Thailand-MYANMAR-India guide share March 2017
 

We are looking for fellow travelers who are planning to cross MYANMAR from Thailand to India to form a group. Our preference is March 2017.
We are travelling with a Land Rover camper.
Kevan & Barbara

myanmar 03/2017
 

Hi Kevan & Barbara.
I plan to leave Australia for K L at end of Feb, & tour S E Asia for a few weeks before crossing to India. Was thinking mid April but obviously can be flexible to hook up with group crossing. So am very interested in your thread & will watch this space. Will be travelling on motorcycle & don't need a bed in the Land Rover !!!!!!!!
Have fun & all the best to you between now & then
Mark

Myanmar March 2017
 

Hi Marc, Great to hear from you. We are at the moment in China. Working on our Thai permit. If all goes well we plan to travel Myanmar on the 20th march. Will keep you posted by PM.
Kevan and Barbara

Thanks Kevan & Barbera
I will aim to join you for the Mid March crossing & keep in touch as my plans unfold
Regards Mark

Looks like this timing will suit me as well! I suppose there's not much point in organising a tour until we all have our Thai permits sorted. I'll keep you updated.

Jason

Hello again Kevan & Barbara ( & Jason)
About to apply for Burma visa, & appears they need some sort of itinerary.
I understand not easy to plan this far out, but I need to get the ball rolling ( I think !!! ). Can't quite figure this Burma thing out. Do you have any idea on entry & exit points, guides etc ? Is it possible to organise it once we meet at a border crossing, or must our plans be declared in advance ?
From what I've read so far it will be both quite complex & exciting compared to other countries I will have transited by then.
Anyhow, I will endeavour to hatch a plan very shortly if I don' hear from you, & let you know how I go.
Mark

Hello again folks !
Looks like one enters via Mae Sai or Mae Sot, & exit via Tamu / Moreh gate.
I would be happy at either entry point, but plan to cross in as short a time as possible, ( without being disrespectful to the Burmese ), due to the cost of the guided crossing. (not to mention the same again to cross China after Nepal ! ).
Anyhow, will try to contact Guides & get Quotes. Seems there is quite some interest from travellers crossing Myanmar at the same time we are discussing.
Have fun
Mark

Hi Mark,

I've listed Mae Sot on my Thai permit application, so I'm restricted to entering there. We can probably organise to share the tour even if we enter by different border crossings so it shouldn't be too much hassle. As for time, I'd like to experience as much of Myanmar as possible, but I'm also on a budget. I guess we'll have to look at the prices and see. I don't really have time over the next couple of weeks to be checking prices but I can help out after that.

Kevan & Barbara - have you received my PMs? I've never sent one before so I just want to know its actually going through.

Jason

Hi Kevan and Barbara We are also planning Simular in Early June with 2 Motorcycles
We will watch this space

Hi Guys
What the heck's a PM ?. I haven't received one yet from Kev & Barbara, or if I have I don't know where to find it !!!!
Thought I was goin' ok just Bloggin' away on this forum!!
Anyway, never too old to learn.
Have brought my Aust departure forward to mid Feb in order to cross Myanmar with this group if possible. No pressure, just thought I'd let you all know
Cheers & enjoy
Mark

Thailand-MYANMAR-India March 2017
 

Hi Everybody,
Sorry for the late reply. We have been travelling through China without internet. We are still waiting for our Thai Permit. Our exit from Thailand into Myanmar will be Mae Sot.
We have a quote for a tour of 9 days from Burma Senses leaving 20th March. Will keep everybody posted.
Kevan and Barbara

Thailand-MYANMAR-India March 2017
 

Hi Jason, Sorry we did not receive your PM (private message)

Hi Kev & Barbera
Visited Myanmar embassy in Canberra after Jindabyne H U conference last weekend. (just got home).
They say I need (quote ) "permission to enter Myanmar from tour guide " before I can apply for visa, so if I can cross with you guys, Which I am still very keen to do, I will need relevant information ( i e tour guide details ) ASAP to get things organised in time. Still not sure how to do PM but my e mail address is newtonmark333@gmail.com if that is any help.
I plan to arrive in K L approx 20th feb
All the best for your travels
Mark


How are things panning out with you Jason ?

All good with me. I actually arrived in KL a couple of days ago! I'm free to do some hunting for quotes if you guys want more options, I have a little time up my sleeve now. I haven't spoken to anyone about the Myanmar visa yet but it seemed quite straightforward, I'll ask in a couple of weeks when I'm in Bangkok

Jason

Great to hear from you.
We are currently on the border with Thailand awaiting are permit.
Seems the Thai's are being pretty difficult at the moment to giving out permits.
Quite a few people have been turned down.
Will keep you posted.
Kevan and Barbara

Hi Kevan, Barbara, Jason & all other interested parties.
I'm afraid I will be delaying my Myanmar crossing till mid April. It seems there is much confusion & differing opinions regarding Thailand entry & duration of stay. I have in my possession a multi entry 6 month visa, applied for only this morning at my local Thai Consulate. Other options were a 30 day dual entry transit visa or, if you arrive at a border crossing with no pre planning, a 15 day permit can be granted. Of course, any entry is at the mercy of the border gate staff, & I hope you all can proceed with your Thai visits asap, as do I hope my plans go unhindered.
Anyway, I will continue to stay in touch with this conversation, as I am learning plans on the world travel stage can change in an instant, and wish you all the best of luck in visiting your chosen destinations.
I'm all ears!!
Mark

myanmar 3/2017
 

Hello again Kevan, Barbara, Jason & other interested parties.
I thought I posted this a week ago, but couldn't see it when I opened this thread tonight !!
I am afraid I am having to delay my Myanmar crossing till mid April, but am keen to stay in touch with you guys , if you don't mind. I will start a new thread for an April crossing soon, & hope your plans go ahead unhindered.

Happy travels
Mark

Shit!!!
Just realised It's on page 2
Ya gotta laugh, can't find my way around a web site. Don't know how I'm gonna make it to England!!!!

Mark

Hi Mark,


Thai Visas haven't been a problem for me so far. I got a single entry visa in KL in two days. Whats causing the delays for you? The permit? What's your plan for a permit in April? It appears that the rules will change soon and any post-February permit applications will require guides so traveling Thailand with your permit beginning some time in Feb seems like the best option. I've been on top of all the recent info, rumors etc. So let me know if you have any more questions

Jason

Thanks Juiced, we ( wife and I ) are planning to cross over to Myanmar sometime in mid to late March. we've put Mae Sot on our Thai permit application as the border crossing. I've got quotes from both Burma senses and Osuga. Burma sense 15 days at about $1410. Although i've heard on the grape vine they also have a 9 day crossing on the cards for mid March.

Osuga, 11 days at a cascading price depending on numbers. But around $1000 give or take.

If we havn't managed to get our permit entry brought forward to late Feb, then it's bye bye Thailand and we fly MASfreight KL - Bangalore. Shame, but i'm a grown up and i can use the scissors without cutting myself.

gpdotkldotperkinsatgmail.com

crossong Myanmar in february or beginning of mars
 

Hello, we are looking for a group to cross Myanmar before 13 of February.
Is anyone know somebody that could be interested for 15 days trip from Thai to India?


let us know.
All contact or info is welcome
Cyprien

Hi Jason
My delay in crossing Myanmar till mid April is purely an itinerary issue, & not a permit issue. I have a 6 month multiple entry visa for Thailand current till June. It's just that I don't arrive in Thailand till late Feb, & I now need 4 to 6 weeks in Thailand due to some recently changed arrangements. I am very keen to cross Myanmar with a group, & even travel to Nepal with company, but I cannot exit Thailand till mid April. I will remain in touch with this thread & hope everyone can achieve their travel goals.
If any of you are still in Thailand at the end of March, please let me know. I would love to meet up with you.
Happy travels
Mark

Ok, we are starting to get down to the pointy end here. So a couple of questions to interested parties.

Have we got a group together?

Those genuinely interested for a crossing in mid to late March please, lets hear from you. Because of the guide deadline and 30 day window to cross Thailand, I should imagine that there will be a hightened number of people crossing at this time.

We are definite starters. Two people on one bike.

Graeme & Katrina

I'm in as well. Having a few problems with my Thailand permit but should be resolved in a couple of days. I'm 99% sure i will get it.

Jason

Good to hear Jason. I have a couple of quotes from both Burma Senses and Osuga. As mentioned previously, BS have quoted me $1410 US for 15 days ( 14 night presumably ) regardless of numbers and Osuga have a cascading price structure. In short, 4-5 people $1145 US ea, 6-7 people $960 US ea, 8-9 people $870 US ea. This is for 11 days 10 nights, which I think we are leaning towards.


Graeme

Myanmar
 

Hi
I travelled through Myanmar may 2016 in my Toyota
Land cruiser
Entered via Chang Rai Thailand Border and exited
Into China !
Had an amazing 4weeks !!

Enjoy this amazing place
Regards
Ray

For interested parties, I have further quotes from Myanmar senses. I'll copy and paste below.

1. 10 Days 9 Nights

* Tour Price : 1350 USD person ( Based on 2 Person )
* Tour Price : 1000USD person ( Based on 4 Person )
* Tour Price : 850 USD person ( Based on 6 Person )

2. 15 Days 14 Nights

* Tour Price : 1750 USD person ( Based on 2 Person )
* Tour Price : 1300 USD person ( Based on 4 Person )
* Tour Price :1150 USD person ( Based on 6 Person )

I should think if there were more people then the price would be a little less, but would need to be confirmed with Myanmar Senses.

Now I am going to leave it until this time next week ( 13th Jan 2017 ). If I get no more feed back then I will simply book my crossing with whom ever best suites us.

Well I'm definitely in, graeme. I prefer the slightly longer (and more expensive) tour personally. It seems having a party of three doesn't give us any benefit though. Perhaps we can negotiate with them? Let me know if you want me to do anything, I did see another company somewhere that we can contact. Is it Burma senses or Myanmar senses you're in contact with? I heard the latter is more expensive and just subcontracts the former

Jason

Hi Juiced, Katrina and I are leaning towards Myanmar Senses 10 day tour. We have commitments in Nepal and need to keep moving. Also we know of two friends that want to do the Myanmar Senses 10 day crossing. Whats more, they need to be out of Thailand by the 10th March, due to their permit expiry date. That personally for us, is a little early, but we can work around that and commence the 10th March with them. They are currently attempting to get their Malaysian visas sorted and will know more later today ( 9th jan 2017 ). Once I get confirmation that they are good to go. We will most likely make a tentative booking with Myanmar Senses, ( 10 day tour ) contingent upon us successfully getting out Thai permits.

I will not book for anyone else. I've been caught in the past by people letting me down. My communications with Myanmar Senses indicates that there has been a lot of enquires about Feb/March crossings. So I don't think there will be any issue with getting onto a tour. Here is their email info.myanmarsensestt@gmail.com

Another consideration is your crossing point. We have Mae Sot on our permit. What is your crossing point?

My main reason for preferring Myanmar Senses is that they are a local Burnese company I believe and if I am to pass through Myanmar and pay handsomely for that privilege, then I'd like to see my money benefit the local Burmese. My understanding is that Burma/Asia Senses is Vietnamese based and they simply hire guides in each country they operate. I've also been informed that Burma Sense's currently have two trips planned for Feb/March period one 9 and the other 15 days. But you would need to confirm with them that.

Let me know what you decide. Oh we plan to be in Chang Mai about a week prior to crossing over. Perhaps we can catch up and share a beer. bier It would be good to cross with a bunch of like minded people.

Juiced and other interested parties. I've approached Myanmar Senses and are in the formative stages of organising a 10 day/9 night crossing of Myanmar, commencing either the 9th or 10th March. So far we are most likely 5 people on 3 m/bikes. Lets get a couple more on board and get the price down some more.

Leave a message here if you are interested, or email me on the following

gpdotkldotperkinsatgmail.com

Cheers

Graeme.

Crossing Myanmar
 

Hello Everyone
I have found this thread today and am interested to know how you got on with a Thai permit Barbara and Kevin? We are currently in Laos trying to get a permit to travel through Thailand in February for a week as we are fairly sure that if they give us a permit we will need a guide. We have approached an agency about a guide for Myanmar but have not heard back from then as yet. Again we would like to go through in a week as we have to have a guide.

We came through China to Laos last year as the border with Nepal has been closed since April 2015, unless they have reopened it recently. We are now wondering how to get out of Laos! Two of the couples we travelled through China with have been refused a permit.
What dates are you planning to go into Myanmar?

A couple have posted on this thread that they plan to go into China from Nepal, is the border open for foreigners, it wasn't last year which is why we are in Laos.

My email is sue@nworth.co.uk if that is easier than the thread.

Hope to hear from you
Sue

If you are planning to apply to cross Thailand now, then yes you will have a guide imposed upon you. The best source of info on the subject is here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1024579897597702/ Join, read and be prepared to be depressed. Sorry to be so glum. But S.E.A. is now just to much of a pain in the backside.

Graeme

Thailand
 

Thank you Graeme, I have just tried to email you but had it returned. Have you managed to get a permit for Thailand? Do you know if others on this thread have got one. We applied in December and are waiting to hear but are not overly optimistic! Are you forming a group to go through Thailand or only Myanmar. We have applied for a week for each to reduce costs but would extend the time if we found a group to go with.
My email is sue@nworth.co.uk if you want to reply by email
Many thanks
Sue

Hello,

With a friend we want to drive with our own car from Europe towards South East Asia. We need to pass China our Myanmar. Both countries are expensive to travel trough with an own car. So we are looking for other travelers that want to drive with their own car trough China or Myanmar. (Only travelers that have their own car)

We would like to pass trough China in the beginning of May. If we travel trough Myanmar we would like to do this around the beginning of June. If anyone is or wants to traveling one of these countries in the same period as we do, please send me a message. The more cars that travel trough China or Myanmar at the same time the less money it is going to cost.

My mail is nickrogmans@hotmail.com.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Kind Regards,

Nick Rogmans

Hey Nick,
It's probably best to start your own thread because otherwise people won't find it!
Jason

Hey sue,

It looks like the guided tour rules will start to take effect as of March. Anything after will require a guide. Graeme and I will be some of the last people to travel unguided with a foreign motorcycle in Thailand :)

Graeme,

In the end I'm looking for more time in northern Thailand (I enter on the 28th of February) so I'll see if I can find a crossing on a later date. If I can't then I'll try to join you guys but I'm not sure. I got some interesting responses so far. One company said the government isn't offering permits anymore and it won't be possible...

Jason

Cheers Juiced, appreciate that. I too would have preferred a little longer in Thailand. But there was a group of us all cross from Australia together 5 months ago, we've travelled mostly independently thus far. But we compromised and will all cross Myanmar together. We are looking at crossing into Thailand on the 27th. Perhaps our paths will cross.

Graeme

Hey Graeme,
After looking around it seems that my best option is to join you guys. I contacted them and got a quote for $830. Does that seem right?

Jason

Great to hear that you are onboard Juiced. Yep that sounds about right. Actually I was quoted $850 US. So maybe there are now more than 6 doing the trip across. The rest of the "crew" are all overlanders on m/bikes that crossed over from Australia to Timor Leste back in October.

Do you expect to be in Chang Mai the week prior to crossing? If so we will catch up then.

Graeme

Juiced/Jason, one more question. What are your intentions after India? We are looking at crossing over the KKH into China around late June. If you intentions are similar, we could possibly have the beginnings of a group.

Cheers

Graeme.

Hey Graeme, I've got a group of 2 on motorbikes looking at crossing China around 21 June.
Have some reasonable quotes

Cheers

Spiro

Thailand crossing
 

Can somebody please forward the documents that suggest you will need a guide in Thailand?

The documentation i have from the department of land transport does not mention this anywhere!!


Cheers

Spiro.

Myanmar crossing.
 

If anybody is looking to cross Myanmar around mid April, I am happy to join in.

Thailand-Myanmar-India

Also Pakistan-China-Kyrgystan.
Entering China around 20 June.

I have a group of 2 bikes for China section.


Cheers


Spiro.

KTM 620, that fits pretty close with our plans, we were maybe going to be a week or so later. I'm assuming you mean over the KKH out of Pakistan, 4days/3nights in China, then Kashgar and into Kyrgyzstan. email gpdotkldotperkinsatgmail.com Obviously substitute the dot(s) and at.

You will unfortunately definitely need a guide, If you don't enter Thailand prior to the 1st March. The best and latest info can be found here. You don't say where you are from. The ONLY exceptions are if you are a citizen from an ajoing country, ie Laos, Cambodia or Malaysia https://www.facebook.com/groups/1024579897597702/

Cheers

Graeme

Hey Graeme, I will send you the regulations I have from Thai customs. You will notice it says nothing about a guide.
The new regs are already in effect.
The link you refer to has no official content stating a guide is required.
Sorry for being positive, but I think somebody has started this idea of a guide from hear say!!

I will start my trip from Melbourne, up to Darwin.
Fly the bike to Surabaya Indonesia.

Hi Spiro & all on this thread
I am also planning to cross Myanmar mid April into Manipur & leave Perth in a fortnight to enter Thailand from K L before March (just in case its all true about the guide rules). Am thinking of heading straight up to Mae Sot to organise crossing if i dont receive replies from my tour enquiries by then.
Hope to visit Cambodia & laos then back to Mae Sot by mid April
Will be active on H U from now on. May start own thread for April crossing.
Hi Kev,Barbera & jason. Hope you're having fun

Mark (Bonnieo)

Bonnieo, I find your post a little difficult to understand, so I apologise If I have it wrong. But if you havn't met the 2 following criteria then you will need a guide to cross Thailand and they are essentially the following.

1:- You must have applied for your Thai permits before Dec 23rd 2016
2:- You must enter into Thailand no later than 28th feb 2017.

If you do not meet 1 or both of these regs, then I repeat. You will need a guide and it is quite expensive.

If I were to do this again, I would fly the bike out of KL to either Nepal or India and bypass both Thailand and Myanmar. Both, far cheaper and easier. But thats me. We are just lucky that we scrape into Thailand before the end of Feb 2017.

Thailand -Myanmar
 

Hi
I'll be travelling on my SUV and plan to be in Thailand between 17 ~ 22 March. I'm entering Thailand from Malaysia, and then heading into Myanmar and India.

Anyone travelling during those periods, let us hope good to meet you.

Ram

If you get delayed by about 6 weeks or so, let me know..

Cheers.

Hi Ram
I hope to cross Myanmar from Thailand to India a around the end of march. Please let me know if you're interested
Mark Newton (bonnieo)

Hi Jason
I entered Thailand on 22nd feb & am presently trying to organise Myanmar crossing for same time in March. I figure you just entered Thailand yourself. I am presently in Prachuap Khiri khan & wonder if you have finalised Myanmar plan yet?
Email newtonmark333@gmail.com
Mark Newton