One Day in Myanmar: Boats, Stamps and Smiles.

This blog entry is massively out of order. To fill you in, after leaving Bangkok, I spent a week on Koh Phangan island, and then crossed the coast to spend two nights on Koh Phayam island. Entries are coming on these, but thought that I would write this entry whilst it was fresh in my mind.

Also my photos from the day are in a complete mess, due to the fact that I took photos with both my phone (which correctly timestamped the photos with Burmese +5½ UTC time) and my digital camera (which timestamped with Thai +6 UTC time). As I rely on my photo reel to help order my thoughts, I thought I should do this now whilst I remember...

Tiny bit annoying.

So yesterday (Sunday 14th of June) I went to Myanmar.

I had not planned to go there.

I had not prepared to go there.

I was sat on the speedboat returning to the mainland Thai port of Ranong from the wildly beautiful island of Koh Phayam, and was considering my options for the day. I had deliberately caught the first boat of the day off the island so I could make the 10:00am bus from Ranong to Krabi, which I had planned to be my next destination.

But…

While I was considering whether I could face adding a six hour bus ride to a 06:00am start, I was also considering this view.

So many countries, so many choices.

We were speeding into the wide mouth of the Kra Buri, which separates the neighbouring countries of Thailand and Myanmar. To the right lay the Thai mainland and its myriad, scattered islands. To the left lay Myanmar, with the border town of Kawthuang sprawling at its southernmost tip.

Myanmar was so close…

I really didn’t fancy a repeat of the minibus ride that brought me to Ranong…

So yesterday, I decided to go to Myanmar.

When I reached the ferry port in Ranong, I sought out the cafe I had stopped at previously near the pier.

My bag was sat just next to that brown chair...all day...I trust too easily.

After enjoying a decent iced coffee (I completely gave up in Koh Phayam; they were useless, all of them) and breakfast, I formulated a plan. The pier for the border crossing longtail boats was only ten minutes away, so I could walk to the pier, head over to the Myanmarese town of Kawthuang for several hours of exploration, and easily make it back to Ranong before the border posts closed. I had found a hostel online to stay at that night which was right next door to the town’s bus station, making heading onto Krabi the next day easy. It all seemed surprisingly straightforward.

Just had to find somewhere to leave my big backpack.

I approached the cafe counter: “Hi...I want to go to Myanmar for the day. Could I leave my bag here for a few hours???”

The lady looked mystified, and there ensued several minutes of gesturing and map-pointing, until the elderly lady who I can only assume was her mother started cackling at our antics, before saying: “Myanmar...go...visa.” This statement was accompanied by a passport-stamping motion.

“Yes yes” I gratefully nodded.

“OK” and she gestured to leave my bag in front of the counter.

Baggage solved, I walked in the direction pointed out by the elderly lady towards the pier.

Initially I was mystified upon reaching what seemed to be a sprawling, bustling fish market.

The smell tells more of a story than the image.

The pier was not showing up on Google Maps, but I reasoned that I could see the river delta through the market, so it must be close, so I kept walking through the market and almost walked past the border post.

Who puts a international border crossing pier behind a fish market???

I swiftly passed through passport controls, briefly having to employ puppy-dog-eyes on the border official to excuse for my lack of departure card (it is somewhere in my baggage...somewhere). He grumbled but said OK (and then stapled my new one in my passport when I passed back into Thailand later - WHAT IS WITH THIS COUNTRY STAPLING THINGS INTO MY PASSPORT!).

I then got hassled onto a small longtail boat, and waited in the heat whilst the boat filled up with mostly Burmese people.

I was impressed the life jackets worked, until I found out these boats are not insured, and if it sinks, no
one will come and help.

Then I experienced the mysteries of this border crossing.

First I was presented with a mysterious sheet of paper (bottom-right) which only I had to fill in. I presume it was because I was the only farang. I filled it in,  but was then mystified when no-one took it off me.

We then approached the Thai checkpoint (top-right) where the boat assistant and an apparently random selection of people got off the boat, talked to some Thai officials, and then got back on the boat, handing the boat assistant money as they did so. The rest of us just sat and sweated on the boat, fanning ourselves with our passports.

There was a lull for fifteen minutes as we motored noisily across the river delta, before we arrived at the Burmese checkpoint (top-left) where this time my passport and those of a different assortment of the boat’s passengers was taken to be glared at by a Burmese official, whilst we all waited on the boat.

Then we pulled off again, and shortly we arrived at the shorefront in Kawthuang. I hopped off the boat and looked around.

I had not yet paid for nor received a Burmese day visa.

But I was stood in the middle of a Burmese town.

Had I missed the point where I needed to buy a visa???

As it turns out, no. The immigration point is actually 100 metres down the road, indicated by a tourism sign (bottom-left), straddling a pier which must have originally been where boats arrived. After briefly obtaining the necessary photocopies, I was presented with a stamped photocopy of my passport whilst my own was kept at the check point.

Easy right???

At least the journey was scenic.

After the visa had finally been issued. I was free to look around the town I found myself. There was an immediately apparent difference.

Burmese script is even more alien than Thai.

Store holders seemed to behave differently across the border. Suddenly every stall was bulging with stock and dripping with merchandise. That is not to say Thai stalls are sparse, but it was still a difference.

Unknown to me the owner was stood next to me when I took this photograph,
and looked exceedingly bemused.

Overwhelmed by the negligible culture shock, I had an iced coffee (for the shock, you know), before proceeding to explore what turned out to be a surprisingly attractive town. The view from the shore was impressive.

The markets were interesting and energetic.

The city generally felt welcoming and friendly. Walking in the market, traders greeted me and asked me where I came from, despite obviously not going to buy any women’s shoes or bags of rice. They just were genuinely curious and warm. Mothers tried to get their babies to wave at me. Kids stopped scuffling in the street to grin at me...before continuing their scuffles. It was genuinely the first time I have felt so welcomed as a tourist, and I really started to understand why everyone raves about the Burmese people; they are just very nice, even in a border town which sees a fairly brisk flow of farang on visa runs.

It have really started to consider whether Myanmar may be preferable to visit over Cambodia. If Cambodia is anything like Laos, I will not enjoy it.

During my ramblings, I spotted a golden chedi between the houses, perched majestically above the town. I negotiated my way through the town and up the hill, and was greeted by these views.

Now here's somewhere I could worship.

Descending the hill, I felt that I had seen much of what the town had to offer. But before I headed back on the boats, I felt I should try some Myanmarese food, which was easier said than done. Restaurants were fairly common, but English was not, which made ordering food challenging. I eventually found a cafe with pictures of food on a board, and I ordered something that looked a little different.

Rice, spiced chicken and a very-expertly fried duck(?) egg.

Full, hot, and tired, I retrieved my passport, complete with a new set of stamps from Myanmar, and walked down the shorefront to the boat pier to return home (via the complicated network of border checkpoints).

It was such a great day, perhaps partly because I have never planned to have it.

If you are ever in the area, and have the chance, take a trip to Myanmar. :)

DSP

Useful Information:

• Day/Overnight visas to Myanmar are available at the border for most western nationalities, though of course check beforehand.
• The international pier is located around 5km from the town centre, near the tourist piers. It does not appear on Google Maps, but locals will help if you ask where ‘Saphan Pla’ (water pier) is.
• The day/overnight visa costs $10, and you must pay with a clean, unblemished note. You are also required to provide a photocopy of your passport, though if you do not have one, there is a photocopy shop just past the immigration point on the left, with a B&W copy costing 5B.
• Kawthuang shops and restaurants accept Thai baht, and I did not see any Myanmar money whilst I was there. Prices are roughly analogous to nearby Ranong, and similar to Thailand as a whole.
• Be sure you allow for the time difference when returning from Myanmar to Thailand. Myanmar is 30 minutes ahead of Thailand. Thailand’s border closes at 17:00; Myanmar’s closes at 17:30. The journey between the countries takes around thirty minutes, though can be longer if you have to wait for your longtail to fill up. I would suggest you fetch your passport and begin the return process by 15:30 Myanmar time.
• Longtail boats vary in price, with Thai-run ones more expensive but safer. I went with Myanmar boats both times, and paid 100B there, and 50B back. I feel 50B if you are sharing a full boat is a fair price.