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Mae Sot

Mae Sot is a small town bordering Burma in the North East of Thailand. The surrounding area is riddled with refugee camps and settlements. There are a lot of NGO people around all trying to get a slice of the refugee pie. There is also a lot of smuggling and drug trafficking in the area. Mae Sot has numerous gem dealers selling high quality gems, synthetic ones and a lot of very low quality stuff. If you are buying gems make sure you really know your stuff. The trekking is great, especially the mountain views on the way to Umphang but there really is not much to keep you here in the town. You can cross the border here to Burma.

Night Market: On the eastern side you will find the night market comprised of numerous food stalls. Good cheap food, interesting people and lots of beer is a great way to spend some quality time.

Day Trips: There are a number of trekking and rafting day trip that you can join. Many involve a round trip bus ride to Umphang where your trek or raft trip actually begins. You can also go elephant riding, visit a hill tribe, go spelunking,

Longer Trips: There are a number of outfits that have treks and rafting trips for longer periods from a couple of days up to a week. These trips often combine a night or 2 with a hill tribe, some camping and some bamboo rafting. For those of you who like this stuff, there is a great variety to choose from. Me, I like my comforts, so a half day trek and then back to a cozy hotel, AC, a tasty dinner, some beer and no biting bugs will do it for me.

Dogs: I have never seen more mangy dogs in my life. There seemed to be thousands of them everywhere I went. A friend of mine was there the following year and he hardly saw any dogs. Very weird.

Lan Sang National Park: This small National Park, 80 km east of Mae Sot on highway 105 is a great day trip. The hiking is great and the park was quite scenic with lots of viewpoints. Accommodations on site. Phone +66 2562 0760 to reserve.