Four 'overland' Myanmar-Thai border crossings to open - date set as 28th August

[householder]

Quick and painless at the border, although my stamping out of Thailand in one passport and having my Myanmar visas in another got senior immigration people involved, but after explaining that I'm running out of pages in my Myanmar visa passport that I wanted to preserve for future visas, they seemed happy with that and sorted it all out.

CB and KBZ banks a few yards down the road from the checkpoint. KBZ has an ATM which worked. I was there at 7am so the currency exchanges weren't open. No SIM cards for quick and profitable resale anywhere in Myawaddy or Hpa-An.

Car prices between 10k-20k to Hpa-An, similar to Mawlamyine. 10k gets you squished in a tiny thing with 3 other people or a passenger seat in an overloaded, uncomfortable, smoke-belching pickup. In my case, after mooching around a bit, I got 20k in a front passenger seat in a nice car with 2 locals in the back (who slept most of the way) and left immediately - which is something to ask as some cars will wait around for more passengers. With 30k in fuel for the trip and a further refill at Hpa-An, that's not surprising!

After Mae Sot, 4 checkpoints in total to Hpa-An. Some were police, some had immigration. At the checkpoint at the start of the mountain road to Kawkareik, my driver had to pay 5,000 kyat to some plain-clothed officials and was issued a receipt, not before a fairly lengthy argument over having to pay it at all and lots of pointing to me. I was told it was a charge levied on cars carrying foreigners. In Hpa-An, a different person told me it was a general car registration charge applicable to any vehicles going over. Anyone know what it actually is? Not sure who administers that post, but the driver's DKBA vehicle authorisation was checked there. Saw nobody in military uniforms so couldn't check shoulder patches. Anyone in military uniform on the way was Tatamadaw though.

Can you take over a Thai scooter? No. On the Myawaddy-Kawkareik road, you wouldn't want to either even if you could. In my case we ended up driving through clouds, next to no visibility and motos coming the wrong way the other way out of nowhere with no lights on. Would rather leave the driving to locals who regularly do the route. In some areas a foreigner on a foreign-registered scooter would probably lead to a lot of delays checking just what the hell is going on too!

[Tomtomtom69]

Quick and painless at the border, although my stamping out of Thailand in one passport and having my Myanmar visas in another got senior immigration people involved, but after explaining that I'm running out of pages in my Myanmar visa passport that I wanted to preserve for future visas, they seemed happy with that and sorted it all out.

CB and KBZ banks a few yards down the road from the checkpoint. KBZ has an ATM which worked. I was there at 7am so the currency exchanges weren't open. No SIM cards for quick and profitable resale anywhere in Myawaddy or Hpa-An.

Car prices between 10k-20k to Hpa-An, similar to Mawlamyine. 10k gets you squished in a tiny thing with 3 other people or a passenger seat in an overloaded, uncomfortable, smoke-belching pickup. In my case, after mooching around a bit, I got 20k in a front passenger seat in a nice car with 2 locals in the back (who slept most of the way) and left immediately - which is something to ask as some cars will wait around for more passengers. With 30k in fuel for the trip and a further refill at Hpa-An, that's not surprising!

After Mae Sot, 4 checkpoints in total to Hpa-An. Some were police, some had immigration. At the checkpoint at the start of the mountain road to Kawkareik, my driver had to pay 5,000 kyat to some plain-clothed officials and was issued a receipt, not before a fairly lengthy argument over having to pay it at all and lots of pointing to me. I was told it was a charge levied on cars carrying foreigners. In Hpa-An, a different person told me it was a general car registration charge applicable to any vehicles going over. Anyone know what it actually is? Not sure who administers that post, but the driver's DKBA vehicle authorisation was checked there. Saw nobody in military uniforms so couldn't check shoulder patches. Anyone in military uniform on the way was Tatamadaw though.

Can you take over a Thai scooter? No. On the Myawaddy-Kawkareik road, you wouldn't want to either even if you could. In my case we ended up driving through clouds, next to no visibility and motos coming the wrong way the other way out of nowhere with no lights on. Would rather leave the driving to locals who regularly do the route. In some areas a foreigner on a foreign-registered scooter would probably lead to a lot of delays checking just what the hell is going on too!

The Myawaddy-Hpa-an road is regularly used by convoy tours consisting of foreign registered bikes or cars. But you have to go in such a tour, can't go by yourself (yet).

[Tomtomtom69]

Hey quick q any ATMs/money changers at or before Hpa-An? Will only have 20,000 in kyat on me which will get me to Hpa-An from Mywaddy but no further or nowhere to sleep! Will have to be USD/THB or an ATM!

Edit: cancel that - KBZ branch in Myawaddy so all bases should be covered.

Baht are regularly exchanged for Kyat in Myawaddy or in a couple of places in Mae Sot (but not at banks). I don't know if they deal with USD as nobody there uses them - but banks would take USD, EUR and SGD just like in other cities assuming that Myawaddy banks even deal with foreign exchange. But USD become useful once you're in Hpa-an or other points further inside the country. Still, I will be taking only Baht to exchange for Kyat as on my last two trips I didn't need any USD at all. Good to know that the KBZ bank in Myawaddy now features an ATM.

Apart from Myawaddy, I am pretty sure there are no ATMs until you reach Mawlamyine (Moulmein).

[jamesvanderbeek]

Fantastic thread. Thanks for all of the great information.

Does anyone know if it's possible to travel by bicycle from Myawaddy to Yangon independently? I'd like to either bring a bicycle from Thailand or, barring that, see if there are any that can be bought across the border in Myawaddy.

[householder]

Unsure but I'd say unlikely on the basis that they don't want foreigners getting off the main road and wandering around various places on the way, which they'd have pretty much no control over in such a scenario.

[Tomtomtom69]

Quick and painless at the border, although my stamping out of Thailand in one passport and having my Myanmar visas in another got senior immigration people involved, but after explaining that I'm running out of pages in my Myanmar visa passport that I wanted to preserve for future visas, they seemed happy with that and sorted it all out.

CB and KBZ banks a few yards down the road from the checkpoint. KBZ has an ATM which worked. I was there at 7am so the currency exchanges weren't open. No SIM cards for quick and profitable resale anywhere in Myawaddy or Hpa-An.

Car prices between 10k-20k to Hpa-An, similar to Mawlamyine. 10k gets you squished in a tiny thing with 3 other people or a passenger seat in an overloaded, uncomfortable, smoke-belching pickup. In my case, after mooching around a bit, I got 20k in a front passenger seat in a nice car with 2 locals in the back (who slept most of the way) and left immediately - which is something to ask as some cars will wait around for more passengers. With 30k in fuel for the trip and a further refill at Hpa-An, that's not surprising!

After Mae Sot, 4 checkpoints in total to Hpa-An. Some were police, some had immigration. At the checkpoint at the start of the mountain road to Kawkareik, my driver had to pay 5,000 kyat to some plain-clothed officials and was issued a receipt, not before a fairly lengthy argument over having to pay it at all and lots of pointing to me. I was told it was a charge levied on cars carrying foreigners. In Hpa-An, a different person told me it was a general car registration charge applicable to any vehicles going over. Anyone know what it actually is? Not sure who administers that post, but the driver's DKBA vehicle authorisation was checked there. Saw nobody in military uniforms so couldn't check shoulder patches. Anyone in military uniform on the way was Tatamadaw though.

Can you take over a Thai scooter? No. On the Myawaddy-Kawkareik road, you wouldn't want to either even if you could. In my case we ended up driving through clouds, next to no visibility and motos coming the wrong way the other way out of nowhere with no lights on. Would rather leave the driving to locals who regularly do the route. In some areas a foreigner on a foreign-registered scooter would probably lead to a lot of delays checking just what the hell is going on too!

I am aware of a checkpoint just east of Hpa-an, coming from Eindu where they (generally) collect a toll of 500 Kyat per car. There is also a toll at the Gyaing river bridge (which used to be the furthest east foreigners could travel without permission, until the road to Myawaddy opened in March), but not sure how much it is as I haven't travelled across there yet. Having shipped goods across the Myawaddy-Hpa-an road from east of Hpa-an to Myawaddy by truck, I was told that there are numerous tolls on that road, with the amounts paid relatively high and dependent on vehicle type. I don't think it has anything to do with foreigners as back then I wasn't in the truck as the road between Thinnaninaung and the Gyaing river hadn't officially opened yet nor was there any need for me to be a passenger either. I was told that the truck driver paid something like 75,000 Kyat as he had to pay some bribes? to take those goods past? I thought 75,000 was a huge amount, but apparently that's what was paid and of course I refused to reimburse this amount as the goods were later taken back to the Hpa-an area without my permission where i later picked them up - I also assumed that the amount I paid for transport included all these incidental costs, but anyway that's another story.

[householder]

The checkpoints I encountered were (after Mae Sot/Myawaddy immI):

1. Start of the mountain road to Kawkareik

2. Entering Kawkareik proper

3. After exiting Kawkareik

4. Between Kawkareik and just before Hpa-An.

The only charge was the 5000 kyat and the purple vehicle receipt at checkpoint 1. Will upload a photo when I'm on a decent net connection. Since I ended up getting a free half-day guided tour of the main sights of Hpa-An and surrounds from the driver which wasn't agreed prior to the journey (6 hours to kill until the bus and he had nothing else to do), I was happy to pay it plus a few beers.

[Tomtomtom69]

The checkpoints I encountered were (after Mae Sot/Myawaddy immI):

1. Start of the mountain road to Kawkareik

2. Entering Kawkareik proper

3. After exiting Kawkareik

4. Between Kawkareik and just before Hpa-An.

The only charge was the 5000 kyat and the purple vehicle receipt at checkpoint 1. Will upload a photo when I'm on a decent net connection. Since I ended up getting a free half-day guided tour of the main sights of Hpa-An and surrounds from the driver which wasn't agreed prior to the journey (6 hours to kill until the bus and he had nothing else to do), I was happy to pay it plus a few beers.

The 4th one sounds like the Eindu checkpoint - though I would be surprised if the bridge was free, so perhaps you are referring to the Gyaing river bridge there as we didn't pay each time we passed Eindu, only once perhaps (and I have been past there a number of times over the course of a couple of days in February and in April).

[NBD]

Anyone used the Kanchanaburi one for a visa run? My 90 days is up next month and I'd rather take a run out there and have a bit of a nose round than spend a morning at Chaeng Wattana or pay the visa company to do so on my behalf, assuming it's relatively easy.

Ideally I would like a bit of a poke around on the other side, though I understand there isn't much there?

[householder]

No but apparently the road sucks and transport isn't as readily available. Doubt it's as scenic as the Myawaddy route either! Any experiences anyone?

[Tomtomtom69]

No but apparently the road sucks and transport isn't as readily available. Doubt it's as scenic as the Myawaddy route either! Any experiences anyone?

No idea, but armed with a visa, you should be able to cross at Phu Nam Ron and head over to Dawei. Keep in mind that you should have your own car or motorcycle to drive up to the Thai side of the border, but will need to walk across and change to a local car with driver or bus (if available) for travel within Myanmar. At this time, no foreign registered vehicles can cross there. For crossing with your own vehicle in a tour, you'll need to head to Mae Sot and cross into Myawaddy.

[simon43]

I was in Kawthaung last week and you're still limited to no further than 5km around town

Simon

[Tomtomtom69]

I was in Kawthaung last week and you're still limited to no further than 5km around town

Simon

Did you have a proper embassy issued visa? If not, that's why. Otherwise,what we would like to know is if you can catch a bus to Myeik or if you have to catch a ferry. I know that overland travel from Myeik to Yangon or Phu Nam Ron/Myawaddy and over to Thailand is allowed.

[SeaVisionBurma]

I was in Kawthaung last week and you're still limited to no further than 5km around town

Simon

Did you have a proper embassy issued visa? If not, that's why. Otherwise,what we would like to know is if you can catch a bus to Myeik or if you have to catch a ferry. I know that overland travel from Myeik to Yangon or Phu Nam Ron/Myawaddy and over to Thailand is allowed.

The proper embassy visa suggestion is semi-correct.

"Overland" travel from Kawthoung is a slight misnomer.

Simon is correct that foreigners cannot travel by road out of Kawthoung. The unofficial limit is normally the airport which is about 12km from the Kawthoung jetty/waterfront.

With an embassy issued visa, you can travel out of Kawthoung a couple of ways:

- by ferry up to Myeik/Dawei, and then on to Yangon from there (usually by flight from Myeik, or flight/road from Dawei)

- by air to Myeik/Dawei/Yangon

At this stage there is no practical road route from Kawthoung to Myeik, so "overland travel" means by air or boat.

Hope this clarifies it a little...

[Tomtomtom69]

I was in Kawthaung last week and you're still limited to no further than 5km around town

Simon

Did you have a proper embassy issued visa? If not, that's why. Otherwise,what we would like to know is if you can catch a bus to Myeik or if you have to catch a ferry. I know that overland travel from Myeik to Yangon or Phu Nam Ron/Myawaddy and over to Thailand is allowed.

The proper embassy visa suggestion is semi-correct.

"Overland" travel from Kawthoung is a slight misnomer.

Simon is correct that foreigners cannot travel by road out of Kawthoung. The unofficial limit is normally the airport which is about 12km from the Kawthoung jetty/waterfront.

With an embassy issued visa, you can travel out of Kawthoung a couple of ways:

- by ferry up to Myeik/Dawei, and then on to Yangon from there (usually by flight from Myeik, or flight/road from Dawei)

- by air to Myeik/Dawei/Yangon

At this stage there is no practical road route from Kawthoung to Myeik, so "overland travel" means by air or boat.

Hope this clarifies it a little...

Thanks for that clarification - it's good to know. Therefore, only 2 checkpoints allow overland travel by road, which are Myawaddy/Mae Sot and Htee Khee/Phu Nam Ron.

[Mahseer]

What's the best site for keeping up with what areas are allowed to be visited. Not just area under discussion but country wide.

Thanks

[SeaVisionBurma]

What's the best site for keeping up with what areas are allowed to be visited. Not just area under discussion but country wide.

Thanks

Good question. I haven't come across anything definitive yet, although others may know & post something.

Best bet is to contact Myanmar Hotels and Tourism/Myanmar Travel and Tours (under the Ministry of Tourism)

Should be able to find some contact details on google.

Or else try contacting a reputable travel agent inside Myanmar.

[Mahseer]

What's the best site for keeping up with what areas are allowed to be visited. Not just area under discussion but country wide.

Thanks

Good question. I haven't come across anything definitive yet, although others may know & post something.

Best bet is to contact Myanmar Hotels and Tourism/Myanmar Travel and Tours (under the Ministry of Tourism)

Should be able to find some contact details on google.

Or else try contacting a reputable travel agent inside Myanmar.

Spot on SVB there is a listing:

http://www.myanmartravelsandtours.com/tourist-information.htm

Just back from Kanpetlet and fancy another visit.

Thanks

[Tomtomtom69]

What's the best site for keeping up with what areas are allowed to be visited. Not just area under discussion but country wide.

Thanks

Good question. I haven't come across anything definitive yet, although others may know & post something.

Best bet is to contact Myanmar Hotels and Tourism/Myanmar Travel and Tours (under the Ministry of Tourism)

Should be able to find some contact details on google.

Or else try contacting a reputable travel agent inside Myanmar.

Spot on SVB there is a listing:

http://www.myanmartravelsandtours.com/tourist-information.htm

Just back from Kanpetlet and fancy another visit.

Thanks

Don't rely on MTT as they are always out of date; as soon as you posted this link I knew it was the one with information from 2010, which is thus completely inaccurate. The latest online information is available from certain blogs published this year (anything published before March this year is irrelevant garbage and I wouldn't even look at it). This news report talks about the confusion: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/8116-confusion-over-travel-restriction-changes.html

and mentions the out-of-date MTT website. Besides being able to get a list of updated restricted and free areas from the newly opened border checkpoints, the best blog that shows the most up-to-date information available is here: http://lifeinthetropics.org/changes-to-the-permitted-and-restricted-areas-in-myanmar/

Anything in green or yellow can be visited without a permit; anything in red requires a permit in advance.

[morocco]

just back from socalled "VISA-RUN" in MAE SAI over to TACHILEIK (burma-myanmar) -

good news so far - the "old rules" - out and in mae sai/tachileik - same same - no difference!

you stamp out in mae sai - walk over - pay 500 baht (they will NOT accept 10 us dollars!) - get 14 days - let you passport at immigration myanmar - you get a temporary borderpass - you can do what you want in the township - you can book a tour to kengtung with a guide, but you must come back same way - stamp out myanmar - walk over to thailand - and stamp in for your next period in thailand.

(be careful with "smuggeling" alc and cig - the thai-ARMY checkin together with custom officers all luggage/bags with scanner...! - asking them - per person 1 lt alc (more then 15 %) or some litres of wine are ok! - 1 carton of cigarettes)

if you have a valid visa for myanmar/burma - issued for example in bangkok at the embassy - valid 28 days tourist-visa - you stamp out thailand - stamp in in myanmar and you can travel by your own into myanmar...! - there is maybe a chance to arrange the myanmar-visa with a "travel agent in chiang rai (for example AA Fair Tour in town. However they will charge you 3000 bht for the service. They were very efficient and I had the visa in less that a week" - copy from posting "flekwart) in Chiangrai Ties Forum)

BUT with your valid myanmar-tourist-visa 28 days - you can only travel by flight from tachileik to HEHO and RANGOON or other destinations (there are many travel-agents now in tachileik - about 4-5 airlines out/in-bound tachileik) - or you can take the public bus to KENGTUNG and fly from there to HEHO etc. - you are NOT ALLOWED to travel with your own vehicle (car/motorcycle) into myanmar! by bus to keng tung yes - further to TAUNGGYI by road/bus/taxi - NO!!!

that's the main-infos important to me at the moment - will give you more infos and photos for example GOLF and AIRPORT later this week! - great golfcourse in tachileik!

Took my motorcycle into TACHILEIK last April. Had Cambodia plates,no problem. Didn't travel far outside of the town. This year will try again and see if I am allowed to ride down to Mae Sot and exit there.

[sabaijai]

Great news. I am hoping to check out the Mae Sot Myawaddy entrance in early September.

I am planning to get a bus to Kawkareik and then back out again to check road conditions.

If I am lucky may be able to get a motorbike in and out on that road.

The road from Mae Sot to Kawkareik is very bad but really scenic I am told.

Then you have to go from Kawkareik to Pa An. Pa-An to Yangon is easy and well made road.

I have driven this last section many times.

I have Thai friends in Thailand who have got permits to drive their own motorbikes in and out.

Dont know yet how it is applied for.

If you go to Kawthaung and enter you can take a fast boat up the coast to Myeik and Dawei when sea conditions are not rough.

But probably not during monsoon. Other than that you can fly to Myeik, Dawei or Yangon.

I have been on that boat from Dawei to Myeik only. Which takes a day.

I had a western friend who recently took the bus from Dawei to Mawlamyine and onto Yangon.

I have asked here in Yangon at MMTA but they dont know if this is allowed.

Still lots of progress and looking forward to the overland routes opening at last.

Re Dawei: You can now legally enter Myanmar from Ban Phu Nam Ron in Kanchanaburi province, and proceed directly to Dawei by local bus.

[Tomtomtom69]

Great news. I am hoping to check out the Mae Sot Myawaddy entrance in early September.

I am planning to get a bus to Kawkareik and then back out again to check road conditions.

If I am lucky may be able to get a motorbike in and out on that road.

The road from Mae Sot to Kawkareik is very bad but really scenic I am told.

Then you have to go from Kawkareik to Pa An. Pa-An to Yangon is easy and well made road.

I have driven this last section many times.

I have Thai friends in Thailand who have got permits to drive their own motorbikes in and out.

Dont know yet how it is applied for.

If you go to Kawthaung and enter you can take a fast boat up the coast to Myeik and Dawei when sea conditions are not rough.

But probably not during monsoon. Other than that you can fly to Myeik, Dawei or Yangon.

I have been on that boat from Dawei to Myeik only. Which takes a day.

I had a western friend who recently took the bus from Dawei to Mawlamyine and onto Yangon.

I have asked here in Yangon at MMTA but they dont know if this is allowed.

Still lots of progress and looking forward to the overland routes opening at last.

Re Dawei: You can now legally enter Myanmar from Ban Phu Nam Ron in Kanchanaburi province, and proceed directly to Dawei by local bus.

That's correct. Phu Nam Ron is the nearest crossing to Bangkok and from there, you can reach the Myanmar coast near Dawei in just a few hours although the road isn't the best.