Mai area very well

have a O visa and must leave the country every 3 months (how crazy is that one?)

need to hit a border for my visa at the end of May

I will be in Chiang Mai then with family from over seas

what is the most easy way to handle this?

just need to leave Thaialnd for one min and come back

I will have a car to use too

do you know the full costs of this too and can you give me the tips how to do this all from Chiang Mai?

thanks a bunch!!!!!!!!!

Chiang Mai-Mae Sai (border with Myanmar) is about 4-ish hours drive depending on the speed you maintain - wide highways all the way. 500 baht or US$10 (clean new-issue bills) gets you your stamp from Myanmar immigration - just say you "go back" rather than continue into Tachilek town on the Myanmar side for shopping etc. Whole process to exit Thailand/enter Myanmar/exit Myanmar/enter Thailand will take about 15 minutes depending on how busy the crossing is.

Mae Sai is a cross between a tourist-trap and cheap market-shopper's paradise depending on your point of view; personally I think it's close to being the armpit of the world and nobody in their right mind would visit the place except to use the border . Anyhow, your family can kill the time waiting for you wandering around the stalls and getting a cool drink.

If you need to know more, I suggest you do a search for "visa" in the Chiang Mai sub-forum - e.g. there are "VIP" vans and aircon buses that do the run quite cheaply (for one) if you don't feel like 8+ hours return driving yourself in one day.

[ThunderDuck]

VIP bus departs CNX (arcade bus station) @ 8.00a.m. and Mae Sai @ 15.30 p.m. ... approx 4hrs trip

Cost 335 baht. Book 3 days in advance as its popular.

[Sojourner]

Hi I live in south so I dont know Chiang Mai area very well

have a O visa and must leave the country every 3 months (how crazy is that one?)

need to hit a border for my visa at the end of May

I will be in Chiang Mai then with family from over seas

what is the most easy way to handle this?

just need to leave Thaialnd for one min and come back

I will have a car to use too

do you know the full costs of this too and can you give me the tips how to do this all from Chiang Mai?

thanks a bunch!!!!!!!!!

Chiang Mai-Mae Sai (border with Myanmar) is about 4-ish hours drive depending on the speed you maintain - wide highways all the way. 500 baht or US$10 (clean new-issue bills) gets you your stamp from Myanmar immigration - just say you "go back" rather than continue into Tachilek town on the Myanmar side for shopping etc. Whole process to exit Thailand/enter Myanmar/exit Myanmar/enter Thailand will take about 15 minutes depending on how busy the crossing is.

Mae Sai is a cross between a tourist-trap and cheap market-shopper's paradise depending on your point of view; personally I think it's close to being the armpit of the world and nobody in their right mind would visit the place except to use the border . Anyhow, your family can kill the time waiting for you wandering around the stalls and getting a cool drink.

If you need to know more, I suggest you do a search for "visa" in the Chiang Mai sub-forum - e.g. there are "VIP" vans and aircon buses that do the run quite cheaply (for one) if you don't feel like 8+ hours return driving yourself in one day.

Couldn't agree with you more but there is one thing that'll pay for the trip. Inexpensive wine and spirits. So much cheaper, that after the first bottle you buy you've made back the cost of the visa. The best bottle shop is the duty free to the left of the bridge as you cross into Burma. Second floor. There's even a walkway going directly from the bridge to the second floor entrance.