The northernmost town of Thailand and a detour from Chiang Rai on the way to the Golden Triangle, Mae Sai sits on the border between Thailand and Myanmar. One of the few border crossings into Myanmar, it has a history of conflicts during which Mae Sai has been evacuated, and the border closed—the Military coup in 2006, political disputes between countries in 2002, and in 2001 Mae Sai was the site of military conflict between the Burmese and Shan State rebels. The bridge was also used as an escape route for American missionaries after the invasion of the Japanese into Thailand in 1941.
For the adventurous souls wishing for a taste of border town life and wanting to put a foot into Myanmar for bragging rights, grab a bus or hire a car from Chiang Rai and join the traffic throng of dusty old cars and bright red songthaews overflowing with a mixture of Thai and Burmese. Upon arrival, the hectic trading town is a mass of heaving bodies, rickshaws, bicycles, motorbikes, cars, and buses, all fighting for space on an incredibly wide road radiating searing heat from the midday sun. Both sides of the main road are choked with overflowing shops, food vendors, hawkers, and rickety wooden carts laden with ice pushed by hot and bothered locals. It has the vibe of a wild frontier town—chaotic madness with many different languages being bandied around and monks' bright orange flowing robes shimmering under the sun. You can literally buy anything here, from guns to "supposed" Viagra pills or any illicit item you could imagine—if your shopping list is a bit on the kinky side.
The border crossing is at the end of the main road that flows onto a two-lane bridge walled by iron fencing across the River Mae Sai, with immigration and visa checkpoints on either end. The muddy brown river and the bridge in between are the actual demarcation, so when you walk across the bridge, you are in "no man's land" for about 3 minutes. The murky waters gushing under the bridge flow east to the Ruak River, which feeds into the Mekong River at the Golden Triangle—where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet.
Upriver from the bridge of this no-man's land is usually a lot of scurrilous activity. Throughout the day, small wooden boats go to and fro from each side with shady characters at the helm ferrying people and goods between the two countries. The border guards appear to be quite nonchalant and blasé about this activity right under their noses. Considering alcohol and cigarettes can be bought at ridiculous prices, one would imagine this is what's stashed in the boats. Many Thai people use the crossing for access to gambling venues, to buy the odd counterfeit good, or to play on the golf course, that is the only one in the region.
The Myanmar side of the border, Thachileik, is a continuation of the Thai madhouse but with a Burmese flavor, especially the local markets lurking underneath the bridge where duty-free shops make a bustling trade with gawking tourists. There are plenty of shops selling smuggled goods, cheap Burmese items, guns, knives, and even rare animals—it's totally unscrupulous. You will be disappointed if you expect to buy some classic Burmese handicrafts. This area is where you definitely keep your bag zipped and held tightly to your body, as there are dubious characters at every turn.
Tachileik is not the prettiest town in the Shan state of Myanmar, with its streets of giant potholes, messy construction sites, and trash littering the curbs. But it's so intriguing that it's fascinating to be a curb-side voyeur for a while. The locals are predominantly Shan people who are closely linked culturally and linguistically to the northern Thai people. The exception to this closeness is the Burmese nuances, especially as the women walk around with thanaka-painted faces. Lumbering smoke-billowing trucks roar up the roads loaded with people sitting astride enormous bundles on the back. The landscape of Tachileik's central hub is very different from that of the Thai side of the border. On the Thai side, the roads are flat; in Tachileik, roads disappear into the distance in large dips with mountainous greenery in the background. A few tourist sites are within walking distance of the border crossing such as the Elephant Temple and the Shwedagon Pagoda (Golden Temple).
This adventure is not for the easily intimidated; it's a walk on the wild side of life.
NB As a consequence of flooding due to the overflow of the Sai River, the border crossing is closed as of 10 September 2024. Always check whether the border is open before going to Mae Sai for a border crossing.
Gail Palethorpe, a self proclaimed Australian gypsy, is a freelance writer, photographer and eternal traveller. Check out her website Gail Palethorpe Photography and her Shutterstock profile.
