Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget

Travel Reference

In-Depth Information

MAE SAI

MAE SAI , with its bustling border

crossing, is hailand's northernmost

town, 61km from Chiang Rai. hanon

Phaholyothin is the town's single

north-south street, which ends at a

pedestrianized bridge over the Mae Sai

River, the frontier with Myanmar.

It's possible to make a day-trip across to

Tachileik in Myanmar (6am-6pm; note

that Myanmar is 30min behind

hailand), though the frontier is

occasionally closed during disputes. hai

immigration on the bridge will exit-

stamp your passport; on the Burmese side

it costs B500 or US$10 for a one-day

stay. On return to hailand you'll

automatically be given a new fifteen-day

visa (thirty days for British, US and

Canadian citizens).

ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION

By bus Buses to Mae Sai stop 4km south of the frontier at

the bus station, from where frequent songthaews (B20)

run into town.

Information There's a tourist police booth ( T 1155) at

the frontier bridge.

shared hot s howers. Breakfast included. Dorm B300 ,

double B550

Chat House 3/2 Soi Sangkaew, Th Trairat T 053 711481,

W chatguesthouse.com. Behind its own garden café-bakery

on a quiet soi, Chiang Rai's longest-running travellers'

hangout has a laidback atmosphere and fantastic staff. The

cheaper rooms are in an old, mostly woode n house with

shared hot showers. Dorm B100 , double B200

Jitaree 246/3 Soi Santirat, Th Singhaklai T 053 719348.

Welcoming place offering big, clean rooms with hot

showers in a concrete block with h anging plants, set

around a large courtyard. Double B300

Tourist Inn 1004/4-6 Th Jet Yot T 053 752094, W tourist

innhotel.com. Clean guesthouse with its own European-

style bakery, serving good breakfasts, and rooms with

hot-water bathrooms, both shared and private. Free wi-fi

in the main building. Double B200

10

EATING AND DRINKING

There's a wide selection of food stalls in the night bazaar

off Th Phaholyothin selling everything from roasted

crickets to tom yam kung . You need never go without a

good coffee fix in Chiang Rai: the stuff grown on the

nearby mountains of Doi Wawee, Doi Chaang and Doi

Salong is served up at eponymous cafés around the main

Rattanakhet-Phaholyothin junction.

Baan Chivit Mai 172 Th Prasobsuk, opposite the old bus

station W baanchivitmai.com. Bakery run by a Swedish

charity that helps children in Chiang Rai and Bangkok

slums. Very clean a/c café, serving excellent sandwiches,

cakes (chocolate cake B45) and coffees, plus pastas

and simple Thai dishes. Internet access. Mon-Sat

8am-8.30pm.

Cabbages and Condoms 620/25 Th Tanalai. Proclaiming

“our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy”, this

popular restaurant run by the Population and Community

Development Association serves traditional northern and

veggie dishes (B70-200) and hosts regular live music.

Daily 10am-midnight.

Salungkham 834/3 Th Phaholyothin, between King

Mengrai's statue and the river T 053 717192. By far the

best Thai and northern Thai food in town (mains from

B80), with a garden for evening dining; try the superb

banana-flower salad with fresh prawns. There's no sign

in English, but look out for the Cosmo petrol station

opposite. Daily 10.30am-10pm.

ACCOMMODATION

Yeesun Guest House T 053 733455. There's no

reason to stay in Mae Sai; if you get stuck, head for

Yeesun Guest House , which offers a/c rooms with hot

showers a 5min w alk w est of the frontier bridge on the

riverbank. Double B500

SOP RUAK

For the benefit of tourists, the “ Golden

Triangle ” (see box, p.765) has been

artificially concentrated into the precise

spot where the hai, Lao and Burmese

borders meet, at the confluence of the

Ruak and Mekong rivers, 70km northeast

of Chiang Rai: SOP RUAK . Don't expect

to run into sinister drug-runners, addicts

or even poppy fields here - instead, you'll

find souvenir stalls and much-

photographed “Golden Triangle” signs.

he ambitious Hall of Opium , about 2km

out of the village towards Mae Sai

(Tues-Sun 8.30am-5.30pm, last entry

4pm; B300), gives an imaginatively

presented, balanced picture of the use

and abuse of opium, and its history over