Death Railway + Htee Kee border crossing

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Rje41
Rje41

Hi,

We are looking to travel overland from Bangkok to Dawei via the Death Railway if possible. The border crossing we need is the Phu Nam Ron-Htee Kee one.

Does anyone know a) the opening hours of this border crossing (I have tried googling and can't find anything. Is it 24 hours?); b) The latest we'd need to be at the crossing to guarantee that we could make it to Dawei the same day. I know Dawei is a 5-hour drive away and that being stranded at the border with no transport would be pretty much a disaster.

Ideally, we'd like to take the train from Bangkok in the morning, visit the Death Railway sites and continue on to Dawei the same day, but I suspect it's just too much for one day. Can anyone help?

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westwood
westwood

Far better to stay overnight at Kanchanaburi and cross into Myanmar the next day. If you take the train all the way to Nam Took, all you will get to see is the few minutes the train is stopped at the bridge and Hellfire Pass. You'll miss the good museums, the cemetry., all worthy if visits.

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avalonsunset
avalonsunset

Hi

I did this trip about three weeks ago and would agree staying over in Kanchanaburi is a better option.

It's a long trip, I left at 9 in the morning and didn't arrive in Dawei till 4pm so trying to fit all the sightseeing and getting the train up from Bangkok would be possibly too much in one day.

I did write something on here about the crossing in the thread below:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/asia-south-east-asia-mainland/myanmar/various-questions-about-traveling-to-myanmar?page=1#post_21914045

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anonymous
anonymous

To the OP, the only possible 24-hour border crossings I can think of anywhere in Asia would probably be Hong Kong-mainland China, Macau-mainland China and Malaysia-Singapore.

Almost certainly, every other border crossing in the region would be closed at night.

For Phu Nam Ron-Htee Khee specifically, since it's not a major crossing (unlike Mae Sot/Myawady and Mae Sai/Tachilek) it closes earlier than those borders. I believe the Phu Nam Ron crossing closes around 6 or 6.30pm Thai time at the latest (if not earlier).

However, even if you managed to cross INTO Myanmar at that time, I highly doubt there would be any onward transport except MAYBE a chartered vehicle, but that is uncertain since Htee Khee is such a small and isolated town. I am not aware of any accommodation on the Myanmar side either - you have to go to Dawei and travelling the road to Dawei from the border should not be undertaken at night. In fact, the latest buses from Kanchanaburi to the border depart around 1pm, so you would be arriving at the border by 2 or 3pm. That seems to be about the latest you'd want to begin your 4-5 hour journey to Dawei anyway.

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Rje41
Rje41

OK thanks all, we'll do it as a 2-day trip.

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