Visa Run; Burma for 10 minutes
December 27th, 2009
When you enter Thailand via a land border you get a 15 day visa, as opposed to the nice chunky 30 day visa you get at the airport. Consequently when Elaine & I crossed the border from Cambodia, we knew we would have to find a way of renewing our visa before Christmas. As the plan was to head south to Koh Tao again, to dive over Christmas, we thought it’d be best to make for the Malaysian land border, or even from the island of Lipe to Langkawi. This would have necessitated an 8 hour additional journey in each direction.
At the long-tail Pier in Ranong
A bright spark in a travel agency in Bangkok suggested Burma to us. Though its a fairly closed society, at Ranong/Victoria Point they will take day trippers renewing their visa from Thailand. I set about doing some research and it was very difficult to find recent internet confirmation of this. There were a few blogs and travel discussions but all a few years old. Still, we garnered enough to feel 70% confident that the option was open to us and organised a night bus to Ranong (instead of Chumphon, the jumping off point for Koh Tao).
Monks in a boat
We arrived at 6am and organised a taxi to the pier where Thai Customs & Immigration are located. I had a quick word with the ticket office at the bus station and got them to look after our rucksacks until we returned. The taxi driver was familiar with the procedure (a major relief), dropped us to the right place, told us where to go and arranged to pick us up afterward. Being almost a hour early we sat in a local shack and drank coffee that would not only support a spoon, would suck it back in as you tried to remove it.
En route up the estuary
At 7.30 the Immigration Office opened and we queued with the 5 or 6 other early arrivals. After getting stamped out of Thailand we set about crossing the estuary that divides the countries at this point. This is as simple as a 20 minute long-tail boat ride with a couple of stops at immigration & customs of both countries , 10 dollars in the back of the passport to the Burmese official and popping back into the long-tail for the return journey.
On the run from the Burmese
In our few minutes in Burma we were offered tobacco, spirits and Viagra on the cheap. There were great views from the boat, both out towards the sea and further up the estuary. Both on the Thai side and the Burmese side the locals are fishermen so there were lots of boats, and lots of houses stilted above the water, with a boat pulled up beneath.
Still in Thailand
The longtail & taxis from the Ranong bus station came in at 900 baht, the dollars about 700 and the extra bus to Chumpon from Ranong almost 300. All in all our extra visa cost us a mornings travel, some uncertainty and about 20 Euro each. Flying in to get our 30 days would have cost us and extra 150, or thereabouts. Now that’s quality budgeting.
Last point in thailand
We were back in Chumphon before lunchtime, and organised for our ferry to Koh Tao in no time at all.
Burma
Victoria Point, Burma
View from the boat at Victoria Point