Mae Sot

Left Sukhothai early this morning to get thr bus to Mae Sot, the town on the border of Thailand and Myanmar which I will be crossing in the morning. The journey was easy but the driver was a little throttle-heavy which was unnerving on the windy, mountainous roads we travelled along. When i arrived there was no onslaught of 'tuk-tuk ma'am' and instead I had to find some help to work out how to get to the hotel as it was a little far to walk. A kind man helped me but in the end decided to get me a motorbike taxi and negotiate 30 baht to the hotel (a dollar). Have you ever riden pillion on a motorbike with a 17kg backpack and a 7kg bag? I have, it takes balance, i can tell you...
Mae Sot is a very interesting town; very few westerners here. The odd adventurous traveller but mostly NGO workers here for the Burmese refugee camps. It is so far removed from the tourist centred parts of Thailand and I have really seen the 'local' way of life here. The market was especially interesting, bustling and colourful. There were many aquatic beings, some dead, some alive; frogs, turtles, eels, fish... All the writing is in Thai and Burmese, very little English words.
Later in the afternoon I went to a herbal sauna at the back of a temple near the monks living quarters. It was basically a brick and timber hut but it was a very good sauna. I was there with lots of locals who have probably never seen a felang in the steam.
Tomorrow I will make the journey across the border and the tales will continue.Leggi altro