Myanmar – not an easy start

15th December, 2016, 7:00am, having in hand an air ticket from Bangkok to Mandalay we arrive at the Bangkok Don Mueang airport 4 hours before the flight, the queue to the check-in counter is quite long, presumably we should get there 3 hours before the flight, and so it happened … And that was when problems started… The lady from the counter asked us whether we had a letter of invitation from someone / some company from Myanmar … Being surprised at this question we answered that the Polish are on Visa on arrival approved list regarding entry to Myanmar (paying visa upon arrival at Mandalay International Airport) . The lady replied politely that we were right, but this was applicable only if we had a letter of invitation .. And at that moment you could see our jaws dropping … What? Probably we had checked visa info on the webpage which lacked this small detail…What now?

The lady explained to us where we could use the internet at the airport and apply via: www.evisa.moip.gov.mm for Tourist Visa Approval Letter (normally issued in 3 days), noted down a phone number to the visa office in Myanmar where we should call and ask them to issue eVisa urgently which should be sent to us via e-mail. The woman registered us in the system with the information that we would get back to the check-in counter for the same flight and wished us good luck.

The only place at the Don Mueang airport where you can find an internet cafe is Amaris Hotel. We had to reach its so called Business Center and it took us about 12-15 minutes with 20kg-backpacks being in a rush…, so quite a lot, and the time was passing by very quickly . The secretary in the Business Center was incredibly polite, she scanned photos which we needed to attach to e-form and she tried many times to get through to the office in Myanmar (but no one was answering the phone for over 1 hour!).  Additional 12-15min lost for going back to the ground floor of the airport, where I left Michal with the luggage, and I was looking for a public phone (they were cheaper of course), and a lady in the information center told me that I could use one nearby. I got there, I didn’t have any coins, so I went to a store, got 300THB / 7.50USD in coins (getting 300 1THB coins)! Had no choice, so accepted. I walked over to the public phone, but it started spitting me the fu(..)ing coins at the moment as I was dialling the number, damn it, for sure you could dial only local numbers, but no one would ever mention that to you! What would I do now with the damn 300 coins for 1THB each?! I felt I would go crazy there!

Ok, calming down.. I went back to the Amaris Hotel internet cafe.  The secretary was once again trying to get through to the Myanmar visa office, in vain, no answer .. We were left with 20 more minutes before closing the boarding gate for our flight to Mandalay. The secretary sent an e-mail to the visa office in Myanmar to request them to process our eVisa application as soon as possible. Then she sent another e-mail. Suddenly the phone rang, and there was a lady on the line from the visa office in Myanmar calling five minutes before our boarding gate was closed. I told her that we needed those 2 eVisas immediately because our plane to Mandalay was to depart in 35min. 10 min later I got the documents on my e-mail account! One of the requirements together with the document was to have an onward/ return ticket, one more impediment to go ..! Ok, it would not change anything, we would not get on time for this flight, so easy, relax..

 

I booked a flight with AirAsia from Bangkok to Yangon for 50USD for 4pm on the same day (flights to Mandalay were not available on the same day, and for the next day the price was 150USD) even though we had booked 2 nights in Mandalay. Secretary printed boarding passes for me, eVisas and a confirmation for accommodation booked in Mandalay. Glad that we finally had it all, I left her 500THB / 12USD (the internet and making calls abroad in fact cost a lot more) and asked if I had to pay extra, she waved her hand and wished me good luck.

Going back to Michal satisfied with the documents! And that it seemed all over to our problems! Poor him, he had to sit behind and wait, and he still had hope that we would make it for the first flight. I showed him the eVisa paper, he glanced and asked me about one small detail .. as a Port of Entry in Myanmar there appeared Mandalay..whereas we finally bought a new flight to Yangon! Wouldn’t that be an issue? Well, I got stressed! The whole race for applying for eVisa passed before my eyes and I really did not want to repeat that! Maybe there was some other way? I ran to the Air Asia information counter. A lady there calmed me down saying that it was not a problem at all and that we would be allowed the check-in for that flight. Unbelievable! Did it mean the end of this trauma ?! It looked so! The plan in our minds was: to come to Yangon and if possible – catch the night bus to Mandalay, so as not to lose the 2nd night booked there. Hoping that Myanmar would bring us only good things after not that easy start 🙂

 

P.s. Practical information:

You have to apply for eVisa to Myanmar via the website: www.evisa.moip.gov.mm, clicking on: Apply Evisa, then selecting the below data from the dropdown list and then clicking: Continue.

 

Then you will be redirected to a page with more detailed data including attaching photos (passport type photos).

The fee is 50USD and you have to pay by credit card.

The eVisa will be sent in 3 days to your e-mail address indicated when applying for it.

After processing the payment (15 min / max 1h) you will get an automatically generated message with the reference number (if you need to get a visa in a shorter period of time than 3 days, call the visa office dialling the contact number indicated on the website in its right bottom corner and mention the reference number received by e-mail).

Along with e-visa you will need to have with you: 1) a passport valid for at least 6 months, 2) return ticket from Myanmar, 3) sufficient funds for the stay in Myanmar (to be honest we haven’t seen anybody checking this point).

Additional information: when checking in your hand baggage at the airport a special attention is paid to powerbanks. If your powerbank has the power: 6600mAh, just like ours, it’s fine, but if it has more (we do not remember exactly how much is allowed), it is better to place it in the registered luggage, otherwise you will have to tell it: ‘Never to see you again’ ha ha.