Getting a Visa for Myanmar (Burma) from Chiang Mai, Thailand
OK, AlteCocker was really really stupid about this. She bought her air tickets to Yangon (formerly Rangoon) Burma before checking about how to get a visa so she could legally enter Myanmar. Again, really stupid.
So she buys nonrefundable tickets on Air Asia (which means all you can get back if you don't fly are the airport taxes) and then realizes she has a problem. OK, she looks online and there is a site which suggests you can get a Myanmar tourist visa online. Somehow she pays for it and ends up hooked up with some visa service in Singapore that keeps demanding her passport and two passport photos. Yeah, right. AlteCocker is in Chiang Mai, not Singapore. She thought she was dealing directly with the Myanmar Embassy, but, no she wasn't. Fortunately, by the way, the visa business in Singapore was honest and, less paypal fees, refunded her money.
What to do? Out comes the old reliable computer and she starts doing research. Where is the Myanmar Consulate in Chiang Mai? Answer: There isn't one. What to do? Was she going to have to fly to Bangkok on a personal visit to the Myanmar Embassy? It was not the way AlteCocker would like to spend her time, but, if it had to be done, it had to be done.
Enter Julie's Guest House. Yes, a guest house. It's a sort of great crash pad for all the trekkers who visit Chiang Mai. AlteCocker knows such places well. When she first traveled to Europe in the Late Middle Ages she stayed in them. They provide a great way for young people to meet one another in dormitory accomodations. They are not the kind of accomodations she frequents now. She is too old for dorms without airconditioning--and communal toilets and showers. But, she owes Julie's Guest House a great "thank you". Thais are some of the most enterprising people around. If there is a way to earn money, they are on it. And, of course, it was inevitable that someone would have a niche business getting visas to the countries surrounding Thailand.
Where the hell is Julie's Guest House? When she called them, the information was, "Just ask any tuk tuk driver. They all know Julie's. Indeed they do. AlteCocker shoved her ass in a tuk tuk and hustled down to Julie's. She was told the entire process would take 3 days. She forked over 2600 baht gladly (about $85) and filled out the paperwork. Her passport was returned to her with the Myanmar visa at the exact time it was promised.
Blessings on your house, Julie (even if there is no Julie there; it's just the name of the place). So, if you are dumb enough to get into this fix, AlteCocker enthusiastically endorses using Julie's Guest House. In fact, they have a good array of tours too. She is sorry she'd done them all by the time she got to Julie's. Places that service young people on budget tours often have the best array of tours as well.
For more information about Julie's visa services, check here.
So she buys nonrefundable tickets on Air Asia (which means all you can get back if you don't fly are the airport taxes) and then realizes she has a problem. OK, she looks online and there is a site which suggests you can get a Myanmar tourist visa online. Somehow she pays for it and ends up hooked up with some visa service in Singapore that keeps demanding her passport and two passport photos. Yeah, right. AlteCocker is in Chiang Mai, not Singapore. She thought she was dealing directly with the Myanmar Embassy, but, no she wasn't. Fortunately, by the way, the visa business in Singapore was honest and, less paypal fees, refunded her money.
What to do? Out comes the old reliable computer and she starts doing research. Where is the Myanmar Consulate in Chiang Mai? Answer: There isn't one. What to do? Was she going to have to fly to Bangkok on a personal visit to the Myanmar Embassy? It was not the way AlteCocker would like to spend her time, but, if it had to be done, it had to be done.
Enter Julie's Guest House. Yes, a guest house. It's a sort of great crash pad for all the trekkers who visit Chiang Mai. AlteCocker knows such places well. When she first traveled to Europe in the Late Middle Ages she stayed in them. They provide a great way for young people to meet one another in dormitory accomodations. They are not the kind of accomodations she frequents now. She is too old for dorms without airconditioning--and communal toilets and showers. But, she owes Julie's Guest House a great "thank you". Thais are some of the most enterprising people around. If there is a way to earn money, they are on it. And, of course, it was inevitable that someone would have a niche business getting visas to the countries surrounding Thailand.
Where the hell is Julie's Guest House? When she called them, the information was, "Just ask any tuk tuk driver. They all know Julie's. Indeed they do. AlteCocker shoved her ass in a tuk tuk and hustled down to Julie's. She was told the entire process would take 3 days. She forked over 2600 baht gladly (about $85) and filled out the paperwork. Her passport was returned to her with the Myanmar visa at the exact time it was promised.
Blessings on your house, Julie (even if there is no Julie there; it's just the name of the place). So, if you are dumb enough to get into this fix, AlteCocker enthusiastically endorses using Julie's Guest House. In fact, they have a good array of tours too. She is sorry she'd done them all by the time she got to Julie's. Places that service young people on budget tours often have the best array of tours as well.
For more information about Julie's visa services, check here.