IMPORTANT UPDATE: (21 May 2014): Be very careful when using this crossing and the single-day visa-on-arrival. As of May 2014, your ability to do a ‘visa run’ to get a fresh 30 days in Thailand is not necessarily a guarantee. Thailand is tightening their borders to folks with many Thai tourist stamps. Legitimate education, business, and tourist visas are unaffected — it’s just the visa-on-arrival that seems to be under more scrutiny. Among other posts on the subject, see this thread on thaivisa.com.
And it came to pass — it was time for yet another visa run. Having gone to Huay Xai and Vientiane in Laos, along with Malaysia (and even a visa run to Osaka, Japan from Korea), we thought we’d give Myanmar a try. The immigration checkpoint only opened to foreigners in August 2013, so it’s a chance to be ahead of the curve.
Deposit your passport when entering for the day, and you’ll receive this ID card.
Myawaddy (spelled မြဝတီ in Burmese) has long been a trading post with Thailand. Being opened to visa runners hasn’t yet changed the town, as there are so few foreigners that make it here. On a Sunday afternoon of walking around Myawaddy and crossing through Immigration, we saw precisely two other foreigners, another couple doing a visa run doing like us.
Our first destination: Shwe Muay Wan, a golden pagoda / stupa and one of the most important temples in the city. You’ll see the bell-shaped chedi before you even enter the temple, which sports many kilograms of gold and over 1,600 gemstones.
Beautiful. And shiny.
The small mirrors reflected some of the light around the room…
The temple as a whole will take 1/2 hour or so to walk around, and your next destination is within walking distance.
Along the way, a curious mixture of languages…
About 8–10 minutes away is the more unusual destination for the day: the Crocodile Temple:
Call it Myikyaungon in Burmese, or Wat Don Jarakhe in Thai — since there are no signs in English (yet), let’s just call this the crocodile temple for now. The building on top of the crocodile is locked, and sports a sign prohibiting women from entering, so get your pictures of the croc. It’s the more unusual part anyway.
One side of a three-sided building — still quite new-looking in some areas, take off your shoes and take in some scenes from Buddhist lore.
The glare from the glass will give most cameras problems. A protip? Lean over the thigh-high railing and put the front of your camera on the lens itself. It’ll be more difficult to get a wide-angle sort of shot, but them’s the breaks.
Do ya think I’m sexy?
Ergh. Such beautiful hair.
There are some other temples around, but we were almost ready to move on. Between a late start, some difficulty finding a ride to the border, and being tired, we began walking back to the border.
Before we made it back, though, we had to check out the local market:
Plenty of fabric along either side. This is a great place to pick up a longyi, the traditional Burmese garb. Not pictured along the middle row is a large selection of fruits, veggies, fish, chicken, and plenty of stuff to attract the flies. People with sensitive noses may find themselves needing to hold it occasionally, so fair warning.
Surprising no one, there’s plenty of knock-off stuff around as well.
I’m reminded that tourism to Burma / Myanmar has suffered greatly between the general boycott, which had been in place 1996 to 2010. Even now (as of our visit), the infrastructure is still lacking in this border town. Finding a money changer or a bottle of water won’t be a problem, but we only saw a couple of restaurants that passed the smell test. Sorry, but even after six years in Asia I’m still leery of most street food vendors. Hopefully, the infrastructure will improve for the city to be good for more than a daytrip.
Name: Myawaddy, Myanmar
Address: along Main Highway 1, also called the Myawaddy — Hpa-an Highway (GPS of the border checkpoint: 16.689408,98.51362)
Directions: Since this town is most commonly accessed from Thailand for a visa run, start from Mae Sot, Thailand. Take a songthaew, tuk-tuk, or motorcycle taxi the 4–5 kilometers to Rim Moei — the town right by the border. Once you’re in Myanmar, you can walk everywhere above.
For the temple with the large stupa (Shwe Muay Wan), head down the main road, straight from the border checkpoint. After about 600 meters you’ll see the stupa on your right. Take a right and talk 100 meters to the entrance. (GPS: 16.68893,98.50862 — note your Thai phone or Thai SIM card will work just fine here)
For the crocodile temple (Myikyaungon in Burmese, or Wat Don Jarakhe in Thai), head straight from the immigration checkpoint and look for the aforementioned golden stupa. Take the SECOND LEFT past the stupa, then walk about 500 meters to the second right. You’ll see the gate on your right — take the right and walk about 300 meters to the crocodile (GPS: 16.682897,98.50599).
For the outdoor market, head back to the main road and east towards the immigration checkpoint. You’ll see a gate and a bustle of activity on your right (GPS: 16.688262,98.51129)
Hours: N/A — if you only got the same-day pass, you must be out of Myanmar by 4:30pm (Thai time) / 5pm (Burmese time).
For the restaurant we visited, take the first U-turn after you enter Myanmar, staying flat as the bridge rises to your left. Walk towards the river and look right for the riverside restaurants. GPS: 16.69004,98.515565.
Admission: For the sights themselves, free. For the same-day visa, $10 USD or 500 Thai baht (roughly a 50% surcharge — avoid unless you like overpaying)
Phone: N/A
Website: http://www.myanmar-tourism.com (official) or http://www.go-myanmar.com (unofficial but comprehensive)
