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Mae Sot Thailand Mae
Sot Map...
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Mae Sot Thailand, Bangkok Mae
Sot, bus to Mae
Sot, Mae Sot refugee camp.
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- Near
the main road at the city center are several cheap Mae Sot hotels.
Probably the best
Mae Sot
hotels are at the
entrance to the city from Mae Sot Tak and at the northern bypass road. The
Central Hotel at the bypass road has a very pretty restaurant
just beside a pond, the hotel is operated by one of the
big Thai hotel chains. Also the Mae Sot Hill Resort is in a pretty
environment.
Probably the best restaurant in terms of the setting and environ is the
Khaomao
Restaurant, just ask for a Motorcycle taxi to guide you there you
wont find it on your own. At down town Mae Sot Hotels are below Baht
800,- per night, the others are over Baht 1200,-. There are also a
guest houses which are cheaper than the hotel, there are
probably some more guesthouses, but careful, they usually are not up
to a good hygienic standard and usually very noisy.
Myanmar people come in -via the border trade regulations- and
offer their more or less cheap jade items right on the road or in a
empty shop space they rent for a few baht. Lots of other Myanmar
people work in all kind of services and nightlife places.
Since this is very
well known to the authorities they
implemented 3 roadblock on the way out of Mae Sot towards Tak,
staffed by military to make sure there is no illegal crossing into
the rest of Thailand. The Myanmar’s can easily come into the city and
the Thai border area and are prevented to move further east by this
way. Myanmar or Burma is also a huge economical factor here-and other- areas since a lot of goods are bought here and moved into Myanmar via the
“border trade”.
The usual gem smuggle route is from Myanmar to |
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Mae Sot, down to Tak and
after to
Bangkok and
Chanthaburi. From
Cambodia
it usually comes in via Trat Province in Thailand and also to
Chanthaburi. From Bangkok only buses leaving from the Mo Chit bus
terminal Bangkok which is also the last station of the BTS Skytrain
Sukhumvit Line. There is no Mae Sot flight, some years ago they
tried the route with a rather old turboprop aircraft but those Mae
Sot flights didn't work out finally.
Mae Sot Tak Road Panorama
Pha Woh Shrine, Mae Sot weather is more or less the same as
in other parts of Thailand but more humid, more cloudy and
some more rain. |
To Umphang
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A short trip into Myanmar over the bridge crossing the Moei
River could be done, but keep in mind that officially you
will exit Thailand and come back on a new entry
stamp.
On the Myanmar
side you are allowed only in the area of Myawaddy no way to
go further.
- Many trader congregate
at the main street
along the gem shops
to inspect gems either with the naked
Myanmar people |
eye or by means of
pencil-light torch or lens -like the
specialist-
pictured right-
who make a living as expert to estimate the
value of the precious stones -here some jade
pearls- smuggled into Thailand from
neighboring Myanmar or Burma. There are
plenty of Mae Sot people from Myanmar. |
There
is a brisk trading with gem's, jade and other precious stones
going on along the main street.
Many
trader inspect gems either with the naked eye, by means
of pencil-light torch or lens -picture right-
who make a living as expert to estimate the value of the
precious stones -here some jade pearls-.
The Myanmar’s can easily come into the Thai
border area and are prevented to move further. Myanmar
is also a important economical factor in this -and other
areas such as
Mae Hong Son- since a lot
of goods are bought here and moved into Myanmar via the
“border trade”. Border trade is also a other expression for
smuggling. On the Myanmar side towards Yangon are again
plenty of roadblocks where the guys in the uniform milk the
truck driver like cows.
Myanmar Thailand border trade is also a other expression for smuggling.
On the
Myanmar side towards
Yangon are again plenty of roadblocks where the
guys in the uniform milk the truck driver like cows. The whole area
on this western border to Myanmar is only minimal developed for any
kind of tourism which is rather strange since the places are really
attractive by any means, but the people who should promote this are
sitting in Bangkok and their focus is Thailand beach almost all
other is ignored, its not a good idea considering this potential. |
Gem
trading shop to inspect gems either with the naked
eye or
by means of pencil-light torch
Cheap
Jade jewelry from Myanmar or Burma
Jade bangle, necklace, ring
and
bead jewelry
Road
to Umphang
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- However the really
interesting spots are found in the vicinity.
The landscape
around is
tropical mountain jungle with small rivers, waterfalls and
caves. The ideal surroundings for hikes, trekking, rafting,
kayaking or simple walk through the national parks.
The entrance fee for foreigner visiting national parks is Baht
200,- , Thai pay officially only Baht 50,- normally however
nothing at all.
Along the road to the south
to Umphang and to the north to
Mae Hong Song are some so
called Mae Sot Karen refugee camp. But this actually are
villages which just look the same like any other normal Thai
village in the area. The fact is that most "Karen Refugee"
in this area live somehow better than the Thai population
since they are taken care of by several welfare groups from
the European Union, some NGO et. they have modern minibuses
to carry the refugees to a clinic if there is any
problem. The only difference in the
living of the refugees to the normal Thai in this area is,
the refugees are not allowed to work and also not to leave
the village, except they have a special permission.
The EU &
several NGO's supply all necessary items and services they need
to live. The Karen refugees live much better here than in
Myanmar and this is the main reason why they left Myanmar,
its not the Myanmar military. The military story was already
over several years ago but is kept boiling by certain Karen
groups to keep the overseas money flowing. I mean I really
wish that the refugees have a better life, but about 80%
what we hear from the media concerning this conflict is
propaganda from certain groups who make money out of this
situation.
Close to the road to the south
is the Kaomao restaurant in a beautiful setting with a lake
and some big birds, see picture below. a real beautiful one, its almost a must to do the trip to
Umphang in the south to experience a real
Thailand adventure travel
with lush tropical mountain jungle, river rafting and great
waterfalls (see below). Actually at Umphang is the biggest
waterfall in Thailand and
probably whole Asia. More about travel to
Umphang is further below. There are a couple of real
beautiful spots around plus good Mae Sot hotels and
restaurants as
you can see at the pictures here, its a pleasant environment
within a tropical vegetation, the elevation is about 200m
but it needs to cross through the hilly region when coming
from Tak and Bangkok with some hills of up to around |
Buddha Statue
Flower pond at the Kaomao Restaurant |
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800 meters.
The Khaomao
Restaurant, right picture, with a private lake is worth
a visit there is hardly a more beautiful environment to be
found anywhere, a real pleasure dome. The Mae Sot
Central Hotel also has a very beautiful located
restaurant beside a pond. In order to really enjoy the area, one should have a
vehicle, at least a motorbike, however due to the driving
manner of the people here and elsewhere in Thailand a very
dangerous issue, that very often finishes in the
hospital or in the grave since most of the people don't care
about rules on the road.
A trip to the south
around Umphang is highly recommended the area is really
great, there are several
waterfalls around
such as the Namtok Pra Charoen
Waterfall, picture right and the biggest falls in
Thailand and probably Asia in general.
- To Umphang
Thee Lor Sue Waterfall Umphang
If you make the trip down south to Umphang you
will see some Karen refugee camps or rather villages since
there is almost no difference to the Thai Karen villages. |
Kaomao Restaurant
Namtok Pra Charoen
Waterfall Thailand |
Mae Sot Refugee
Camp or
Village on the road to Umphang |
Karen Refugee
Camp or rather
Village or Camp between at the road to
Umphang. |
Karen Refugee |
Karen Refugees |
Karen people
fled Myanmar years ago on the advice of
their headman and live there mixed with Thai
Karen. It is very difficult to look through
since Karen are around in this area since
ages, they move more or less freely in this
border area.
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Karen in
Thailand are defined as hill tribes living in the hilly
terrains of North-West Thailand. Karen inhabits the
today Thailand and Myanmar border area since ages, actually
this borders were brought up during by the British during
colonial times. There are approximately 300,000 Karen living
in the hills of Thailand, that includes the Karen refugees
from Myanmar. The Karen mainly live in bamboo and wooden houses
-see above- raised on stilts, with pigs, cow and chickens as
the main livestock. Agriculture, if any because the terrain
Karen live is not supporting agriculture due to the steep
hills, is growing rice.
Thai Karen
Village
Most of Karen people are Christians and animists. They perform
rituals to nat's, the spirits of land, water and the house.
They also believe that spirits live in rocks, tree, and
mountains. They believe that this guardian spirits help them
in leading harmonious lives. |
Map |
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The
natural extension is to download our unique e-book on
southern Thailand where you will find much more content and a lot of
exiting full scale pictures. You can have a look on the screen and if
you like you can print all content on any desktop printer, ...more
e-book
See the Mae Sot video. |
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Mae sot
hotels, hotel Mae
sot,
Bangkok Mae
Sot,
bus to Mae
sot, bus Bangkok Mae
Sot,
Mae Sot refugee camp,
Chiang
Mai Mae Sot,
Mae Sot
Thailand,
Thailand adventure,
hills of northern
Thailand, great outdoor. |
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