Mae Sai, located in Chiang Rai Province is Thailand\u2019s northern most town.\u00a0 It is a bustling area with a lively market and is a stepping stone for many into Myanmar.\u00a0 Just five kilometers separate the town with Tachileik in Burma, which can be reached by crossing the bridge over the Mae Sai River.\u00a0 If you want to savor the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the Golden Triangle, these two towns are certainly good places to be.<\/p>\n
One of the main features of Mae Sai is its straight and wide road that cuts through the town and leads to the bridge that connects Thailand with Myanmar.\u00a0 This road (known as Paholyothin Road, or Highway 1) actually originated in downtown Bangkok at the Victory Monument intersection and runs all the way to the border, covering a length of approximately 1,000 kilometers.<\/p>\n
One of the main sites at Mae Sai is Wat Phra That Wai Dao, which is on a hill overlooking the two towns.\u00a0 A small Burmese-style temple gives visitors a preview of the architectural style of Thailand\u2019s neighbor.\u00a0\u00a0 The surrounding monuments portray the long history these two countries shared with each other.\u00a0 Not too far is a monument of King Naresuan, one of Thailand\u2019s most revered monarchs most remembered for his campaigns against the Burmese during the two countries numerous skirmishes with each other.<\/p>\n
Just walking around town and savoring the market atmosphere in Mae Sai is an experience in itself.\u00a0 Not only will you come across crafts and garments from both countries, but also food, snacks and a whole lot of other items.\u00a0 It is also interesting to see Thai and Burmese merchants selling their goods side by side.<\/p>\n
After crossing the bridge and entering Myanmar, expect to find the same atmosphere in Tachileik as you would in Mae Sai.\u00a0 It is also a bustling border town, with a lively market to match the atmosphere.\u00a0 There is also a large golden stupa in town, similar in layout to Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon and with planetary posts representing each day of the week.\u00a0 A devotee would go to the post that corresponds to the day of the week of his\/her birthday and pray there, just like at Shwedagon.<\/p>\n
The Golden Triangle area is a fascinating region of Southeast Asia.\u00a0 Once home to insurgent armies and renowned as a haven for opium smugglers, these lands are now safe and very accommodating to visitors.\u00a0 It is also an exciting and incredibly atmospheric and interesting, not to mention beautiful, place to visit.\u00a0 Exotissimo\u2019s The Golden Triangle & the Mekong River Adventure<\/a> is an enlightening journey into this region.\u00a0 Traveling at the unhurried pace of the Mekong itself, your voyage will have you admiring traditional crafts, tasting authentic regional cuisine, and relaxing among unspoiled wild scenery.\u00a0 You can also look into our Thailand tours<\/a> page and Myanmar tours<\/a> page for other memorable trips into these two unique and certainly fascinating countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mae Sai, located in Chiang Rai Province is Thailand\u2019s northern most town.\u00a0 It is a bustling area with a lively market and is a stepping stone for many into Myanmar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"close","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[249],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-myanmar"],"yoast_head":"\n