TRAVEL SCRAPBOOK
Nestled in a remote valley on the western border of Thailand, Mae Sot and its neighbour, Myawaddy in Myanmar, are among the most vibrant border towns.
Huge shopping malls and showrooms dot the road leading to the border checkpoint. Trailers hauling shipping containers wait in a serpentine queue to cross the border. A big LED sign flashes motorists with latest sale promotions and advertisements. Metered taxis await passengers at the airport, and a third condominium project is being completed. Bars and restaurants fill up the night with songs and laughter.
Compared to Tak, which serves as provincial administration centre, Mae Sot is much busier and livelier. It is hard to believe that in less than two decades, this border town has developed so much.
Mae Sot has an airport with scheduled flights from Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Its bus terminal offers services from Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Nakhon Sawan, as well as from other border towns like Mae Sai in Chiang Rai and Laem Ngob in Trat. From dawn till dusk, the van terminal at the foot of Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge is packed with Myanmar labourers who make their money in Samut Songkhram's fishing industry.
It is the border trade that has made Mae Sot grow dramatically in recent years. Mae Sot serves as a significant gateway for Thai products flooding Myawaddy, the city across the Moei River in the Karen state, which also serves as gateway to Myanmar.
The border trade volume in Mae Sot rose to 64 billion baht in the first 10 months of this year, compared to 55 billion baht in 2014 and 44 billion baht in 2013.
Development has also spread to Myawaddy's western bank along the Moei River, with the construction of an industrial estate. The Thai government recently subsidised a billion baht project to construct a two-lane, 18km road from Myawaddy to Kawkareik, aimed at improving logistics between the two countries.
"Completion of the new road from Myawaddy to Kawkareik, which links to Myanmar's internal road system, has improved efficiency and allowed goods transportation to skyrocket," says Somsak Kaveeratchairman of the Tak Chamber of Commerce.
Besides the fast growing trade volume, road improvements have turned Mae Sot and Myawaddy into transportation hubs. The current improvement of Highway 12 allows motorists to drive from Mae Sot to Thailand's eastern border in Mukdahan and cross into Laos and Vietnam. From Myawaddy, tourists can travel to Moulmein or deeper into Myanmar.
But development does not grow too fast in the heart of Myawaddy. The town, as usual, remains busy with messy roads and a rustic atmosphere. Myanmar labourers walk across the Friendship Bridge daily to work in Mae Sot. Merchants pack their trucks with goods from Mae Sot before heading to other towns in Myanmar. Taxi drivers and Myanmar tricycle drivers, or "saika", await passengers. Buddhist temples impress pilgrims with their shining pagodas and marvellous sculptures.
Mae Sot and Myawaddy are border towns filled with surprises waiting to be discovered.
Enjoy the quaint sights of Myawaddy on a unique ride.
Mae Sot is a culinary melting pot, serving up a wide range of Myanmar, Thai and Chinese cuisines. This roti shop on Si Panich Road is a popular breakfast spot. The roti is baked in a clay oven and is served with various curries and hot Myanmar milk tea.
Mae Sot is one the best places in Thailand to buy second-handed bicycles from Japan. Old bicycles are transported in shipping containers from ports in Chon Buri to Mae Sot for re-exporting into Myanmar. At cargo piers along the Moei River, bicycles are reassembled, serviced and sold on site. Since there is demand for used bicycles on the Thai side, as well, a few shops in Mae Sot town sell them. All bicycles leaving Mae Sot for other parts of Thailand incur 200 baht customs tax. Usually, cycle shops absorb this expense.
Pha Charoen Falls is the perfect picnic spot. The stream cascades through 97 small steps amid a lush, shady jungle. The falls is at KM36 on Highway 1090.
Thanks to its cool weather, Phob Pra district grows an abundance of roses. There are a number rose farms you can visit, but Pathom Phet Rose Farm is unique because it develops roses that remain fresh for years. Fresh roses are gradually dried in silica gel before being kept in a box. The process makes the flowers last a long time without losing their original colour.
In Phob Pra district stands an unusual coffee house, which is in a barn situated on a hill overlooking orchards. Besides serving freshly brewed coffee from the area, Rocha Café & Bistro offers stunning interiors, a fern garden and flower beds.
Myanmar gems make Mae Sot a trading hub. Besides an abundance of Myanmar jade, you will find various precious stones at roadside stalls.
'Saika', the unique Myanmar tricycle, can be found in Mae Sot. Unlike Thai tricycles, its passengers' seats are on the side and it can carry three passengers. Myanmar people say the word saika may be derived from the English word sidecar.
The Mi Chaung Gone Monastery in Myawaddy is an outstanding piece of architecture with a 65m-long crocodile-shape building, which serves as a library. Legend has it that a crocodile once hunted a monk here, but the monk gave the crocodile a sermon in dhamma and made it change its mind. The crocodile then turned its head to the golden pagoda to pay homage. The building is to commemorate the crocodile after it died.
As the Myanmarese modernise their homes, their old stuff is sold in the markets of Mae Sot, making the border town a good source of Myanmar antiques. Antiquities range from old wall clocks, old-fashioned radios and Buddha statues, to lamps, toys and outdoor cinema projectors.
The Golden Pagoda Temple is a short drive into Myanmar from the border checkpoint. It houses a 37m-high pagoda with a crown decorated with gems. There are four Buddha statues on its grounds, for the four directions, one of which is a replica of the golden Buddha image at Mahamuni Temple in Mandalay. It is believed that the pagoda is more than 1,000 years old.
Built in 2001, Pratathinyai offers a panoramic view of Myawaddy. The shrine is known for granting wishes of love, career and wealth.
Moulmein, the capital of Mon State, is around 170km from Myawaddy. Set at the mouth of the Salween River, the busy port town once served as the capital of British Burma from 1826-1852. The city is full of colonial architecture and vintage trucks from World War II.
The longest bridge in Myanmar, Thanlwin Bridge, spans 3km over the confluence of the Salween, Gyaing and Attanyan Rivers, and is in Moulmein.
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