Visa Run

For those of you who are already familiar with the Visa Run trips will know all about the journey to Ranong. I am off tomorrow morning at about 6:30 where I will jump on a mini bus with about 9 other foreigners or Farang as the Thais call us.

Its a long old journey north to the small town of Ranong, where we will then go through immigration before heading on to a small ferry which will take us to Myanmar. Its not a bad ferry ride to be honest and there are some nice views on the way. It is very interesting to see how life is so different for the people living here.

For example you will see kids of all ages here working on the boats all day long. They obviously don't go to school and will probably never leave this little town expect for the ferry rides over to Myanmar. Their whole life will revolve around the ferry and the small ports of the two neighbouring countries.

Once I arrive in Myanmar it all gets pretty hectic, with all the locals hassling you to buy something from them. I normally just go straight to the Burmese Immigration where my passport will get stamped for both my entry and exit visa for Myanmar. I'll be in the country for around ten minutes before boarding the ferry again and making the trip back to Thailand.

All in all its a long day and often unpleasant, but sometimes you get to meet nice and interesting people on the trip. I will expect to be home by around six o'clock in the evening providing the immigration doesn't take too long.

The total cost of the Visa Run is 1,500 THB which includes everything from a small snack with a bottle of water on the way to Ranong and lunch in a hotel on the way back. The fee also includes all ferry transfers and the cost for the visa in Myanmar.

There are plenty of Visa Run companies that organise this trip but I prefer to use Bangkok Legal Services as they tend to look after you more and make sure you're safe throughout the entire Visa Run. They seem to be the most efficient and have friendly staff too.