How To Gain Permission For Travel Past The Myawaddy Checkpoint To Kawkareik And Hpa-An

[Tomtomtom69]

Hi,

Today I travelled almost up to the police checkpoint about 15-20km outside of Myawaddy on the way down to Kawkareik. I would like to receive permission to travel overland to Hpa-an passing through Kawkareik and past this checkpoint. Just yesterday, a group of Singaporean motorcyclists received such permission to pass through this area on their way to Yangon, Mandalay and other destinations using a police escort.

I have contacted the government Ministry of Hotels and Tourism via email about how to gain the necessary permission to go past this checkpoint, but not sure how long it may take. Does anyone have any idea about what to expect in terms of time required to gain permission (I have heard anything from 1 week to 1 month) and whether that means a guide will have to join me etc.

Currently a Thai construction company is improving the road between Myawaddy and Kawkareik and later on, between Kawkareik and Hpa-an. According to Myanmar immigration, this road may open officially to all persons, including Thais and other foreigners all the way to Yangon within the next few months, but the exact timeframe is still uncertain, so could conceivably also take as long as 2 years when AEC 2015 comes into effect, especially since the ceasefire between the central government and the Karen armed forces is still fragile, which is the main reason for these travel restrictions in the first place.

[Tomtomtom69]

Just an update to my question.

A few days ago, I travelled past the checkpoint in question with a guide. There are no checks of any kind going through (the checkpoints are located on both ends of the Myawaddy industrial zone) and I travelled about 5km west beyond this checkpoint - however, according to my guide there are a series of checkpoints located in the mountains before Kawkareik that would be difficult to bypass without some kind of permission. Coming from the other side, you can travel to Kawkareik without any problems, but just the short section after Kawkareik in the direction of Myawaddy is still a problem. Apparently within the next year it will become possible to travel all the way through without any problems though - they are planning to open the road all the way to Yangon officially then.

[canphotog]

sounds interesting. I was hoping for an open road to Yangon for over a year. Should make Mae Sot a more interesting travel location.

Tomtomtom69 can you forward myself your guide's contact information? What does a guide cost and are there any fees or info to be aware of?

Thank you

[Tomtomtom69]

sounds interesting. I was hoping for an open road to Yangon for over a year. Should make Mae Sot a more interesting travel location.

Tomtomtom69 can you forward myself your guide's contact information? What does a guide cost and are there any fees or info to be aware of?

Thank you

If you follow my other post about the road opening, you will find a lot has changed since I made this post; at the time there was no information about any road opening, just speculation. Now things are definately starting to happen quickly. Firstly, it seems to be possible to travel to Myawaddy from Hpa-an and back if you have a visa and entered legally via Yangon, Mandalay, Kawthoung etc. and then backtrack the same way you came. This has become possible since March and if you do a google search or go to Lonely Planet's Thorntree you can find an official statement indicating that Kawkareik etc. have opened up. From the Thai side, overland access will apparently become possible just after the end of the Water Festival, the latest I've heard is the 24th of April, though it could also be a few days before or after.

A guide should only cost about 200 Baht (or equivalent in Kyat) per day, but a good guide will cost a bit more. My guide is also a Myanmar immigration official. I will send you his details via PM.