Myanmar/India border crossing at Rihkhawdar-Zokhawthar checkpoint
In August 2018, two Myanmar/India border checkpoints finally opened as international ones, which meant that even foreigners could pass the borders without any special permit.
Since 2013 when the Myanmar/Thailand borders opened, this border had been reigned as a final fort for travellers all over the world who had a thirst for achiving Eurasian Transcontinental through southeast asian countries.
The checkpoints open at this moment (March 2019) are below;
(1) Tamu (Myanmar) - Moreh (India)
(2) Rihkhawdar(Myanmar) - Zokhawthar(India)
Checkpoint No.1 has been integrated into Asian Highway Project and roads are under construction as a international arterial one. The long distance bus are running from Kalaymyo (where you can reach from Mandalay by one night travel).
In constrast, Checkpoint No.2 is comparatively minor and road condition is completely unsuitable for buses, so it is necessary to go there by making sharing van connections.
Last month, February 2019, I passed through Rihkhawdar-Zokhawthar checkpoint. In this article, I'm going to share my travel schedule and experiences. I hope they can be useful tips for your travel.
Travel Schedule From Mandalay (Myanmar) To Aizawl (India)
Day1
3:00 PM (MMT) - Leave from Thiri Mandalar Highway Bus Station (by long distance bus)
I booked the bus ticket for Kalaymyo via guesthouse counter. The price was 17000Kyat.
I heard that there was only one bus for Kalaymyo everyday.
There are more than three bus stations in Mandalay, and Thiri Bus Station is different from one for Yangon and other tourist spots, so it is necessary to confirm it beforehand.
During the journey, there were an long rest for dinner(around 6 PM) and some short rests. In addition to that, bus stoped repeatedly on mountain path due to engine troubles.
Anyway, you don't have to worry about toilets.
Day2
8:00 AM (MMT) - Arrive at Kalaymyo Bus Station
Stay at Shin Hong Hostel
If your bus was so healthy that you didn't have to wait for repairing engine troubles on the way, you might arrive in Kalaymyo early in the morning, around 6 or 7 AM. In that case, it is worth trying to get a smooth connection for Tedim and Rihkhawadar by catching sharing vans leaving from the same station. (There is information that the ticket must be booked one day in advance though)
If unfortunately you couldn't catch a van, you have to look for hotels which are allowed for foreigners. But you don't have to care about it too much because there are enough number of hotels in Kalaymyo. But for backpackers who are eager for bargain, price might be problematic. I checked totally 5 hotels, but the minimum price was 15 USD.
The hotel I chose was Shin Hong Hostel. I can highly recommend this hotel because
-One of the nearest to the bus station, and next to a small department store
-Two staffs (including owner) who can speak English
-Free breakfast with many kinds of local and continental foods
-Clean room with modern air-con and flat-screen TV (You can watch cricket and soccer)
There was no notable sightseeing spot in Kalaymyo, but I could feel diffrent atmosphere from Yangon and Mandalay because people in this area have strong faith in Christ. By just a 2 or 3 minute walk, two or three churches could be found.
Day3
7:30 AM (MMT) - Leave from Kalaymyo Bus Station (by sharing van)
11:30 AM (MMT) - Arrive in Tedim
Stay at Ciimnuai Guest House
There were some sharing vans from Kalaymyo bus station to Tedim and Rihkhawdar.
It costed 8000 Kyat for Tedim, and 15000 Kyat for Rihkhawdar.
At the timing for entering mountains, one middle-aged female passenger said grace and lastly all the passengers said amen.
The road condition after that pray was unpaved, dirty, and narrow ones. This area is well-known as one of battlegrounds between Japan and Great Britain in WWII, and perhaps you can find vehicle debris below steep cliffs.
On the way to Tedim, there was one scenic spot that offered the landscape of surrounding peaks and mountains. Fortunately, in my case, fellow burmese passengers asked for driver to stop there, but I'm not sure whether it is always or not. So it is better to confirm the driver beforehand with showing some images. (probably he can't speak English fluently)
In Tedim, there were at least three guesthouses. I confirmed price of Tedim Guesthouse (25000 Kyat), and Ciimnuai Guesthouse (12000 Kyat), and I chose the latter one.
Ciimnuai Guesthouse is located next to the clock tower, the central of town. Younger owner could speak English fluently, and you can see scenic view at balcony.
There were two types of sharing toilets (local style and western one), and I could get hot water for taking shower. But be careful that there was no WiFi, and it was necessary to prepare SIM card or mobile hotspot beforehand if you neeeded.
As with Kalaymyo, most of the local people in Tedim are christians, and I could see many varieties of churches. The number of modern buildings was limited, so I could see earliest remembered scenes. In the night and early morning when the amount of lights is limited, prayer in the dark were heard.
Day 4
0:40 PM (MMT) Leave from Tedim (by sharing van)
4:00 PM (MMT) Arrive at border checkpoint
5:00 PM (IST) Leave from Zokhawthar (by sharing van called Sumo)
7:30 PM (IST) Arrive in Champhai
Stay at Hotel Holiday Home
In order to catch a sharing van for Rihkhawdar, I had to wait until noon because all the vans were departed from Kalaymyo. The price from Tedim to Rihkhawdar was 9000 Kyat.
The road condition on that way was even worse and the slope comes to be steep. The driving speed was around 10 ~ 20 km/hr, and there were two or three stops for helps of repairing forerunnig van.
In my case, the van arrived at Rihkhawdar van terminal at 3:50, and rode a bike taxi to the border checkpoint (~5min., 1000Kyat). Although it was already over 4 PM (official closing time) when I was arrived, I could go through the procedure without any negotiation or something like that.
But anyway I recommend you to care the affordability of staying at Rihkhawdar one night.
At the borderpoint, there were some vehicles specific to mass transport from Myanmar to India, and vice versa.
Near the Rihkhawdar, there is a popular sightseeing spot called Rih Lake. As "Rih" means heart in local language, the shape of lake is like heart. Because of lack of time, I couldn't see it, but it is must-see if possible.
Sited from;
And there is one point to notice; money exchange.
It is prohibited from carrying out Myanmar bills outside the country. Therefore, there are some money exchangers in Myanmar side, but no one in Indian side. There was a branch of State Bank of India near the checkpoint, but they said they can't. Moreover, there was no ATM in Indian checkpoint and Zokhawthar (you must go to Champhai), so I advise you to prepare some money (at least around 4000 Kyat (minimum transport cost for Champhai)) before leaving Tedim and inevitably exchange all of them in Myanmar side.
After entering into Indian side and went through the procedure, I took the bike taxi for Zokhawthar (50Rp). The price of Sumo (Indian sharing van) for Champhai was 100Rp, and for Aizawl was 800Rp. I didn't have enough money to go to Aizawl, so I decided to go to Champhai. There is one Sumo for Champhai an hour. Sumo was ten-seater and very crowded. It took around two and half an hour. On the way, there was one inspection by military, but not detailed too much.
I stayed at Hotel Holiday Home. The price was 500 Rp, but bargained to 400 Rp. (There was other information that said the price started from 300 Rp, but owner said that there was an increase in price last year.)
This hostel is located on the top of main sloping road in Champhai. I highly recommend an scenic view from rooftop that you will be lost in its beauty.
But unfortunately other services were below average level. The room was not well-cleaned with some empty cans and bins. Although there was a private bathroom, it always gave off bad smells in which the room was filled. As with guesthouse in Tedim, there was no WiFi.
Middle-aged female owner was fundamentally kind, but not good at speaking English. There is a tourist lodge that was operated by government, and I also went there for other reason, but staffs in this lodge also couldn't speak English fluently. If you want to get accurate information, it is better to find people around market at the bottom of the main sloping road or stay at Chhuthu Hotel located along to the main road because there was a woman staff who speaks English without any obstacle.
Day 5
6:00 PM (IST) Leave from Champhai (by Sumo)
Compared with Tedim, there were many differences in Champhai. Champhai had a lot of solid,colorful-painted buildings, and many taxis and autorickshaws were operated all the time, so I didn't have to worry about tiredness by many slopes.
At the bottom of the main sloping road (near the market), some sumo operating companies could be found, towards AIzawl and other towns in Mizoram. The price for Aizawl was 600 Rp, and I heard there were three vans every day (6AM, 12AM, 6PM)
Day 6
6:00 AM (IST) Arrive in Aizawl
The road condition on the way from Champhai for Aizawl was the most terrible one, so I couldn't get sleep well.
From AIzawl, you can easily get Sumo (Sharing van in India) to Silchar, Shillong, and Guwahati. I chose Shillong, and the price was 1100 Rp. I heard that there were also some bus services for Guwahati. In addition to that, from Aizawl, the road condition was getting better, so I could travel with some comforts and didn't have to worry about lack of sleep.
In Mizoram State, foreigners are required to get verification of accomodation in 24 hrs after entering. The place where you apply depends on your schedule, so please check this website. I reccommend you to use a taxi or autorickshaw.
I sumed up some information of the route from Tedim to Champhai on the video below;
If you have some interested in, please check it!
And if you have some questions and requests, please feel free to contact me.
mail : asianb0der@gmail.com
Thank you for taking the time to read the article.
