Hi, I want to enter birma (walking - no bike or such) from Thailand and exit in the north. Today I ran into a Danish guy telling me that the north of birma and northeast part of India is in quite a civil war and that is is dangerous. Very dangerous. He advised me strongly to only travel between roughly Rangoon and Mandalay, not outside of this area.

This got my girlfriend and my tripping so now I wonder... what do you guys think and what's the general experience on this?

Border crossing I wanted to exit Birma: Saigan (in the north to India)

Blommetje

Fortune and Glory, kid. Fortune and Glory.

No, I don't think that is the case at all.

The northeast part of India (the Assam) is culturally different from the main part of India, and the Indian government has a fairly strong presence there, primarily to keep any desires for independence in check. But there is certainly no conflict going on.

There are some ethnic groups in northwestern Burma (essentially, across the border from the part of India that I referred to above) who are not very happy with the central government of Burma, but those issues would not affect a visitor in any way.

I lived and worked in Burma for a year back in 1991, way the heck up in the northwestern part of the country, about 20 miles east of Imphal, and encountered no security concerns at all. The Burmese people are generally very gracious and polite, and you would have no reason at all to become involved in any disagreements that might exist between the local people and their government.

Having said all that: You should investigate what permissions YOU might need to visit those areas. Neither India or Burma (Myanmar) permit completely free movement of tourists in those far outlying areas. You may need a special visa to visit certain parts of either of the two countries.

Michael

Thanks panEuropean!

I made it across and so far the people are very friendly (and the woman beautiful!). I do have to wave my passport every now and then but all officials are very helpful.

For those considering traveling from Thailand to Birma, here is how I did it:

In Bangkok take the river boat to the stop Thonburi station (from Khao San road it's 3 minutes/2 stops). Walk from the boat about 1k to the train station. It's at your left behind the market. Not a big station but you can buy some soda and cookies if needed.
Train costs 100 baht (~5 euros) and takes 4 hours, leaves around 13.00. At 1700 you in Kanchanaburi. Walk 5 minutes to the river side where there Are plenty of hotels. Pick one. Next morning set the alarm and walk through the temple and old city street to the bus station, 10 to 15 minutes max. Bus leaves at 10.00 and costs 70b. Takes about 2 hours and if you ask the driver will most likely drop you off at the border.

Get some stamps, leave Thailand, eat and drink something and pay 800 baht for the trip to Dawei. This takes another 5 hours.

Note!! You DO need a visa in your passport before trying all this!

Note2: I only crossed with a backpack, not a motorbike or anything. I do think it's possible and the road would be lovely to drive for the scenery was great!


Fortune and Glory, kid. Fortune and Glory.

I crossed that border of Kanchhanaburi across to Dawei and up to Mandalay back in April. 1st bike group to do so according to the immigration officers.