Moreh: Entering Myanmar without Passport or Visa

Indians can enter Myanmar only with a passport and eVisa. But it is still possible to have a glimpse of Myanmar without visa or even passport. You just need to go to the border town “Moreh” in Manipur!!

About Moreh

Moreh is a town bordering Myanmar about 110 km from Imphal. It is situated on Asian Highway 1 and is the gateway for land crossing between India and Myanmar. The town does has some interesting history which I will highlight at the end of this post.

Our travel to Moreh

We started from Loktak lake and it took about 3.5 hours to reach Moreh. While the first part of the journey was on plains, it was completely mountainous route for rest of the distance. The journey was slow as the road was under construction. This is part of the Asian Highway 1 that runs from the border of Turkey and Bulgaria to Tokyo in Japan!!  Note that there are few check posts before Moreh and it closes at 4:30 in the evening during winter.

 

Moreh looked like a dull and dusty town. Our stay was at “Elora hotel” that looked like an oasis in the desert. We were pleasantly surprised seeing such a hotel in the town like Moreh.

Crossing the border

After breakfast, we went straight to the border. The day was cloudy, and rains were expected. Here our ids were checked, and day tickets were issued (Rs 20 per head) that allowed us to stay in Myanmar till 4:30 in the evening. It was as simple as crossing from one street to another!! People were freely moving from both sides. We noticed that our clock on mobile went ahead by 1 hour. Welcome to Myanmar!!

 

There is a market just next to the border. This is one of the main attractions for people coming from India. You can almost anything ranging from electronics equipment to fruits and vegetables. The prices are very competitive.

Tamu town

The town was about 15 minutes of drive from the border, for which we hired an autorickshaw. As we drove towards Tamu, we noticed few things.

• People were driving on the right side of the road. It was surprising as Myanmar was ruled by British!! But it was not the case earlier. In 1970, the General decided that the country should switch to right side driving. It was an overnight decision!! No one knows why though many theories exist.
• Contrary to my expectations, the road was very smooth. Myanmar had lot of internal problems (still few issues exist) but it looks like things have improved since economic liberalization of 2011.
• Teak plantations on both sides of the road.
• Distance was represented in miles

Tamu Buddhist temples

The temple complex is situated on a hillock. The place was very peaceful but temples and pagodas. The place was undergoing renovation. The tower in the area provided a nice view of Tamu town.

 

Though Myanmar is a Buddhist country, you will still see some temples, churches and mosques in Tamu as it is in the border area. Kukis, who is one of the main tribes in Manipur are also present in Myanmar.

 

We also visited couple of other Buddhist sites. All places were very peaceful.

 

Lot of women had applied herbal paste on their face. Apparently, it was quite famous in Tamu. It was also possible to buy the stuff at many places.

 

We spent some time at the bridge separating India and Myanmar. It was a nice and unique experience.

Tamil families in Moreh

In Moreh, we met Ram, who had travelled all the way from Singapore on public transport!! His destination was Kathmandu. He mentioned about the story of Tamil migrants in Moreh. During British times, few thousand Tamil families had moved to Myanmar. But they were forced to move out when military took over Myanmar. They returned to Tamil Nadu, but they were not welcomed and found that their life was much better in Myanmar and tried to return back. But they were stopped at Moreh where Myanmar authorities refused to allow them inside. So, they settled in Moreh and made it as their “karma bhoomi”. Today, there are about 3,000 Tamil people in Moreh.

Travel to Imphal

The journey was longer due to rains. The stretch undergoing construction was difficult to cross due to slush, but our driver managed it very well. Also, the security at check post was very elaborate where they checked each vehicle. Anyway, we reached Imphal without any incident.

Few points to note about Moreh

• It is only possible to visit Tamu in Myanmar without visa. Visiting the top tourist places like Bayan needs visa. Day trip is only indented to have an experience of Myanmar.
• It is possible to cross the border with proper visa. Buses are available from Tamu to other cities in Myanmar.
• Indian currency is accepted in Tamu.
• You can also visit Moreh as a day trip from Imphal. But it will be a long day.
• The only good hotel and restaurant we found was “Elora”.

 

Other posts on Manipur

• General information about Manipur
• Loktak lake, the largest freshwater lake in North East.