Mae Sai

Mae Sai (แม่สาย) is the northernmost city of Thailand. It is mainly a stepping stone for visits to Myanmar and has a few attractions of its own. Wat Pha That Doi Wao is an interesting temple complex on a hillside overlooking the border. It has a large scorpion facing (pointedly) toward Myanmar. The market in Mae Sai is marginally more expensive than that across the border in Tachilek, but has a slightly wider range of goods.



Get in
As of 26/11/2023 the land border between Mae Sai and Tachilek remains closed to foreigners, so don't visit Mae Sai expecting to hop into Myanmar for the day.

By bus
By bus from Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai. Buses from Chiang Rai are very frequent (every 10-15 min), cost 40 baht (one way) and take about 1½ hours, while buses from Chiang Mai take about 4 hours (210 baht one way). All public buses terminate at a bus station well south of Mae Sai, so you have to continue onward to the city proper with red songthaews waiting outside (20 baht per passenger fixed fare). The blue songthaews to/from the Golden Triangle and Chiang Saen, on the other hand, leave from a stand in the city centre a few hundred metres down the street from the border. The last blue songthaew that departs for Chiang Saen leaves at 14:00.

There are day-tours taking visitors to Mae Sai, the Golden Triangle, and a couple of other places to see on the way as well. Tourist minibuses are more expensive (around 800 baht for a day tour from Chiang Mai including lunch) and, if fully loaded (but this is not always the case), are much less comfortable. However, this is still an option worth considering, if you want to combine your visa run with a sightseeing tour through Chiang Rai Province.

By car
Mae Sai is 61 km from Chiang Rai on Hwy 110.

Get around
Mae Sai is a one-street town and the centre is easily covered on foot.

MaeSai Scooters has rentals and tours at a great price to see the most of this ethnic border town.

See


There's really only one place to visit in Mae Sai, but many visitors breeze past it on their way to Myanmar.


 * The gate that purports to mark the northernmost point of Thailand (good for pictures, but the actual northernmost point is few kilometres east from the town, where the Sai river joins the Ruak river coming from Myanmar).
 * The gate that purports to mark the northernmost point of Thailand (good for pictures, but the actual northernmost point is few kilometres east from the town, where the Sai river joins the Ruak river coming from Myanmar).

Do

 * Cross (which the Thais call Tha Khi Lek ท่าขี้เหล็ก). An entry permit valid for up to 14 days costs US$10 or alternatively 500 baht. People are given a paper entry permit and their passports are held at the immigration office until they return to Thailand. Stop at the entry point and talk with the Thai officials to organise this. It is easily done, but beware that if you're leaving Thailand shortly before your visa or, especially, the 30-day stamp expires, you may be questioned and they even may not allow you to go to Myanmar due to the current policy against "border runs", which once were a very popular reason for foreigners to go to Tachileik for a few hours and back to get another 30 days in Thailand visa-free. In the Tachilek market just over the border, expect to be assaulted by any number of persons offering cheap cigarettes and Viagra/Cialis. From here, you can travel as far as Kengtung (Thai Chiang Tung), 160 km away, but to travel to the rest of Myanmar, a visa in advance is needed. Transit travellers can arrange for a visa and can have their passport sent to their port of exit. Some local NGOs are worth visiting to see some of their humanitarian work.

Buy


There are plenty of small shops lining both sides of the street leading to the border crossing that sell:


 * Cheap jewels (rubies, emeralds and jade) imported from Myanmar
 * Cheap curio items, many of which are imported from China
 * Fresh cut fruit

Eat

 * Siri Cafe and Restaurant (Pa Yang Rd, about 1/2 km east of Phahonyottin rd) serves good quality Thai food in a sophisticated (for Mae Sai) garden setting. Not isn't cheap, but there isn't much competition.
 * Siri Cafe and Restaurant (Pa Yang Rd, about 1/2 km east of Phahonyottin rd) serves good quality Thai food in a sophisticated (for Mae Sai) garden setting. Not isn't cheap, but there isn't much competition.

Drink
There are several comfortable coffee shops on the main road leading to the immigration checkpoint.

Talk
As Mae Sai is a border town with many ethnic groups and nationalities, a wide variety of languages are spoken in the town. Besides Standard Thai and Northern Thai (Mueang or Lanna), Shan (Tai Yai) and Burmese are widely spoken in town. Yunnanese and Mandarin Chinese are usually spoken understood by shopkeepers, since many business owners in Mae Sai are ethnic Chinese. Hill tribe languages such as Akha, Lisu, and Palaung can also often be heard.

Go next
For long-distance buses, head to the Mae Sai bus terminal, about 5 km south of the Mae Sai town center. It can reached by songthaews (shared pickup trucks) regularly running between the bus terminal and the border every 15-30 minutes; the fare is 15 baht per person.

The Green Bus Company has buses to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai every few hours. Ticket prices vary, and are usually around 200 baht. Many buses do not have restrooms.

Songthaews to many different places around Mae Sai District can be found in front of the Myanmar-Thailand bridge crossing.


 * On foot across the short bridge to Tachileik, Myanmar
 * By bus or car to Chiang Rai and beyond