Hello,
We are 2 retired ladies travelling back pack.5 weeks from middle February
We will land in Bangkok, then go down extreme Southern Thalland to enter Myanamar. Then up North in Myanmar, then North East to enter Thaliand in the extreme North.
Our questions are: any difficulties in finding guest houses, or hotels, or transportation ( bus, train, truck)?
The information found on the net are a bit old
maybe mention places....rather than 'extreme'....??....would make it easier for responses....
(IE. 'extreme north' could mean Putao, Myitkyina, or just to Mandalay....)
And far South of Thailand is the border with Malaysia,not Myanmar and you cannot enter Thailand in the North (or Laos-only China)of Myanmar
A good read of the threads here will be of great help to you and as rt says-some detail from a map.
SS
Sorry, sorry, I was not clear enough!! And I have read most of the RECENT topics and could not find the answers.
First question:
We want to enter by boat Myanmar by the South: Ranong(Thailand) to Kawthaung. Are there Hotels in Kawthaung?
Then take fast boat to Mergui, and another one to Dawei
Second question:
go from Mandaly to Kenthung ( how??) then down to Thailand/Tachileik ( how and hotels?)
I hope this is better :)
Thanks again in advance for your kind replies
if you use the 'Search Thorn Tree' search function, top right corner, you could find posts re: the south (Dawei, etc.).
For exiting from Kengtung-Taichileik-Mae Sai in nth Thailand...you would need to take one internal flight to either Kengtung or Taichileik (from Mandalay or Heho), as there is currently still no land travel permitted inland between further inland (Taunggyi) and Kengtung...unless you pay for a guide, vehicle & permit for that section of land travel. There are a bunch of hotels/guesthouses in Kengtung.
(a copy of the LP book would give you a lot of the info you ask about....)
You can enter in Myanmar from Kawthoung if you have Myanmar visa.
There are speed boat for going to Myeik and you can continue to Dawei. If you stop to Dawei, go to Maugmakan beach, very nice place.
Mandalay-Kengtung is just possible by plane. After Kengtung-Tachileik and Thai border is very easy by bus and there is no problem for foreigner.
Hello Kristofe
We have read your blog and want to thank you for all the information. We will try not to miss one of your 10 most important sights. I now have a few more questions, if I may:
When entering from Kawthoung, middle of February, could you recommand a nice guest house? Can we change money somewhere in the city ( ATM?) or is this just more like a village? From Kawthoung to Dawei, do you recommand the bus or fast boats ( in terms of money versus atmosphere). We have about 4 weeks in Myanmar.
We land in BKK. Would you rather recommand that we cross from Thailand in MaeSot? In other words, is the Extreme South of Burma worth the detour? We would go there mainly to find less touristic places and good ocean sightseeing. Thanks for your recommandations
i,d stay in ranong rather than kothaung(theres not alot to it),alot cheaper,and much more comfortable
The crossing to ko thaung is 2/3miles from ranong itself but you should be able to find some burmese touts on the thai side(alot of people used to cross for a day to renew their thai visa) who will tell you about the fast boat north-If youve time try and find a tout you trust and knows burma not just ko thaung,pick his brains and build a relationship,anything you pay him,which isnt alot, usually is worth it tenfold for the info you,ll get.
Also its a good idea to buy a gsm sim,and pick up the numbers of any helpfull burmese you meet to help you translate(alot of places very few people talk english and last time I was in myeik I was an attraction because alot of people hadnt met a european(i didnt see any while there-maybe different now)
If you go through maisot its a long long detour south and the road into burma from maisot isnt comfortable--there was a plane from bangkok to ranong,if not surat thani and bus--thai roads are alot more comfortable than burmese.
change money into $ in bangkok, make sure the notes are clean and unfolded and try to keep them that way-$50,s are best.I think the fast boat from kothaung only takes $ from you.The islands you pass on the boat are nice and worth seeing.
I know that you could not go by road north from myeik,you had to fly.
The only problem with less touristic places is they generally have limited electricity/infrastructure,it sounds ok until your trapped in a mosquito net 35c gasping for breath and pouring with sweat and have to keep going to the toilet in the dark because the food you ate had gone off in the heat.?--take 2 packs of norfoxacin(you can buy it over the counter)
Try and avoid trains,buses are more comfortable and usually quicker,boats are more comfortable as long as you pay for better class.
Like Ive said,it often pays to give someone some cash to show you the way around,don,t trust them too much,but for $10/$20 they can show you the way around places like yangon /mandalay-best places to eat,where to make cheap calls home from,buses/prices countless things you,d never have time to find out by yourself.
Burma is alot bigger than you think,and poor roads etc make traveling slower,in alot of places you are going back 50/60 years.
i,d stay in ranong rather than kothaung(theres not alot to it),alot cheaper,and much more comfortable
The crossing to ko thaung is 2/3miles from ranong itself but you should be able to find some burmese touts on the thai side(alot of people used to cross for a day to renew their thai visa) who will tell you about the fast boat north-If youve time try and find a tout you trust and knows burma not just ko thaung,pick his brains and build a relationship,anything you pay him,which isnt alot, usually is worth it tenfold for the info you,ll get.
Also its a good idea to buy a gsm sim,and pick up the numbers of any helpfull burmese you meet to help you translate(alot of places very few people talk english and last time I was in myeik I was an attraction because alot of people hadnt met a european(i didnt see any while there-maybe different now)
If you go through maisot its a long long detour south and the road into burma from maisot isnt comfortable--there was a plane from bangkok to ranong,if not surat thani and bus--thai roads are alot more comfortable than burmese.
change money into $ in bangkok, make sure the notes are clean and unfolded and try to keep them that way-$50,s are best.I think the fast boat from kothaung only takes $ from you.The islands you pass on the boat are nice and worth seeing.
I know that you could not go by road north from myeik,you had to fly.
The only problem with less touristic places is they generally have limited electricity/infrastructure,it sounds ok until your trapped in a mosquito net 35c gasping for breath and pouring with sweat and have to keep going to the toilet in the dark because the food you ate had gone off in the heat.?--take 2 packs of norfoxacin(you can buy it over the counter)
Try and avoid trains,buses are more comfortable and usually quicker,boats are more comfortable as long as you pay for better class.
Like Ive said,it often pays to give someone some cash to show you the way around,don,t trust them too much,but for $10/$20 they can show you the way around places like yangon /mandalay-best places to eat,where to make cheap calls home from,buses/prices countless things you,d never have time to find out by yourself.
Burma is alot bigger than you think,and poor roads etc make traveling slower,in alot of places you are going back 50/60 years.