Travel to Mae Sai,Chiang Rai Thailand

Mae Sai is a typical (and not very pretty) small Thai town and would normally be completely unremarkable. Nevertheless, it is one of the most exciting places in the kingdom, and that is because it is the most northern spot of the country and across a small river lies the Burmese town Tachilek. Every day, a steady stream of commuters crosses the bridge that marks the borders and Thai consumer goods into Northern Burma (and also carries back Burmese specialties like heroin, smuggled rubies, and so on, but that is a different story). Day visa for Tachilek can (at the moment at least) easily be obtained if you have brought your passport; the cost is 250 Baht. Get the visa at the border checkpoint walk across the bridge and you are in Burma. 

 

It is a matter of just 2 minutes but in these 2 minutes you enter an entirely different world. The atmosphere is remarkably different from the one in Thailand. Hire a Burmese rickshaw driver to take you around Tachilek and inspect the temples and markets. There are lots of shops that offer Burmese specialties like longyis (sarong-like skirts), Cheroots (Burmese cigars) or acquerware - unfortunately also things like tiger claws and other animal parts. Don't buy these as you will get plenty of trouble with the custom's office in your home country if you try to import them.

After you return from Tachilek to Mae Sai you can continue shopping there, some of the souvenirs, especially lacquer ware, are quite pretty, others you should avoid, in particular glass tones in various colours that are sold as gemstones. Mae Sai is also a center of jade trading and if you are interested you can visit some of the workshops to see the jade in its raw state and the methods that are used to process it.

(www.inm-asiaguides.com)