Taking the Plunge: Getting a Visa to Visit Myanmar

Over the past four years, I have visited most of the countries in Southeast Asia. One big omission from the visited list has been Myanmar. Although it sounds like a very interesting place, it is perhaps one of the most difficult countries to travel independently, for many reasons.

But after talking to a few people and doing some research, I have decided that my next visa run will be to Yangon. Needless to say I am very excited with the prospects.

So I spent this morning at the Myanmar embassy on Sathorn Road in Bangkok securing a visa for my trip. I arrived at the embassy around 9:30 AM, found the forms I am supposed to fill out, and took a number for the queue. They were serving #5 at the time, and I was #23, so I figured the wait wouldn't be too bad. Ten minutes passed and they moved on to #6. Ten minutes later we had moved to #7. Oh boy, I thought, 16 more people means 160 minutes, or almost three hours.

So I left.

After breakfast at Delifrance on Silom and a trip to Asia Books for a newspaper and a magazine, I was back at the visa waiting room, which was now working on #17. It was getting close to the one-hour noon lunch break, and I was sure that we wouldn't get to #23 in time. But they picked up the pace in the last hour and my number was called at 11:50.

I handed over the two forms I had filled out, two photos, and 810 baht (US$20). In return I was given a receipt and told to come back in two days. So all in all it was a fairly easy, painless process, other than the wait. Next time, I will be sure to be waiting at the door when it opens at 9:00 AM.