Sadao Border free essay sample

Sadao and Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration Checkpoint Have you ever been stuck in your car for four hours in slow moving traffic? Without traffic it would take less than twenty minutes. To me this is such a frustration and aggravation. I experience this on frequent bases while crossing the border back and forth from Thailand. I get stuck at the Sadao and Bukit Kayu Hitam for at least three hours each weekend because it is always jam-packed with people, cars, vans, buses and trucks. With thousands of people and goods crossing the border each week there should be an expansion to both the Thai and Malaysia checkpointsThe Sadao Immigration checkpoint is located in Dannok village, Sadao District, Songkhla Province, Southern Thailand. This is where the immigration department checks your travel documents before entering into Thailand by road. The immigration officers would sometimes check your luggage for safety reasons. This crossing is the busiest between Thailand and Malaysia. We will write a custom essay sample on Sadao Border or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The border is the southern end point to Thailands National Highway that runs all the way to Bangkok via Hatyai. Most buses, vans, lorries importing and exporting goods and most commercial activity between Malaysia and Thailand uses the Sadao border.On the Thai side of the border you must park your car and walk up to the immigration booth to get your passport stamped. While entering you must fill out an arrival and departure form with you information and purpose of entering the country, etc. You would normally pay the officers RM 1 to fasten the process. Many tourist from Malaysia and Singapore goes to Dannok and Hatyai for the weekend for shopping, food, and the entertaining nightlife scene before people claims the variety is certainly more interesting than Malaysia and prices are much cheaper. Malaysians come here to stock up with things from durians to underwear.Dannok is a town located right after the checkout. There is not much to see during daytime and becomes vibrant at night. On both sides of the highway many little lanes with karaoke bars, nightclubs, pubs, massage parlors and night markets. The Malaysia Immigration checkpoint is located in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah. Bukit Kayu Hitam translates to â€Å"Black Forest† in English, has few shops located on side roads off the main highway. Bukit Kayu Hitam is the northern starting point of the North-South Expressway, which runs all the way south to Johor Bharu passing through Kuala Lumpur.At Bukit Kayu Hitam immigration has drive-through booth, which means that you do not need to get out your vehicle while getting your travel documents checked. Here you are required to fill the Malaysians arrival and departure form, and to pay highway toll of RM3. 80 before you enter Malaysia. Although there are drive-through immigration booths, security on the Malaysian side seems stricter than Thailand’s, the officer make you open your trunk and search your luggage. Many Thais enters Malaysia for education, Leisure time at Genting Highlands or Cameron Highlands and to conduct business in Malaysia.Between the Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint and Dannok Checkpoint is a distance of about 1km between the two checkpoints. In between the two checkpoints is the huge Duty Free shopping complex, located in Malaysian territory. Where you can get good quality and cheap duty free items. Unlike, Dannok, there is not much to see in Bukit Kayu Hitam except for the hordes of people trying to cross into or coming in from Thailand. With so much tourism and commercial activity that goes on at both borders, having beneficial gains for both countries.The current Immigration checkpoints can no longer handle the traffic and congestion. When standing in line to get your passport stamped and it can take up to an hour, is absolutely ridiculous. Their needs to be an innovation and expansion made in both these facilities, both checkpoints need more immigration booths, more lanes for cars and more parking spaces. This will surely smoothen border-crossing experiences, and will bring more beneficial gains in long term because it will encourage more tourism and Export and Imports of goods between the two countries.