sarpesius Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Mae Sai has markets along the main road, the quirky hotels along the side streets. As soon as the sun goes down, the town shuts up like a bank vault. Does anyone know anything good about Mae Sai besides the visa run? Is there any reason to stay in Mae Sai longer than one night? Is there any night life, any interesting clubs to speak of? sarpesius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goshawk Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Nothing much here.. after the visa-run, the shopping, the new temple, not a great deal on offer karaoke bars catering mainly to locals.. worth more than one night? IMHO... No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownah Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Sarpesius, Right now Mae Sai is not worth staying more than one minute....in fact my opinion is that right now because of the high levels of smoke in the air all of Chiangrai and probably all of the north are not worth visiting. If I didn't have to stay here to do my farming (some things can't wait) I'd take a vacation right now and go south. Its really unpleasant up here right now....if you have a choice on where to go for a visa run you should probably consider elsewhere until this smoke disipates (probably when it rains). Chownah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goshawk Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Sarpesius,Right now Mae Sai is not worth staying more than one minute....in fact my opinion is that right now because of the high levels of smoke in the air all of Chiangrai and probably all of the north are not worth visiting. If I didn't have to stay here to do my farming (some things can't wait) I'd take a vacation right now and go south. Its really unpleasant up here right now....if you have a choice on where to go for a visa run you should probably consider elsewhere until this smoke disipates (probably when it rains). Chownah ..overreaction.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownah Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Sarpesius,Right now Mae Sai is not worth staying more than one minute....in fact my opinion is that right now because of the high levels of smoke in the air all of Chiangrai and probably all of the north are not worth visiting. If I didn't have to stay here to do my farming (some things can't wait) I'd take a vacation right now and go south. Its really unpleasant up here right now....if you have a choice on where to go for a visa run you should probably consider elsewhere until this smoke disipates (probably when it rains). Chownah ..overreaction.. ...just calling it like I see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnvic Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 A day/night in Mae Sai will be plenty. You'll find the shopping pretty good (cheaper on the Thai side for almost everything) for clothing and the usual outdoor market fare. Eat in Maesai before crossing as the food vendors in Taichelek are pretty questionable. Don't buy porn in Burma, you'll almost certainly get pinched bringing it back. Playing cards are another somewhat innocuous item that can get you in trouble. You may want to take a look at Chiang Saen, and the rest of the Golden Triangle. Maybe take a boat ride on the Mekong. In the mountains there are hilltribe villages and parks. A lot depends on your mode of transport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jai Dee Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 You may want to take a look at Chang Saen, and the rest of the Golden Triangle. Maybe take a boat ride on the Mekong. Seconded... and a longtail boat trip at the triangle will take you over to the Loas duty free market... 400 baht for the boat for an hour or so... only 20 baht landing fee... no passport required.... good cheap alcohol and ciggies to be found, as well as the usual cobra and scorpion whisky etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goshawk Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 for natural beauty make sure you visit Chiang Saen Lake.. A quiet idyll and a wildlife haven.. there's even a couple of resorts should you wish to chill here longer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarpesius Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 You may want to take a look at Chang Saen, and the rest of the Golden Triangle. Maybe take a boat ride on the Mekong. Seconded... and a longtail boat trip at the triangle will take you over to the Loas duty free market... 400 baht for the boat for an hour or so... only 20 baht landing fee... no passport required.... good cheap alcohol and ciggies to be found, as well as the usual cobra and scorpion whisky etc. The problem with chang saen is that there is less happening there than even in mai sai. Mae sai shuts up like a bank vault as soon as the sun goes down, but before that there is something happening. The only reason to go to chang saen is if you really don't want to see anybody or do anything social. Maybe if you have a huge stack of books to read. sarpesius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toybits Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 From Mae Sai, visit the Hall of Opium. World class museum run by the Mae Fah Luang Foundation. 300 baht entrance fee but every baht well spent. Need two hours to walk through the galleries and absorb all of that information. This is located near Sop Ruak or what is popularly known as the Golden Triangle. Mae Sai has markets along the main road, the quirky hotels along the side streets. As soon as the sun goes down, the town shuts up like a bank vault. Does anyone know anything good about Mae Sai besides the visa run? Is there any reason to stay in Mae Sai longer than one night? Is there any night life, any interesting clubs to speak of? sarpesius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbojumbo Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Mae Sai is a day trip for shopping, visa runs, etc. Not many stay the night except back packers. There are some bargains there. Optics-binoch's, telescopes, cigs, umbrellas, toys, nuts, reading glasses, calculators, cheap chinese made anything, cheap viagra and others-maybe. Night time is dead last time i was there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarpesius Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 Mai Sai is a day trip for shopping, visa runs, etc. Not many stay the night except back packers. There are some bargains there. Optics-binoch's, telescopes, cigs, umbrellas, toys, nuts, reading glasses, calculators, cheap chinese made anything, cheap viagra and others-maybe. Night time is dead last time i was there. I just saw an internet ad for a guest hostel called Monkey Island. It says a private room is 100 Baht, but I have not seen prices like that for years in Thailand. I would bet that when you got there, the price of a room was 250 Baht. As for night life, if you walk south back on the road to Chiang Rai a bit then turn right (going west) you find a group of small clubs mainly for college age people. This is only night life I have found in Mae Sai. sarpesius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goski Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Border towns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahmburgers Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 mae sai yes, not much to do. I bring a bicycle and peddle east along the south side of the polluted river - rather serene but not much else. there are bunches of 'tamada' restaurants if you enjoy msg laden fare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my friend I Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I just saw an internet ad for a guest hostel called Monkey Island. It says a private room is 100 Baht, but I have not seen prices like that for years in Thailand. I would bet that when you got there, the price of a room was 250 Baht. There is a sign at Monkey Island saying 100bt a night but I was told its share bathroom. If u go about 50 metres past there a fairly new hotel has good rooms with prices u can negotiate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarpesius Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 There is a sign at Monkey Island saying 100bt a night but I was told its share bathroom. If u go about 50 metres past there a fairly new hotel has good rooms with prices u can negotiate I may have stayed in it, but I was never able able to negotiate down below 250. Getting a room on the river is not much fun at night because the Burmese shine this blinding spotlight straight toward the Thai side. sarpesius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuniorExPat Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 Sarpesius,Right now Mae Sai is not worth staying more than one minute....in fact my opinion is that right now because of the high levels of smoke in the air all of Chiangrai and probably all of the north are not worth visiting. If I didn't have to stay here to do my farming (some things can't wait) I'd take a vacation right now and go south. Its really unpleasant up here right now....if you have a choice on where to go for a visa run you should probably consider elsewhere until this smoke disipates (probably when it rains). Chownah ..overreaction.. Far from it, more of a friendly heads-up that the air quality up here right now is poor to the point of being dangerous to health. JxP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sceadugenga Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Sarpesius,Right now Mae Sai is not worth staying more than one minute....in fact my opinion is that right now because of the high levels of smoke in the air all of Chiangrai and probably all of the north are not worth visiting. If I didn't have to stay here to do my farming (some things can't wait) I'd take a vacation right now and go south. Its really unpleasant up here right now....if you have a choice on where to go for a visa run you should probably consider elsewhere until this smoke disipates (probably when it rains). Chownah ..overreaction.. Far from it, more of a friendly heads-up that the air quality up here right now is poor to the point of being dangerous to health. JxP I've never seen it so bad, I flew out last week and we would have been at at 6000m before we cleared it. By comparison Bangkok was as clear as a bell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarpesius Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share Posted March 25, 2007 I've never seen it so bad, I flew out last week and we would have been at at 6000m before we cleared it. By comparison Bangkok was as clear as a bell. So if you wait till the haze clears up north, it will be the rainy season. Then there will be danger of flooding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiki256 Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 one day trip would be more than enough. nothing much to see. mostly shopping and casual walk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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