Category Archives: Thai Visa Run

(Victoria Point)

Well, since the area is full of foreigners getting stamps back into the Land of Noodle Soup & Nose-jobs, Aranya Prathet and it’s neighboring cross-border town of Cambodia’s Poipet happily secured most of the first of this two part blog. Now, if Cambodia’s sombrero carrying urchin beggars (or actually cheap holey brolleys), Macau style casinos and one of the sleaziest border towns to the east of Tijuana, isn’t your cup-of-tea, then head somewhere else instead; take your choice: Burma, Laos or Malaysia. Contemplating where you are actually are at the time of deciding on your border destination however, will hopefully comes up in yer decision making too! Let’s do Burma this time around.

Ranong / Victoria Point (Kawthaung)

Coming from Phuket (especially) or even Krabi or even Surat Thani or even Bangkok, this border-crossing can be ideal for spending an extra stint actually hanging around the place before getting back. Getting stamped outta Thailand at the border (short songthaew ride from Ranong Town) you’ll have to take a long-tail boat to Victoria Point on the Burmese side. Be warned, if the sun is out, then by the time you get back your face could resemble an extremely fresh home-grown beetroot. Ask your boatsman for a parasol or splash on the sunblock. The journey there and back isn’t that much of an epic journey, but it’s long enough.

Don’t get suckered (unless ya wanna flash that is) on chartering your own boat. Sod that and adamantly explain to the touts or actual boatsmen at the pier that you had been robbed by some dodgy ladyboy the night before on Patong Beach and you are left with only a couple of hundred baht to share a boat with other passengers. In fact, two hundred baht return is still paying a bit more than the locals.

Arriving at the Burmese crossing, you will have to fork over 500 baht for the privilege of helping to finance the leading Junta’s golfing vacation fund before getting a stamp in. Actually, the real charge is $10 but if the US note has even the slightest fold or wrinkle, your smiling official will explain that shoddy looking banknotes are not accepted by the glorious National Bank of Burma. Walking out of the office just five foot away, there is a decent enough chance that you may be accosted by a bunch of delinquent looking lads wanting to sell you the likes of Viagra, ganja, dirty movies, bootleg cigarettes and perhaps even a rubber sex doll.

Most visa-runners (including everyone who comes with visa-run tours from Phuket) sadly miss out on Victoria Point as it is a lovely place to hang around for a short while. Instead, they just get their stamps and do a complete u-turn. Do what’s best (since you come all that way anyway) and spend a short time in Victoria Point. The small town isn’t that great but it does have that Burmese feel too it. Then, for those who fancy some cheap booze and cigs it’s all there in the market (buy yourself and not from some shabby hawk).

Some beautiful views of the surrounding Andaman Sea can be had from at least a couple of restaurants (left to the pier). So, what better can be had than having a drink, sitting back and enjoying the hills of Thailand over the Andaman in the background? Well worth a short visit for the afternoon. And don’t forget Ranong province itself which is renowned for some lush unspoiled off-the-beaten-track islands (not forgetting, Ranong town is worth spending a night in too)
Ranong Town is a 5 hours bus trip from Phuket or if you are coming from Bangkok, 9 hour over-night buses can be found in the evening leaving from the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai)

(Get over that bridge into Burma)

Mae Sot / Myawadi (Burma)

If you are in the lower northern region of the country and in search of a new visa stamp, Mae Sot in Tak province could certainly be your best option. This may also be your favored destination if you are hoping to enjoy a wee bit of mother nature. Not too far from Mae Sot is undoubtedly Thailand’s most beautiful and famed waterfall, Tilosoo.

To get to the border, instead of taking the pricey advice of a tuk-tuk or motorbike-taxi geezer in town, simply pop on a songthaew in Mae Sot’s market area. So full of Burmese folk, you could imagine that you’d already arrived in Burma. After getting a stamp out of Thailand, you’ll have to walk over the seemingly never-ending border bridge before getting to the Burmese town of Myawadi. Take my word for it, it is a bit of a hike; up and over. Like at the Ranong/Burmese border point, the very much hassle free officers will much appreciate an old 500baht note to a crisp-fresh 10 US dollar one.

Myawadi isn’t too exciting but it’s worth having a nosey around. Under the actual bridge are a couple of nice restaurants where, again like in Victoria Point, you can enjoy a dish of Burmese curry or/and a glass of Myannmar Special Brew. In fact, you’ll probably be crying out for one of the latter after you think of the long stint back. Ok..ok… I suppose it isn’t that long; just that living in Thailand so long your legs get as lazy as a locals.

Mae Sot, like its Burmese counterpart, maybe not be a riveting place but its certainly worth staying the night. You may not get much of the opportunity to experience the eye-boggling sight of too many scadly-dressed Coyote singers in a local disco, but you may instead be enjoying the company of local acoustic music. There is some great Burmese munchies in town too, so don’t miss out on the opportunity. The DK (Duangkamol) Hotel probably offers, without a doubt, the best budget lodgings in town. If you were recognizing the name Duangkamol or DK, then yes, it’s the same family which runs DK Books, Thailand’s original English language book publishers. There is a nice lobby and a branch of DK Books downstairs.

Oh yes, just across from the entrance of DK Hotel is the lovely Café Corner run by Dan a journalist specializing on Burma and the plight of the Karen people there. Not just coffee of course, Dan and his wife dish out pizzas, lasagna, pate and even relishes and chutney. The last time I was there I had the homemade Burmese curry which went down real well with the statutory beer. Dan’s just the person to catch up with if you need any info on travelling around the area, and even into Burma.

Buses to Mae Sot leave from Bangkok in the evening from the Northern Bus Station (Morchid) and arrive in Mae Sot in the early hours. From Nakhorn Sawan, the Gateway to the North, there are buses going via Tak provincial town (Chiang Mai bus); the first one leaves extremely in the morning. Ask at the station in advance. From Tak bus station there are rusty old passenger vans which do the trip to Mae Sot in about an hour.

Mai Sai / Tachilek

Poor old Mae Sai, when I was first there 18 years ago the place was packed out with backpackers. It was in those days that just to get over the border into Burma on your one day visa there, was like ‘Wow… I’m in Burma!’ Nowadays, however, since the country has more than open to foreigners, very few folk actually bother staying in Mae Sai anymore – sad sight seeing decrepit guesthouses which have been left to rot. In fact, there are hardly any places left for backpackers to stay anymore, but you will find a couple of cost-effective places – just to the left under the bridge and along that road. As for nightlife, Mae Sot is virtually dead.

This border run though, is absolutely the quickest. Stamped out of Thailand, it’s then a two minute walk over the bridge to the Burmese check-point. Again, they too will be preferring a 500baht note to a ten buck one. Tachilek is one huge market knocking out a plethora of counterfeit Chinese goods. If that takes yer fancy, then go for it, otherwise after a quick look around you’ll be wanting to get back into Thailand.

This border-crossing is ideal however, for those in the north-north of Thailand. From Chiang Mai it’s about 5 hours by bus; there are also agents specializing in a passenger van visa run service; there and back in half a day. From Bangkok, buses leave in the early evening from the Northern Bus Terminal and take around 13-14 hours; yes, Mae Sai is quite a distance from the capital.

Happy visa run!

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(As you can see, Thai immigration excels in its knowledge of the English language)

Scouring the Internet for Thailand related websites, one of the most talked about issues you’ll come across is none other than the legendary or perhaps infamous, (whichever way you wanna look at it) ‘Thai Visa Border Run’.

For these couple of blogs, I’ll stick to the issue of running to the border for a re-entry stamp, whether it be for a multiple-tourist, multiple non-immigrant or that more than dreaded 30 day Visa on Arrival one. Oops forgot…. since the authorities-in-charge have recently deemed such a length of stay rather too long for ‘bedraggled pot smoking’ farang backpackers or ‘more than dodgy’ Pattaya expats, your only gonna get a 15 day Visa on Arrival (overland) these days. So, where to go for that re-entry Visa Run? Let’s have a look at the most popular place of all to start off with, and that is:

Aranya Prathet / Poipet (Cambodia)

There is the Ban Laem border point, but by far the most popular one is at Aranya Prathet in Sra Kaew province. To get there takes about 4 and a half hours by air-conditioned bus from the Northern Bus Terminal in Bangkok and costs about 200 Baht one-way. Better to go in the morning as that’s when the buses leave frequently. Once you get to Aranya Prathet Bus Terminal, jump on a motorbike taxi or tuk-tuk to the border point for about 60-80Baht.
Next, get stamped outta Thailand and apply for a Tourist Visa on the Cambodian side (office on right-hand side just after bridge).
The real cost of a visa is $20US, but since the hard-working Khmer immigration officials are fond of a few Scotch on the Rocks after work, you’ll be left sat for hours unless you donate something to their over-flowing Whiskey Fund Account. A nice 1,000 Baht banknote instead of a 20 dollar note does the tricky very quickly indeed. It’s not unheard of, of foreigners giving a 20 dollar note and a 100 Baht ‘tip’ for their visa on the spot service. Up to you if you wanna try it.

Warning! There is now a expansive Cambodian Visa Scam syndicate operating in Aranya Prathet. It goes like this – you take a tuk-tuk or moto-taxi from the bus terminal to the border or a bus from Khao Sarn and you get dropped off at a travel agency specializing in Cambodian visas. An ‘assistant’, probably some dodgy Khmer geezer with a fake Tourism Authority of Thailand licensed badge hanging from his neck (The TAT does not give such a license to foreigners) explains that Cambodian visas can now only be issued from travel agents like his. If you aren’t so dumb and explain that you know that the border issues them, he’ll next tell you it’s an excruciatingly long hot wait on the Cambodian side. The price for his service is 1,200 – 1,300.

Forget it! The time you wait in his so-called ‘travel agency’ for your passport back with the Cambodian visa inside, you would have been on the Poipet side by then. Ignore what any of these touts tell you – go alone, do it yourself. The queue up for the entry stamp on the Cambodian side can be a bit of a wait, but still better than paying someone off (yes, dodgy geezers on the Khmer side too offering you a ‘speedy under the table stamp service’ into the country too for the likes of 200 Baht).

(Slots, blackjack, roulette? Come join dozens of Thai politicians and even a bunch of Thai fugitives at one of Poipet’s groovy casinos)

Hate to say it, but Poipet simply has to go down as one of the seediest border towns on the planet. Having visited (and once lived) in Cambodia a few times, I’ve had the not so exciting opportunity to enjoy this not so captivating place quite a few times. I’ve read others’ reports on the Net that the place does have a bitta heart but I’ve yet to experience it. Personally, I would not recommend staying over night there, and folk I’ve known who have done it suggest the same thing.

What is worth experiencing in Poipet (actually between the two countries in supposed no-mans land) is one of the casinos. These flashy well-to-do Macau-type gamblers’ havens are in sheer contrast to the 3rd world surroundings one witnesses after coming through Thai immigration. Yours in name here admits to having placed a few bets on the roulette table himself and proudly rejoices at the little winnings that have come his way. With minimum bets at just 5 Baht, 500 baht can go a long way!

In fact, there are casino buses which leave daily in the morning from Lumphini Park in Bangkok and the return trip costs only 200 Baht. Arriving at say 11 o’clock the return bus leaves at 3 or 4 o’clock. So, if you take this cheap visa run transportation, be prepared to hang around a bit. If you ask on the bus in the morning, you should also get a free lunch voucher for the casino. Ask a Thai friend to Google Search “Casino Bus Poipet” for you in Thai language for all the relevant info.

On the Thai side of the border is the one and only Rong Kleau Market which is beyond a doubt the most famous market outside of the capital and very very arguably the cheapest in the land. Yes, this area is a massive source for much of the inexpensive (often low quality though) products sold all over Thailand. Sunglasses, wallets, t-shirts you name it…. Cost-effective, prices can be less than half of what you pay at tourist orientated stalls in Bangkok and Pattaya etc… Definitely worth a good look around and if you take yer Thai wife/girlfriend, you can be rest-assured she’ll love it.

The last bus back from Aranya Prathet to Bangkok is at 7pm but if you wanna stay overnight then there is some real value for money accommodation available in town (lots of Thai-style resorts near the border). Personally, i recommend the Aran Garden 2 Hotel, a bargain at just over 200 a night with fan and TV. Even though the town isn’t exactly the most exhilarating place in Thailand, it’s worth a stay over night – there are a few decent enough places to eat, and of course, to sing…..karaoke.