Apr 25-28, 2016

4 Days in Mae Sai, Thailand

Location: Maesai, Thailand

Clueless in Mae Sai
After my abrupt departure from Tachileik (Myanmar), I found myself back to the border town of Mae Sai (Thailand), with no place to stay and no plan on what to do next. I was on edge. Luckily, the hotel owner I talked to, approved of my proposal and agreed to give me 3 nights in his hotel. That was a tremendous sigh of relief to me - the first time since I crossed into Myanmar. I now have 3 days in Mae Sai to get my bearing, catch up on things and plan ahead.

Visa Run Refuge
Up until recently when the Thais cracked down on visa runs, this border town has been the favorite crossing by expats wanting to extend their stay in Thailand. The bombing in Bangkok in 2015 caused a stricter enforcement of the visa-run law by Thai Immigration. Now, you have to show proof of onward travel as they favor the formal tourist visa issued by the Thai Embassy (outside Thailand) rather than the transit visa-on-arrival. Until they cut a slack on the law (I don't think they will change the law. They just enforce or loosen it), visa-runs in Mae Sai is a thing of the past.

Big Market
The big market is Mae Sai's biggest draw. Because of cross-border shopping, with Myanmar and Laos converging into what is called The Golden Triangle, Mae Sai sees a frenzy of shoppers given its expansive market. You get all kinds here from the typical colorful Thai clothing to jewelry, buddha figurines, gadgets, dried fruits, etc. Unlike Chatuchak Market in Bangkok where a big grid is allotted for the market, here in Mae Sai, the market is a labyrinth of alleys and streets densely filling up the inner west area of the border. It's like an intricate spider web - every which way you turn is an array of vendors usually specializing in a particular merchandise (eg. - umbrellas, slippers, etc.). The ambience shifts during the night time when the inner stores close and the night vendors occupy the side streets. Street eating is fabulous, delicious and cheap.

City Center
About 4 kms south, towards Chiang Rai, the city center of Mae Sai has a big Makro with an equally big Tesco across the street. There isn't too much city life in Mae Sai. The main action still happens in Chiang Rai, about an hour south.

Ending Thoughts
Mae Sai was not even on the plan. I was to go to Chiang Rai after Myanmar. But it called out. With hardly any tourist and locals who don't speak English, I was mostly alone exploring the market scene. Except for its cross border ease (unless you're doing a visa run) and the big market, there isn't much happening in Mae Sai. But if you are in the area, it's worth a visit and dabble in what it has to offer. At this point, the frontier of Laos is also a short trip away or you can venture more within the Golden Triangle area of Northern Thailand - Chiang Saen, Chiang Khong, Chiang Rai and Sop Ruak.

--- TheLoneRider
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

a Wat (temple) in the midst of the market

who says it always has to be a rocking horse? why not a rocking Vespa?

the afternoon vendors are putting up their makeshift stalls

vendors, cars and shoppers sharing the street

I travel on a tight budget, but with Durian, I can't say no. I haggled this one down to B150

good Khai Soi at the Khao Soi Islam resto

Mae Sai is a third class city but look how orderly and manicured

this is truly the northernmost tip of Thailand, being on the overhang of a resto by the narrow river separating Myanmar from Thailand

at the cafe of Top North Hotel, taking care of business

kids playing in the river...no care whatsoever they're crossing international borders

riddle me this...my pig on a tree with hair made of nails

you see a few monuments like this stating it's the northern most part of Thailand

Thailand on the left and Myanmar to the right

cold beer on a hot day, Chang Beer at B70. Behind me is Myanmar

big shady tree similar to Acacia Tree...maybe it is Acacia

madonna and child...working class heroes

The following people like this:

Helena

Doris

Tony

Dave

Vevherly

Marie

Roselyn

Alex

Jade

Edwin

Jessa

Elaine

Ems

Ace

Gibet

Vann

Angelica

Sandra

Ana

Cindy

Reader Comments:

Jim

Thai Plum Village
(Apr 28, 2016) Like a Rolling Stone...

Edwin

(Apr 28, 2016) 250 baht pa rin ba charge nila sa foot massage?

Amazon Carpenter
(Apr 28, 2016) I love the contrast of the look on your face vs the lady rubbing your feet! LOL oh dear. Such is life eh!

Next stop: Exploring Chiang Saen, Thailand

Mae Sai, Thailand

- hotel

Top North Hotel - central location, walk to border

- cafe

Top North Cafe - Western and Thai food, reasonable price

Mae Sai FYI / Tips

best to book your hotel near the border since that's where most of the action is
there are cheaper lodging not listed in Agoda that go for as little as B150/night. Just coast the street along the river towards the west direction, towards Mae Sai Guesthouse

How to Get to Mae Sai

from Chiang Rai - it's one straight bus ride from Chiang Rai at the bus station. Take the Green Bus and you get off at Mae Sai city center bus station. Take a waiting red taxi to the border, B15, 10 mins
from Chiang Mai - there is a direct bus all the way to Mae Sai. Take the Green Bus at the Chiang Mai Arcade Bus Station, Terminal 3 (platform 20/21), B347 for VIP seats (B223 a/c seats) to Mae Sai city proper, 5 hours. Then take the short ride by red taxi to the border, B15, 10 mins

Things to do, Places to go in Mae Sai

Mae Sai Market - the expansive market is really the main draw of Mae Sai apart from being a visa-run destination
Fish Cave aka Monkey Temple at Wat Tham Pla - you can feed the monkeys and carp. Food can be purchased at the temple for B20
Cross into Myanmar - tourists can pay B500 to cross into Myanmar and take a peak at their daily life. There is also a big market across the border, selling mostly fake stuff imported from China
Tum Luang-Khun Naam Naang Norn Forest Park - water fall, rock pools, swimming
Wat Phra That Doi Wao aka Skorpion Temple - panoramic view of Myanmar from the Golden Triangle

Mae Sai Cost Index

backpacker places (US$1 = Thai Baht 35.15 = Php 46.74 = MYR Ryat 1168.80 as of Apr 25, 2016)

B70 one big bottle Chang beer
B5 bottled water
B100 one hour street massage
B40-60 noodle soup with meat
B40-60 coffee
B40-60 pad thai
B75 muesli + yogurt + fruit breakfast
B400 double bed in a fan room, shared toilet incl. breakfast
B15 red taxi ride from bus terminal to border

General Travel Tips

arrive early - in case there is a snag (visa snag, documentation snag, transport ticket snag, etc.), you will have ample time to troubleshoot the problem if you arrive early (to the airport, to the bus terminal, etc.)
put detailed itinerary on the Calendar apps of your smart-phone according to timelines - this is where you do all your thinking and planning. Once written down, you don't have to think anymore while you are on the journey...you just follow the steps. This frees your mind for something else that might happen while you are already en route
avoiding scams - as a general rule, I ignore the touts or anyone I don't know who call out to me. The calling comes in many forms - "Hi! Where are you from?", "Excuse me! Excuse me!", "Where are you going?". I don't look them in the eye and I remain non-verbal with them. If you reply to them, you just gave them an 'in' to hound you. In order not to look rude, I smile and wave the 'not interested' hand to them, without looking at them.
power bank - hand-carry your power bank. Do not check it in. You can be called in when you are already inside the plane to go all the way to the loading dock so you can personally remove the power bank...and chances are, you'll have to surrender it to them. And you might delay the plane departure!

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