Best Buys On Visa Run To Mae Sai?

[jayinoz]

BEST BUYS in Mae Sai 4 my money (Suggestions);1) Bottle of Vodka and Scotch (Plus JW) in duty free shopping on LEFT as you go over bridge. (Any other look for diamond drill hole at bottom to see it being refilled with crap).2) Boxes of quality cigs for 300bt each. 60% OFF. Not the piss most sell.... once again only in the duty free is what I would recommend. As they try to supply quality and it known by most long termers. On Left across bridge.3) A Restuarant overlooking the water on the left- go straight down that street past immigration building and straight on. Amazing platter of hige prawns for 70bt.4) BLUE RAY DVDs- only from store in Burma market that approx. 6 stores down on right. Only 60-80bt each for BLUE RAY- beat that. Never an issue on big screen. Been buying their DVDs since 2004, now they even better quality copies as straight from BLUE RAY- so the best a DVD disk can do in a DVD player. You will see the difference. 30 bt each- buy bulk for less....ALSO in the Burma market buy nothing from the hand held vendors- boxes of cigs 150bt or less if you bargain. Yet pure piss..... Also the porn movies that they threw at me for 10 for 100bt (How to resist were all 100% blank. Stupid me.I am told the viagra sold by them for a tenth of real price does nothing.... thankfully not needed in my early 30s as yet. Old fellas will tell you they are crude. I guess tempting for them when subscription said to be 2000 bt and being offerred for 200... you will only be done once.Cheers JAY

[sceadugenga]

Agreed the best liquor sales are in the shop just over the bridge...

Never bothered with the cigs or drugs.

Not sure what shop you mean for the movies, I use the one to the right of the steps nearly down to the corner on your left. Never had an issue.

[ginooooo]

When buying anything in Burma or Laos, is there any customs tax coming back into Thailand?

[sunholidaysun1]

When buying anything in Burma or Laos, is there any customs tax coming back into Thailand?

Customs at the border re-entering Thailand very rarely stop farangs, they may ask you to put your goods through

the scanner sometimes. Personally I have never been stopped or had my goods scanned. The customs men seem to know that

the majority of us keep within the guidelines for our cigs/booze and can see the only bag you are carrying doesnt

hold much. One friend did get stopped with me once but he had a box of wine, 800 cigs and 4ltrs of vodka.

He was pulled to the side , told not to do it again and with lots of smiles being passed and appologies for being a stupid farang , they let him through with it all.

As for the bigger electrical items many friends have bought the TV decoder boxes for 2400bht and brought those through without any issues.Bringing in a motorbike will get you an import charge, very high.

[Thighlander]

fake Absolut

fake Marlboro

rotten cigar....

you are now in Myanmar.....

[sunholidaysun1]

fake Absolut

fake Marlboro

rotten cigar....

you are now in Myanmar.....

I buy my cigs/booze like amny of us from the duty free across the bridge on the left. Recently however, the Marlboro

cigs have had water damage and are terrible. I changed brand and the ones I have seem ok. There has never been a problem with the booze in my experience and none of my friends have said what they bought is fake. I cannot say that about the other shops in the market area, best to test yourself and report. Dont buy from the street sellers walking aboutor those offering cigs at 70bht per carton of 200, for sure they are deadly.

[Thighlander]

i thought 500 short time/800 long time from a "house" was a good value in Maesai. Not that any of us have ever paid for it, or anything like that . Sunday evening was a street market event, right by immigration--much more like CNX than some of the other below par restaurants.

If fake Marlboros (made in China) are a problem in LA and NY--don't you think it might be a large problem in Myanmar?

http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/cms/Products/Cigarettes/Protecting_Our_Brands/default.aspx?src=search&q=counterfeit

Here is the 800 Number for Phillip Morris, USA--they will tell you if they are authentic or not. American made Marlboros are only allowed to be sold in the US.

Edited October 12, 2011 by Thighlander

[Thighlander]

http://www.pmi.com/eng/tobacco_regulation/illicit_trade/pages/counterfeit.aspx

and a word from Phillip Morris International.

[OneeyedJohn]

About 6 - 7 weeks ago I was in the Duty Free place, bought whisky, wine and 2 bloody horrible cartons of Marlboro, no better than the <deleted> you get off the street

450 per carton

Edited October 14, 2011 by OneeyedJohn

[ginooooo]

Since I am a smoker of Marlboro Lights in a box, never checked when I have visited and bring 8 cartons with me for a month visit, are there any stores locally, like a 7-11 that sell the real thing?

[sceadugenga]

A friend bought two cartons of Marlborough Lights in Tachilek this week and thought them of inferior quality.

[Thighlander]

Phillip Morris is a great company, that pays a solid dividend--let them know....

[Limbo]

As for the bigger electrical items many friends have bought the TV decoder boxes for 2400bht and brought those through without any issues.

Hoegaarden is one of the great examples with 40 or 45 Baht a bottle.

And Hoegaarden is not the only one! It is in good company there in Tachilek!

Some things however are cheaper at the Thai side of the border.

I don't know which brand of decoder boxes 'Sunholidaysun1' refers to but

the usual ones are 1,500 at this side (1,800 including the card that is

supposed to save you some money for an unknown number of months).

Those are the same that you buy nowadays in Chiang Rai town for 2,200 Baht.

For those among us that don't have to cross the border:

Let somebody check the delivery service.

If it is the way it was a minimum of 12 bottles might

still be brought home to you for the same price.

Limbo

PS Sunholidaysuns1: I suppose your friend was not carrying a disc as well.

They are 900 Baht here in town. Together with the decoder that would be

the price you mention.