North Thailand Road Trip (Part 8): Mae Sai the Most North of Siam

After our short tour in the creepy Black House of Chiang Rai, our generous friends: Thai and Filipina couple Yam and J brought us to Mae Sai, the northernmost town of Thailand.

Mae Sai’s main tourist attraction is the opportunity to cross the border to the Myanmar town of Tachileik.

I also had the same opportunity when we were in Mae Sai but I didn’t take it. The reason is that no one will accompany me and I think there’s not much to see Tachileik. I also had to undergo much hassle, like immigration checks, just for a few minutes of stay in Myanmar.

I just contented myself with taking photos of the bridge connecting Thailand and Myanmar:

There’s plenty of people crossing the bridge.  Most of them are Thais and Myanmar people but there are tourists among the crowd.

Mae Sai is also a good place to eat. I believe that there are restaurants here that sell Myanmar dish.

Our friend brought us to a noodle shop located beside Mae Sai River.

Here comes my Kow Soy.

My noodle soup tasted fine just like the Kow Soy that I tasted in Chiang Rai.

Our seat overlooks Mae Sai River, the border bridge, and Myanmar – nothing much to see actually. Well, there were kids playing in Mae Sai River while we eat. I guess the border police of Thailand and Myanmar doesn’t care if these kids cross the boundary.

Since it’s a border town, its main economic activity is the trade of goods from Myanmar. So after finishing our Kow Soy we went next to Mae Sai border market.

Mae Sai is popular for its jade industry. Jade stones are imported from Myanmar and then polished in Mae Sai. I saw a lot of jade figurines in the border market but I didn’t buy any.

What I bought is a piece of Myanmar cloth for my Beloved.

I also bought wooden jewelry boxes for my mother and my mother-in-law, a ref magnet (which is a proof of my visit to Mae Sai), and other souvenir items.

Aside from items imported from Myanmar, Mae Sai border market also have items made from China. In fact, I saw some cheap items that are also available in Divisoria.

I think there’s sizable number of Chinese in Mae Sai. In fact, this town has big Chinese temple and many business owners are Chinese.

There’s nothing much to expect in Mae Sai aside from being the northernmost town of Thailand. Even the border market is not worth effort for tourists to go all the way north.  Good thing that I had generous friends who brought us to Mae Sai because I will not go to this town if I’m traveling alone.

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Read more of our adventures in North Thailand:

North Thailand Road Trip (Part 1): Lampang’s Hidden Gem
North Thailand Road Trip (Part 2): A Taste of Chiang Rai’s Kôw Soy
North Thailand Road Trip (Part 3):Coffee Time at Le Petit Café
North Thailand Road Trip (Part 4): The Bizarre White Temple of Chiang Rai
North Thailand Road Trip (Part 5): Eating Bugs in Chiang Rai Night Market
North Thailand Road Trip (Part 6): Our Moon and Sun Hotel Experience (Chiang Rai)
North Thailand Road Trip (Part 7): The Macabre Black House of Thailand
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