from htee kee to dawei

[tommmm]

Hi,

I have to do a visarun from thailand and am going to check out the new crossing at ban nam pu ron / htee kee. Thought I'd use the opportunity to take a weekendtrip to dawei. Couple of questions;

- any info on transport from htee kee to dawei? Are there daily busses, also back from dawei to htee kee? morning or afternoon? Read on another forum that a bus would cost $30, that seems a bit steep, this true?

- I found two places to stay in dawei; pearl arika which is a bit pricey for me at $45 a night. the other "the garden guesthouse" is supposed to be cheaper, anyone know their rates? Or maybe recommend another place.

I'd love to hear some recent info. Other tips or comments very welcome.
Thanks!

Tom

[craigt3365]

Sounds like a fun trip! When you are done, can you post back here how it went? Would love to hear as I'm working on a similar trip. Have fun!

[tommmm]

It was definitly a fun trip! Dawei is a charming little town with pretty buildings and very welcoming inhabitants.

My visit coincided with their biggest festival of the year, wonderful time and place to be.

The bordercrossing went very smooth. Between Thai and Burmese immigration is about five kilometers. You can walk ofcourse but there's guys there that will happily take you for a 100 baht or so. You might also catch a ride with other folks that are crossing.

Htee Kee to Dawei; the road is under construction and by the looks of it will need another two years before its finished. took us 6 hours. 5 on the way back. quite long considering its 140 kilometers but the scenery is beautifull all along. There's guys with minivans at htee kee that will take you to Dawei for 30.000 Kyat.

Same price for Dawei to Htee Kee. After crossing back to Thailand, in Pu Nam Ron there isn't much in the way of transport. There was a little shack that looked like they could arrange some form of transport. Otherwise ask the guys at immigration, they're willing to help. I was lucky to hitch a ride with a Thai family on their way to kanchanaburi.

Accomodation in Dawei: The garden guesthouse was full so I spent one night in the peliakari, not reccomended. dirty dark rooms with dirty little beds, no bathroom for 20 USD.

next night moved to a great new place; Shwe Moung Than hotel. open since october 2013. big and very clean rooms, kingsize bed, aircon, with clean bathroom for 15 USD a night.

nice area to ride a motorbike. no place that rents them out but if you ask at your hotel they will find somebody willing to rent you a bike. i paid 7000 kyats for a day. nice little ride to maungmagan beach. great seafood there.

[andrewrooney]

Sounds great! I've been thinking about making a trip out that way at some point. How are the beaches? What's the language situation like, is it easy to find English speakers?

[tommmm]

I thought Maungmagan beach was very beautiful. not your typical postcard perfect beach and definitley not the best beach i've seen but it is very nice. the beach is very long and at low tide it also gets very wide. in the weekend there are lots of locals on the beach. in the central area there are lots of foodstalls. on the outer parts it's empty and quiet. I've been told that the beaches further along are better.

In Dawei I found lots of english speakers. Outside the city less english was spoken; people are very friendly though and will patiently try and understand you. getting around and finding your way therefore is not a problem at all.

[Tomtomtom69]

5-6 hours from the border to Dawei? Wow. I heard somewhere it should only take 2-3 hours. If that's the case, then how long does it take to get from Dawei to Moulmein? According to google maps, about 6h24m (although the road shown is not the most direct one) but perhaps that estimate is way off. I'm wondering if I should go to Hpa-an that way rather than my usual trip via Myawady and Kawkareik.

[sabaijai]

I thought Maungmagan beach was very beautiful. not your typical postcard perfect beach and definitley not the best beach i've seen but it is very nice. the beach is very long and at low tide it also gets very wide. in the weekend there are lots of locals on the beach. in the central area there are lots of foodstalls. on the outer parts it's empty and quiet. I've been told that the beaches further along are better.

In Dawei I found lots of english speakers. Outside the city less english was spoken; people are very friendly though and will patiently try and understand you. getting around and finding your way therefore is not a problem at all.

Maungmakan is one of the most beautiful undeveloped beach I've yet come across anywhere in Myanmar.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Is it possible to take one's own vehicle across? It is at Three Pagodas Pass (for Thai nationals).

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Tomtomtom69]

Is it possible to take one's own vehicle across? It is at Three Pagodas Pass (for Thai nationals).

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

At the Three Pagodas Pass, Thai cars can enter and remain in the vicinity of the border town of Payathongzu only during the day. They are not permitted to travel to Mawlamyine or Yangon or anywhere else, except with special permission from MTT. In practice, many residents of Payathongzu own Thai registered vehicles and leave them inside Myanmar and only rarely even to Thailand - this is no problem provided they stay within the vicinity of the border on the Myanmar side.

At Phu Nam Ron, currently cars from either side can't cross, but this may soon change. Currently car caravan tours typically enter Myanmar at Mae Sot/Myawady.

[matthew777]

5-6 hours from the border to Dawei? Wow. I heard somewhere it should only take 2-3 hours. If that's the case, then how long does it take to get from Dawei to Moulmein? According to google maps, about 6h24m (although the road shown is not the most direct one) but perhaps that estimate is way off. I'm wondering if I should go to Hpa-an that way rather than my usual trip via Myawady and Kawkareik.

The reason it takes so long is that the road is under construction. When I came in they were replacing the boards on a bridge and that was a three hour delay. The road is a mess. They are paving it by hand, positioning each small rock piece by piece. In my entre life I have never seen such a slow labor intensive road building process before. It's 190 KM and you are traveling an average of 30km an hour.

[naugastyle]

This is months late, but I went from Mawlamyine to Myeik overland in early November, and depending on the quality of bus, it ranges from 9-12 hours each Mawlamyine - Dawei, and Dawei - Myeik. Yep, that's a pretty big range of time. Road between Mawlamyine and Dawei is in absolutely terrible condition. Between Dawei and Myeik a little better, but more winding through mountains which also takes time.

[Boycie]

Many thanks for all the information. Look forward to doing a trip to Dawei myself in the near future.

Can you get a Myanmar Tourist Visa to visit Dawei for a few days at the border crossing Phu Nam Ron/Htee Kee or did you get one in advance from the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok?

[NewlyMintedThai]

You must get it in advance in Bangkok.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[BruceBayliss]

Awesome road trip,

The jungle on the Myanmar side is massive the road follows the upper reaches of the tanintharyi river for large stretches and you see the occasional elephant. lines at customs are stil modest. As eveyone's been saying the beaches around Dawei are worth a visit.

i have done it a couple of times; the following is my blog also has info on what to do in Dawei and Maung ma kan

<link to commercial site removed - contact the member by PM if you want the link>

[sabaijai]

Awesome road trip,

The jungle on the Myanmar side is massive the road follows the upper reaches of the tanintharyi river for large stretches and you see the occasional elephant. lines at customs are stil modest. As eveyone's been saying the beaches around Dawei are worth a visit.

i have done it a couple of times; the following is my blog also has info on what to do in Dawei and Maung ma kan

<link to commercial site removed - contact the member by PM if you want the link>

Nice report, thanks.

[Boycie]

Reports that the Myanmar visa fee/service is now 900baht at Phu Nam Ron.

[swissie]

Trying to find out about the progress of the construction of the road from Dawei to the Thai-Border near Kanchanabury. (Forgot the name of the Border-Crossing near Kanchanabury. But it's the one that was opened for Visa-Runs for Farangs and then closed again).

Depending on the source of information, comments range from " road is completed and is at the Thai-Border already, it's just the Thais that are dragging their feet and have not yet managed to link the road from the border to Kanchanabury",

all the way to:

"The construction of the road has not even started yet".

Between those extremes, where do we stand?

I could imagine, that once the link between the border and Kanchanabury stands for good, the border-crossing could be of use for Farangs (and their visa-matters) again.

Cheers.

[sabaijai]

The border crossing is already open to all nationalities with proper visas.

[sabaijai]

Trying to find out about the progress of the construction of the road from Dawei to the Thai-Border near Kanchanabury. (Forgot the name of the Border-Crossing near Kanchanabury. But it's the one that was opened for Visa-Runs for Farangs and then closed again).

Depending on the source of information, comments range from " road is completed and is at the Thai-Border already, it's just the Thais that are dragging their feet and have not yet managed to link the road from the border to Kanchanabury",

all the way to:

"The construction of the road has not even started yet".

Between those extremes, where do we stand?

I could imagine, that once the link between the border and Kanchanabury stands for good, the border-crossing could be of use for Farangs (and their visa-matters) again.

Cheers.

If you read through this thread, and the links provided, I believe you'll find the answers to your question.

[Snezana011]

I gonna cross that border tonight and plan to sleep in the police house on the Myianmar side. Yesterday I met guy who was crossed from opozite direction and he said that the road is really bed between border crossing and Myitta, what is on about a half of the road to Dawei. I will check it tomorrow. O, important . information: we are cyclist.