Thread: Visa run to Kanchanaburi now possible

Originally Posted by jons557

It looks nothing like the above pics, so I don't know if it's a different route or just old pics...

So far as I can discover, there are two new border check points open here.
The other one is at Bong Ti . Not having been I don't know but on google maps the Bong Ti border looks the bigger of the two and nearer to Kan. One of the links I gave in the OP is from a biker who made the trip and posted pictures. On google maps Bong Ti looks better but who knows. Got my own visa run coming up next week to get my next 90 days but both these borders sound a bit uncertain so I was thinking of phoning Prachuab Khiri Kahn immigration to see if Singhorn is open to westerners yet.

That pic threw me. I've ridden there a few times before it was open as an official border and coming from Kan, it's about 40 mins of average Thai back roads, then it becomes glorious Chinese-paid-for wide perfect asphalt in anticipation of the trade.

No dirt road except for the final 100 meters when the glorious asphalt reached a sudden wall or rock and the dirt track went around it.

Thanks for that. Very good info. I will go there on my motorcycle, so hopefully can drive myself for the 5km between border posts. Will make sure to bring a fresh $10 note.

All they need now is a duty free and maybe a few massage shops.

Originally Posted by Mikey Forester

Thanks for that. Very good info. I will go there on my motorcycle, so hopefully can drive myself for the 5km between border posts. Will make sure to bring a fresh $10 note.

All they need now is a duty free and maybe a few massage shops.

Safe ride mate. It's a nice area and you can easily combine it with a night on the town in Kanchanaburi. We were so untired that we just headed back to Bangkok.

Great thread Bangyai I wish that was open 10 years ago.

Originally Posted by Ratchaburi

Great thread Bangyai I wish that was open 10 years ago.

Yes, would have been nice. Still, better late than never and not too soon. The novelty of going to other borders has well worn off now so with this one and a couple of others coming visa runs will become a mini holiday again.

Thanks. I wonder how long until the Visa Run companies from Bangkok (Jack Golf etc.) start up a route here. Wonder how long it would take for a minivan from downtown BKK to get there and back. Less than Cambodia anyway, add in cheaper costs for both transportation and Burmese visa and there will be some unfriendly competition somewhere along the way.

The Cambodians won't be pleased, losing all that lovely money handed to them on a plate every day.

What sort of stamp did the Burmese put in your passport? Just a small little one that takes up 1/6th of a passport page?

^
The Burmese entry/exit stamps are about the same size as most other stamps.

That is what one would presume.

Better than a full page Cambo sticker for those doing visa runs and don't get an E-Visa.

Originally Posted by Eire

Thanks. I wonder how long until the Visa Run companies from Bangkok (Jack Golf etc.) start up a route here. Wonder how long it would take for a minivan from downtown BKK to get there and back. Less than Cambodia anyway, add in cheaper costs for both transportation and Burmese visa and there will be some unfriendly competition somewhere along the way.

The Cambodians won't be pleased, losing all that lovely money handed to them on a plate every day.

What sort of stamp did the Burmese put in your passport? Just a small little one that takes up 1/6th of a passport page?

Jack Golf bit the dust about a year ago. It was taken over by its former employees who apparently now run it using only minivans.They have renamed it ' Buddy ' or something like that. There is already a company doing visa runs here from Khao Sahn area but I have no idea of the name.

As for the Burmese visa , sadly about twice the size of the stamps they use at Mae Sot so side by side ( in and out ) they take up just over a third of a page instead of less than a quarter.

The Cambodians get a lot of traffic from Pattaya and the Eastern seaboard so I guess they won't die just yet.

I didn't know that Jack Golf was finished.

Is there a juicy story of being completely done over by the Thais inside the company, some dodgy police charges, or eloped with a questionably aged Lao girl or something to go along with it?

Burmese visa? Is the entry stamp also the visa? I only get an entry and exit stamp both at Mae Sot and Ranong.

They ask me if I'm going into town but I tell them "No". Give them 500b. No silly forms to fill out or handing over photos. Stamp, Stamp, all done. Never even have enough time to cool down sitting in the immi office.

One time the whole process took about 20 seconds longer because the officer actually scanned my passport photo. She could've actually have taken a photo of me with the webcam seeing that I was there at the time.

Perhaps they're not registering the visa (or entry and exit) into their system and keeping the full visa payment?

Originally Posted by Gazza

They ask me if I'm going into town but I tell them "No". Give them 500b. No silly forms to fill out or handing over photos. Stamp, Stamp, all done. Never even have enough time to cool down sitting in the immi office.

Done over.

It's a $10 note in Myawaddy.

But the Burmese immigration like to have crisp $10 bills. The banks in Rangsit don't seem to have the desired crispiness in their dollar bills. OK, so I'm paying a little over the odds but at least I don't have any worries as to whether I'd have wasted my time and money if they refuse my American dosh.

Ranong once refused my 'crispiest of the crisp' $10 bill that had a faint stain on it and was thrown back at me. 'Fake' said the Burmese guy.

Great thread. Thanks for all the information.

what does it take to settle in thailand! are there any Permanent Resident visa categories as such like in the US and Canada!

Originally Posted by merv

what does it take to settle in thailand! are there any Permanent Resident visa categories as such like in the US and Canada!

Simple answer ......... a lot of money. If you are 50 or over you can apply for a retirement visa valid for one year. To get this you need 800,000 baht in a Thai bank ( about 26,000 dollars ) or evidence proving a monthly income of around 65,000 baht. These are not the exact figures but close enough to give you an idea.

I d find it especially exciting to travel to Mueang Kan by train first and then continue by ... whatever.

Originally Posted by merv

what does it take to settle in thailand! are there any Permanent Resident visa categories as such like in the US and Canada!

Yes, you can apply for Thai PR (Permanent Residency) after 3 years of living here. It's capped at 100 people per yer per country.

Originally Posted by Zeisix

I d find it especially exciting to travel to Mueang Kan by train first and then continue by ... whatever.

Okay.

Maybe you could rent out a bicycle and some fisherman pants in Kan and cycle there while everyone laughs at you.

Does anyone know, if u have a Burmese visa can u enter here with your car an keep going? if so what would u need ( the cars passport like Laos, or a paper like u need for Malaysia) Do you need an dcan you buy insurance?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Phuketrichard

Does anyone know, if u have a Burmese visa can u enter here with your car an keep going? if so what would u need ( the cars passport like Laos, or a paper like u need for Malaysia) Do you need an dcan you buy insurance?

Thanks

You might get a better response if you put this question in the Teak Door lounge with its own header. This thread is a bit too obscure to get the best answer.