Mai Sai To Kengtung

[LomSak27]

Do I need a re entry permit to do this little jaunt - You do not need a Myanmar visa but must leave your passport at the Takilek immigration booth, up to a 10 day trip

If anyone know I wouold be forever grateful (sorry I hold a Non Imm visa and need re entry permits if I leave the country)

[Frank33]

I don't know about the re-entry permit, but there is a new development regarding the trip from Tachilek to Kengtung.

I crossed from Mae Sai into Tachilek on 14/12/09, with the intention to travel on to Kengtung. For many years this trip used to be possible with a 14 days stay permit issued in Tachilek (10 $).

The immigration staff in Tachilek asked me where I wanted to go, and when I named Kengtung and Mongla, they referred me to the semi-governmental “Myanmar Travels & Tours (MTT)” office next to the immigration checkpoint. MTT told me that due to new government regulations issued very recently, I could not go on to Kengtung without a “guide”. I was allowed to catch a share taxi or a bus, but I needed to be accompanied by a “guide” (1000 baht per day). The explanations of the MTT staff were somewhat ambivalent and their English not fully comprehensible, but I gathered that I would not get rid of the “guide” on arrival in Kengtung, but had to pay for his hotel bills and meals throughout the duration of my stay. I did not like the idea of being allocated a minder who would follow me around and be leeching of me all the way, therefore I decided to abort the project, stay a night in Tachilek and return to Thailand.

I reckon that this change in regulations for tourists is an overreaction to the troubles in the last few months with the Wa and Kokang near the Chinese border. There certainly are no security issues (i.e. lack of government control) in Kengtung itself or on the way there from Tachilek. Prior to any travel plans for Kengtung or Mongla, I would advise people to check carefully whether the requirements for the guide services of MTT are still in place.

[Briggsy]

Really!

Very interesting development. Maybe this post could be put in the pinned Mae Sai topic in the Chiang Rai sub-forum.

I doubt it'll affect the Thai tour groups though.