Northern Thailand - Thailand - page 744

GETTING TO MYANMAR: MAE SOT TO MYAWADDY

The 420m Friendship Bridge that links Mae Sot and Myawaddy, in Myanmar's Kayin State, is one of a handful of
newly open land borders between the two countries.
Getting to the Border Sŏrng·tăa·ou make frequent trips between Mae Sot and the Friendship Bridge from 6am
to 6pm (20B).

At the border Immigration procedures are taken care of at the Thai immigration booth ( 0 5556 3004;
6.30am-6.30pm) at the Friendship Bridge. Cross to the Myanmar immigration booth, where, if you've already
procured a Myanmar visa in Bangkok or elsewhere, you'll be allowed to proceed to other destinations. Otherwise
you must pay a fee of 500B for a temporary ID card at the Myanmar immigration booth ( 95 0585 0100;
6am-6pm) , which allows you to stay in Myawaddy until 6pm the same day; your passport will be kept at the
border.
Myawaddy is a fairly typical Burmese town, with a number of monasteries, schools, shops and so on. The most
important temple is Shwe Muay Wan (Dar Tu Kalair St) a traditional bell-shaped chedi gilded with many kilos of
gold and topped by more than 1600 precious and semiprecious gems. Another noted Buddhist temple is
Myikyaungon (Nat Shin Naung St) called Wat Don Jarakhe in Thai and named for its gaudy, crocodile-shaped
sanctuary. Myawaddy's 1000-year-old earthen city walls, probably erected by the area's original Mon inhabitants,
can be seen along the southern side of town.
Moving On About 200m from the border, on the corner with Pattamyar St, is a glut of white share taxis (called
'vans' by the Burmese). Cars depart when full between 6am and 5pm - on even-numbered days only; destinations
include Mawlamyine (10,000K to 15,000K, six hours), Hpa-an (10,000K to 15,000K, six hours) and Yangon
(40,000K, 14 hours). There's also a bus to Yangon (12,000K, 16 hour), departing from a small office on Pattam-
yar St at 5am daily.

Shopping
Mae Sot is most famous for its gems trade and is the most important jade and gem centre
along the border. Check out the hustle and bustle among the glittering treasures in the gem
shops OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP ( 8am-6pm) along Th Prasatwithi, just east of the morning

market.

Municipal Market
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP

MARKET

(off Th Prasatwithi; 6am-6pm) Mae Sot's municipal market is among the largest and most vi-
brant we've encountered anywhere in Thailand. There's heaps of exotic stuff from Myan-
mar, including Burmese bookshops, sticks of thanaka (the source of the yellow powder
you see on many faces), bags of pickled tea leaves and velvet thong slippers from Man-
dalay.

Borderline Shop

HANDICRAFTS