Since August 2018 it has become now possible to independently travel from India to Myanmar overland (see official news here). Before, special permits and tour operators were required to cross this remote, rarely trodden land border. It has hence turned out easier and cheaper to move from one country to the other, with the great chance to shift from the Indian subcontinent to the Southeast Asian block. All overland. In addition, you may swiftly and effortlessly get your Myanmar e-visa online:
https://evisa.moip.gov.mm/
It takes around 24 – 48 hours to receive the confirmation email (which you have to print out for the immigration post) with the pre-approved visa, valid for 28 days. It costs 50 dollars, payable by credit card or PayPal. The overstay fine is 3 dollars per day. Click here for more info.
Let’s now see in detail all the phases involved in this displacement.
1) IMPHAL TO MOREH BY MINIVAN – 106 KM – 3 / 4 HOURS
Still on the Indian side you can catch either a bus or a minivan to reach the last border town called Moreh. Buses depart from the Manipur State Road Transport Corporation bus stand (location below). Unfortunately, at the time I was there buses were not running due to an Indian festivity (Diwali). Therefore I had to take a 4/5 seats minivan leaving from the opposite parking lot. I paid 300 INR. Since they are quite small, minivans leave when full quite frequently. Better anyway to be there in the early morning. Mine left at around 7:30 am.
Along the bendy way the minivan will stop a few times for toilet / snacks and two military checkpoints, where you have to show your passport. It will finally drop you near the Moreh bazaar, from where you can easily walk to the border by yourself (Gate 2). You can change money in any of the shops near Gate 2. Rates are all the same.
2) BORDER PROCEDURES
There are two main gates to cross the border: Gate 1 and Gate 2. Since the way is a bit tricky, it might be necessary to ask around for directions. Gate 1 is further and requires approx. 2 Kilometres to be reached from the minivan stop. Gate 2 is closer (less than one kilometre) and located inside the bazaar. However, that specific day only Gate 1 was open. If you head for Gate 1, you will have to pass first another dull military checkpoint (they will ask you so many tedious questions) before arriving at the proper border. Again the situation can be misleading. As a matter of fact, before the bridge you have to take the way uphill to get your Indian exit stamp. No signs are provided here. Furthermore, at the same building you are requested to fill out the customs declaration as well.
Once you are done with that, you may walk down and cross the bridge, where the Myanmar checkpost is placed. The procedure here is straightforward instead. You have to show your printed approval letter to obtain a simple stamp on your passport. It only takes a few minutes. The Myanmar border town on the other side is called Tamu.
3) FROM THE BORDER TO TAMU (MYANMAR) – 2.5 KM
This stretch is about 2.5 Km long. Me and my Swiss friends walked easily along the road. We could shortly (after less than a kilometre) find a frugal eatery (no much choice indeed, especially for vegetarians : ), where you may also change your Indian rupees for the same rate. English language in these areas is very poor though. We struggled a bit.
To reach Tamu bus stand, you have to follow the main road until you see a traffic light, at which you have to turn left for a few hundred meters. Still very difficult to get some infos from local people there. At the end, we were able to find a few tour agencies along the road (you have to ask a lot around though), offering the direct bus service from Tamu to Mandalay. Regrettably, nevertheless, buses leave all in the morning until 12 am. We got thus hopelessly stuck in the town for the night. If this is your case too, you may find good rates at Power Guest House (10,000 Kyat per person / night):
4) BUS FROM TAMU TO MANDALAY – 471 KM – 15 HOURS
After much walking and asking we eventually discovered a bus agency located near the Tamu Market, in front of Bo Gyoke Park (Bo Gyoke Road on Google maps, click here for location). They sell tickets for 17,000 Kyat for buses leaving at 11 or 12 am. The bus takes about 15-16 hours. Be prepared, however, to reach Mandalay at around 3 or 4 am. Normally hotels and guest houses are aware of that and should wait for you (and not charge that night).
In order to avoid any further delay, you should book your bus seat at least the day before.
The bus is surprisingly in good condition and departs on time. It offers water, toilet equipment, air conditioning and warm blankets. All in all not too bad to try to sleep one or two hours : )
5) ALONG THE WAY TO MANDALAY
Break stops are scheduled at 1 pm and 6 pm for respectively lunch and dinner in rural restaurants. After 6 pm there should be at least two more halts for toilet purposes.
We arrived at Mandalay bus station (Thiri Mandalar Bus Terminal) at 2:40 am. Not a very handy hour. Notwithstanding, as above-mentioned, you can slowly walk (generally hotels are at a very short distance) to your accommodation and ring the bell. I only waited half an hour before being opened the door : ) At least the night was free of charge. I booked the Kaung Hostel, a cheap and friendly hostel well located near the Royal Palace. They also rent bicycles and motorbikes at very reasonable rates.
SUMMARY
On the whole, the border crossing experience from India to Myanmar was not totally straightforward. Difficulties ranged from language barriers to lack of information to festivity issues and so on. It looks almost impossible to catch the bus from Tamu to Mandalay on the same day you leave from Imphal. Too many checkposts and formalities to fulfil. A night in Tamu seems to be obliged. Not much to do there, apart from some countryside, restful moments in your first town in Myanmar.
