Visa trip report: Penang single-entry ED

[simon43]

I booked a trip to Penang on the minibus from Phuket. All-in price was 4,000 baht which seemed very fair when compared to the current price of flights with Firefly or Air Malaysia.

I got picked up at the agree location in Thaland about 10.30pm on Wednesday night. The bus was almost full and I got the front passenger seat, (which is not bad since I get a proper seat belt and the chance to die a fraction of a second before the other passengers when we crash...

Hint - Always bring a jacket or sweater for these bus trips - the air-con is always set to 'making ice' mode.

I stayed awake most of the night because I prefer to die with my eyes open. You get the message that I do not like minibus drivers. Our driver was actually quite good when compared to some that I've travelled with. He consumed several M150 drinks, tailgated other cars, and managed to reach a top speed of 150kph (according to his speedometer).

We arrived at the Malaysian border in just 6 hours....

Exiting Thailand was an example of how it should not be done. It took 90 minutes for us to be processed out of Thailand, even though the queues were short. This was because of the number of overstayers (who all needed hand-written fine documents), and the complete lack of enough immigration staff.

In contract, the Malaysian immigration process took ..... exactly 30 seconds!

We changed minibuses for the leg to Penang. Our driver drove in a considerate manner and within the speed limit.

We arrived in Penang and had a breakfast (included in the 4,000 baht). After handing over our visa documents (the agent took care of all visa applications - we did not have to visit the embassy), we were dropped off at the Continental Hotel for the night. This was a large hotel, very acceptable standard for the all-in price. Note - As with manty large hotels, the wi-fi was not free and did not work anyway... use an internet cafe.

The evening meal was also included in the price. In the evening, I took the opportunity to wander around Penang, which I had not visited in 5 years. Not much had changed - some more concrete, many more UGLY hookers.

The next morning, breakfast was again included in the package price. Our driver came to the hotel at 10am with our passports. I had applied for a single-entry, 90 day ED visa (to study some Chinese whilst I'm building another little mini-hotel that will market to Chinese customers). No problems to get this visa and I did not bother asking for a 1 year ED visa because I knew I would not issued with that length of stay. (I can extend my visa in-country).

The return trip to the border was uneventful. We exited Malaysia in a few minutes and re-entered Thailand. This time, it only took about 15 minutes.

We then returned to Phuket by minibus, using the same driver as before. Although it was pouring with rain, he still insisted on driving too fast, overtaking on blind corners, undertaking .. you name it.

If it weren't for the forum rules here, I would name and shame this visarun company. Anyway, it's name is very similar to .. er .. this forum.

I arrived back in Thalang around 7pm.

In summary, the visa-run package and services was very good for the price of 4,000 baht. But I will never do this run again. The comparison between the standard of driving of our Malaysian driver and our Thai driver was all too evident.

Simon

[asiaexpat]

Interesting report. I saw the Visa Run van in Penang this week and wondered how that worked. The cost seems very reasonable with hotel and meals included. Minivans are always a high risk method of transport so I stay away from them.

[bigsteve]

I was on exactly the same trip (I believe even the same minibus) and managed to get the non-b visa i wanted. I was going to make a trip report myself but there is little point as it would match Simon's experience almost word for word.

I also stayed awake on the minibus as I found the high speed tailgating not conducive to sleep. There were no seatbelts fitted in the rear of the minibus. As Simon mentioned, the driver of the 2nd minibus for our time whilst in Malaysia was very good, however I am pretty certain he was in fact Thai as I spoke with him quite a lot and our conversations were in Thai as he spoke very little English. Either way I would agree on the huge difference between the two drivers. A couple of people using another company also complained of a very aggressive driver.

One point for those using this visa bus style service to be aware of - when we arrived to Penang, had breakfast and handed over passports/paperwork to the agent everyone was stung around an extra 200-300 baht by the agent as some kind of unannounced admin fee. It is true that we didn't have to go to the consulate, however this little scam left a nasty taste in the mouth.

There was free WiFi in the lobby area of the Continental, although it was slow. In the rooms it was 15RM for 24hours WiFi but I was told by another guy in our bus that he'd paid for it and it wasn't working. He did eventually get refunded for it.

I also would do my utmost to avoid using the visa bus setup again, only really because of the driving on the Thai side. If I need to do another run to Penang I think I would try to book early and fly, as reported by a few others. Ten odd hours each way in minibuses seems rather unnecessary when you can fly in a little over an hour.

Steve

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Colabamumbai]

Good story/stories, gald everyone arrived safely. The Lao minibus drivers seem to take more care.

[simon43]

Yes, I forgot to mention the extra 200-300 baht fee that the agent levied. I don't actually have an issue with paying a small fee to avoid going to the embassy, but this fee should either be included in the overall cost or advised as a separate fee before one books the service. I don't know if this fee was 'official' or not. I might phone the company office in Phuket and ask them.

In any case, this company (and no doubt other similar companies) do themselves no favours by employing Schumacker drivers...

Simon

PS @Bigsteve - same minibus as me? Which of the drunken Russians were you then?

[bigsteve]

There were several Russians in with us in front of me with their seats back as far as possible with no thought for anyone behind them. Didn't think they were drunk though really - they just seen to manage sleep for pretty much the whole journey, so maybe on second thoughts... We did have two Russian brothers with us on the way over. One of them had to stay in Penang an extra day as he had somehow forgotten to hand in his passport when the rest of us did!

I'm the tall English chap with bags under my eyes :-) Two people got out together in Thalang - I'd figured that was you. It's possible it wasn't the same bus although it was the same company - I suppose everybody gets the 'Schumacher' experience as part of the package....

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[GiantFan]

The fee may have also been for the early pick up. Normally, it's in the afternoon. If your agent got your PP's back in the AM, you were able to get back much earlier than if you got them back at 1 - 2 PM.