MORE THAN A VISA RUN
Overnight in Myawaddy
I’ve now visited Myanmar twice — for a combined total of some 30 hours. This hardly makes me an authority on the country, but my most recent trip saw me do something that the majority of visitors don’t — stay overnight in Myawaddy. I had been in Thailand’s Mae Sot for three days for non-leisure purposes, and in researching earlier what to see and do in the area, I noticed it was very close to the Myanmar border. With a couple of days to spare after my Mae Sot business was complete, I figured Myawaddy may be worth a look.
While Myanmar is much more relaxed than it was in my previous visit 13 years ago, when the country was under strict military rule, visas are still required for citizens of most countries if they wish to stay overnight. Otherwise, you are limited to a day pass — the option I took last time, in Kawthaung in Myanmar’s far south.
That option is popular for “visa runs” — leaving and re-entering Thailand overland to renew your permitted stay — or for globetrotters wishing to tick off another country off the list, but as someone who’d already ticked the Myanmar box and who has a Thai work permit, neither applied to me. I simply wanted to see Myawaddy because it was a different country on the doorstep of somewhere I had to be anyway, and I thought I should make a bit more of a trip of it.
To do so, though, requires an aforementioned visa. As a Brit, I could apply for an e-visa, which was a straightforward process, albeit a slightly extravagant one at US$50 for the sake of a one-night stay. Most other tourists will get better value by continuing their travels inland to Hpa-An, Mawlamyine or Yangon. Significantly, my visa was approved within one working day even when listing my occupation, truthfully, as “foreign news editor”. Evidently the authorities are no longer wary of foreign media, whereas not too long ago that would have almost certainly barred entry.
The visa application requires an initial hotel booking. Looking for Myawaddy hotels online is a frustrating process. Only one has a presence on an online booking site, the pricey and out-of-town Grade One on booking.com. Thankfully there was a free cancellation option, so I booked a room there solely for the purpose of the visa application, and then cancelled it once my visa was approved.
Quite apart from the price, I wanted to stay in the town centre. I read about a few options but none had online bookings or even websites, and web forum discussions carried conflicting information. Still, I figured I could find something once on site, and if worst came to worst I could simply return back over the border before it closed.
Crossing the border was straightforward. A motorbike taxi from Mae Sot dropped me off at the Thai side, I cleared passport control there and then walked over the 400-metre-long Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, including an amiable conversation with a Burmese man as we went. Myawaddy immigration was also easy, though the road beside
was a touch chaotic as drivers from either side has to switch lanes; Thailand drives on the left, Myanmar on the right.
I expected to be mobbed the moment I set foot on the public streets. This was what happened in Kawthaung, where a throng of unrelenting locals surrounded and pestered me until I chose a couple of teenage tour guides for the princely sum of 30 baht. It was a sound investment, as not only did they show me the sights but they also chased off anyone else vying for my money.
But in Myawaddy, nothing happened. No touts, hawkers, beggars or any unwanted attention whatsoever. Either it’s very different from Kawthaung, or times have changed since 2005, or I no longer look the same easy mark I was as a twenty-something backpacker. Possibly a combination of all three.
First stop was the River View Guesthouse, which sits right on the bank of the Thaunggin (or Moei in Thai) River, which forms a natural boundary between the countries. There, I was told they couldn’t give me a room because they were “not licensed to accept foreigners”. I had read that this was the case at some establishments, and that such status was changeable, but have no idea why. The River View had been the foreigners’ guesthouse of choice, according to what I’d read online. Still, its attractive bar and restaurant was open to all, which I noted for later, and the manager told me I could get a room at the imaginatively named Myawaddy Hotel, about 1km down the main road.
I set off in that direction, again unharassed except for an occasional offer of a taxi. I was initially alarmed by the common sight of red splatters on the pavements — I know border towns have a reputation for lawlessness, but don’t they even wash away the blood? — until I remembered that betel nut is the trademark vice in Myanmar, and that chewing this natural narcotic releases bright red juice which is then spat out rather than swallowed.
The Myawaddy Hotel did indeed have rooms, albeit double-priced ones. I was shown the “foreigner price” list and opted for a first-floor standard room at 40,000 kyat (about 1,000 baht). The hotel might have been pretty swish when it was new — which was probably about 40 years ago — but does not appear to have ever been refurbished. Still, the room was clean and comfortable — albeit small — and the aircon and hot water worked well. You could probably get a similar room for half the price in Thailand, but there aren’t exactly a glut of options in Myawaddy.
The hotel was within walking distance of the two main cultural attractions in town — the Crocodile Temple and the Shwe Myin Won Pagoda, which was directly opposite.
I decided to head to the Crocodile Temple first, about a five-minute walk south of the hotel. On the way I went past a school as the pupils walked out on lunch break, many of them greeting me with stock English phrases and shy laughs. Even for a border town, it would appear the presence of westerners in Myawaddy is a novelty. In fact, I did not see another westerner the whole time after I cleared immigration, and those I saw there were presumably either on a visa run and doing a U-turn immediately back into Thailand, or heading straight for a bus to the more alluring Karen state capital of Hpa-An or further inland.
To the Crocodile Temple: A huge, gaudy crocodile sits atop a small lake, with a library of Buddhist texts sitting atop its back. So far, so incongruous. Men may scale the croc’s back and enter the library, but the fairer sex is out of luck, as the English part of the sign at the entrance dictates: “Don’t climb lady”.
The temple was established in the 14th century by abbot Maung Win Sein, who is said to have come across a very old crocodile as he was clearing the land. He took this is a good luck omen and named the land Mi Gyaung Gon, or Crocodile Hill, and as such the colourful croc in the temple grounds is the modern representation of the legend.
Surrounding the crocodile on three sides is an exhibition of models depicting the life of Buddha, in chronological order going clockwise. While the Buddhist culture side of things may not offer something new to those who are well travelled in Thailand, it is noticeable that
Burmese representations of Buddha are more multi-coloured than their all-gold Thai equivalents. The vivid scenes in the exhibition are painted in bold, bright and simple hues, much like a comic book.
Next up, the Shwe Myin Won Pagoda, the most important religious site in the city. It is a quiet, open complex with various temples decked in gold, quite similar to the Thai style, albeit with the aforementioned differing colour schemes for the Buddha statues. Few people were there, presumably as it was a weekday afternoon, but those who were greeted me with genuine warmth, while Myawaddy’s wiser dogs found it an excellent place to cool off, lying flat on the tiles.
The last remaining attraction in town was less of a cultural experience, but one that piqued my interest anyway — the Myawaddy Complex casino.
I have no interest in gambling, but reviews told me this was a place for decent food in a riverside setting and, crucially, it is duty free, so there is bargain booze to be had.
I hopped on a motorbike taxi to the casino, which is by far the smartest and most modern building in Myawaddy. This comes in stark contrast to the squalid neighbourhood it is built next to, with unpaved roads and wooden shacks marking the approach. But most visitors likely wouldn’t see this, as they are typically ferried 20 metres across the river from Mae Sot on a complimentary boat.
There is a special dispensation that allows casino customers to cross this ribbon-thin boundary without a visa or even a passport. They simply arrive on the Thai side, get on the boat, and are deposited in Myanmar a couple of minutes later, no questions asked. The casino is open 24 hours a day, and so the boat runs round the clock, too.
I sat at a riverside restaurant table, ordered some food and watched the comings and goings. Unfortunately there was no Burmese food on offer, so I settled for Thai, but at 150 baht for pad krapow this was hardly the bargain I anticipated. Still, washing it down with a couple of Hoegaarden beers at 110 baht each — less than half what you’d pay in Bangkok — offset the outgoings a touch.
The duty-free shop, too, sells a variety of imported alcoholic drinks at much lower prices than Thailand, although they are sold by the case, so you need a car waiting across the river to take advantage of this.
The casino itself is unremarkable — a small, noisy gaming hall with various tables, choked in cigarette smoke and thronged by Thais giddy with the thrill of being able to gamble openly just metres away from their own country, where it is illegal. I made my exit.
I hopped on to another motorbike taxi and then realised that nobody had asked to see my passport or visa when leaving the casino complex. So, anybody may cross the river border on the casino boat, free of charge and visa, and evidently can then also proceed inland unimpeded. Tourists may be tempted to do this to save time and money on the immigration process, though I couldn’t tell you what the potential penalties may be if caught. It certainly appears to be a rather obvious loophole that could be easily exploited for illicit purposes, though.
Back in town, I explored Myawaddy after dark. Again, the “lawless frontier town” reputation did not apply and I was left to my own devices. I passed a small cinema showing local movies but blasting out loud US hip-hop music from the entrance, numerous stalls selling street food — primarily grilled items — and various small restaurants with Burmese signage.
I chose one at random and ordered lahpet thoke (pickled tea leaf salad), a signature Myanmar dish. Lahpet thoke is such a staple in Myanmar that tea harvests select the best leaves to be fermented for this dish, and the leftovers are dried for the drink. It is routinely served at social gatherings and when receiving visitors, and its appeal lies largely in its customisability — everyone has their own take on it, and then each individual can add condiments to make it as spicy or sour as they wish.
As a newcomer to the dish, I just took it as it was served. It was a savoury, moist jumble of textures, with the chewy leaves mixed with crunchy soy beans, fried crispy garlic and chopped tomatoes, served with fresh lime and chilli on the side so you can add to your own taste.
The result was moreish and went perfectly with a Myanmar Beer, a local thirstquencher. I could happily have ordered repeat servings of both, but I decided to round off my evening back at the River Side Guesthouse bar.
They were indeed “licensed to accept foreigners” so far as serving food and drink. I picked a table nearest the river and enjoyed a couple of glasses of Black Shield Stout, an excellent, full-bodied and robust beer that is dangerously drinkable despite its high alcohol content of 8.1%.
Again, it struck me how easy it would be to circumvent the official immigration process and cross the river in either direction. There are no walls or fences, so all you’d need is a small boat or even a short swim, especially under the cover of darkness.
Still, my papers were in order and my room was paid for, so I decided to keep things legit. I returned to the hotel, slept well and then crossed back into Thailand (legally) the next morning.
It was more than a visa run, yes, but it was still no more than the smallest snapshot of Myanmar. Next time, I might even stay a while.