From Myawaddy to Mae Sot: A Guide to Crossing the Land Border Between Burma and Thailand

For the last article on this 2014 stay in Burma, I will detail the return trip to Thailand via the land border of Myawaddy-Mae Sot. Border opened only since 2013 following the stabilization of the region.

A bridge actually connects Burma to Thailand, the two countries being separated at this point by a small river.

Important note:

The road from Hpa An to Myawaddy goes through the mountains, the road is narrow and in poor condition, and due to heavy traffic, it is only open in one direction or the other depending on the day of the week and month.

Here is the direction of travel for the year 2015 from Hpa An to Myawaddy (although this should be verified locally; the Lonely Planet guide indicates that departures are normally on odd-numbered days):

January / April / May / August / November / December: even day of the month
February / March / June / July / September / October: odd day of the month

[EDIT August 2015: I recently learned that the road has now been resurfaced, therefore the system of going or returning depending on the date no longer applies because the new road allows traffic in both directions!]

Taxi between Hpa An and Myawaddy

As a reminder, it was December 2014, so the trip to Myawaddy had to be on an odd day. We had therefore booked our tickets 2 days earlier accordingly and were leaving on December 13th.

This is a shared taxi that takes you to the border for 8,000 kyats per person . We initially thought we would be alone, but in the end, two Burmese men joined us from here for our departure, which in our case was at 8 a.m.

As we had to be ready before, we got up early to have breakfast, because we didn't know if we would be able to eat again. In doing so we witnessed a beautiful sunrise (after all it's not so often), a nice goodbye before our next visit to Burma.

taxi hpa an mae sot burma thailand — Here we are at our taxi.

Off we went for a 5-hour drive. The first part of the journey was particularly long. The road was quite bumpy, and our fellow travelers were especially chatty, talking rather loudly and non-stop… We stopped several times during the trip, including one fairly long stop in a village in the middle of nowhere (I think it was Kawkareik, just before the mountains) to load some things and drop someone off.

Please note:

There is information circulating that a new road, called Asean Highway, is supposed to be ready by early 2015. This road is supposed to improve trade relations between Thailand and Burma, and in general, to participate in the economic development of the countries included in Asean, a sort of Asian Europe (see list of countries included below). According to our observations, from December 2014, I have little hope that this new road will be finished soon. We had indeed been able to see work but nothing very advanced or major construction sites.See the update above, I was wrong and the road was well and truly operational a few months later… I leave the article as is as a “testimony” of this past “adventure”]

Then the mountains appeared in the distance, then we began the climb. The road, until then tarmacked (even if in poor condition) becomes really bad with for the most part, just stones and dust.

Only motorbikes travel in both directions. The journey through the mountains takes just over an hour, the time to go up, cross and come back down on the other side.

taxi hpa an myawaddy burma — The flag of Burma is next to that of Karen State.

hpa journey to myawaddy burma — During the climb.

The next stop is for… washing the taxi. And obviously, it’s the same ritual for everyone, practically at the foot of the mountain on the other side and more than a few dozen kilometers from Myawaddy, you see a whole bunch of cars parked on the side getting a wash, while the occupants wait patiently, sometimes nibbling or sipping something from the roadside stalls offering refreshments.

Border crossing between Burma and Thailand (Myawaddy – Mae Sot)

The transition is done in several stages as follows:

Arrived by taxi near the border, you are dropped off. There, they will offer, and I would even say, impose on you, via another car to take you to the border post on the Thai side, after the bridge. Don't get fooled like we did! It is quite possible to do this journey on foot, the distance between the 2 posts being less than 500 m, the "friendship bridge" connecting the 2 countries having a sidewalk. You will then find local transport to connect the border with Mae Sot, located a few kilometers away. The rate that was "extorted" from us was abusive, a huge 500 bahts just to go 10 kilometers (to the Mae Sot bus station)! More expensive than the taxi ride from Hpa An !!!)
So go to the border post, on the Burmese side. They will check your passport, make you fill out a document, and have your portrait taken. It takes place in a small office and it is pretty badly designed if there are people and you have to queue... In our case it was okay, we arrived just before a group of Vietnamese...
Once you've done this, you're officially out of Burma! Now cross the bridge that spans the river for about 300 meters
Arriving at the border post on the Thai side, I assume that either you already have a visa, or you are happy with a visa exemption, giving you 30 days, then you do not have to queue up in front of you, it is mainly the Burmese wishing to return to Thailand (to work). There is a special counter for foreigners just after.
Give your passport, small photo too and it's done in 2 minutes

Here you are in Thailand!

myawaddy mae sot burma thailand border — Heading towards the Myawaddy border post.

Once at the bus station, we inquired about the schedule and fares. It wasn't even 14 PM yet, and the next bus wasn't until 21 PM. We booked our seats for the Mae Sot to Bangkok bus at 428 baht per person . We took advantage of this free time to go to the local supermarket (Tesco Lotus), have something to eat, and relax a bit in a cafe. To get there, take a motorbike taxi from the bus station; it costs 40 baht per person.

bus mae sot thailand — We see that the Thais know the habits of the Burmese...

We arrived in Bangkok after a 6 hour drive, including a short 30 minute stop around midnight, or around 30 in the morning...