Chiang Rai Off The Beaten Path

Mae Sai is about 2 hours from Chiang Rai city. It is the northern-most point in Thailand. The town of Tachileik in Myanmar (Burma) is just north of the border. The things in Mae Sai are cheaper than in CR, mostly made in China goods that came from China via Myanmar (Burma). You can find all kinds of goods available here, from pirated VCDs, clothing, shoes, Chinese snacks and dried food. Most vendors here can speak Mandarin. There is a sprawling market within walking distance from the border gate.

You can get a day visa into Burma, but you can't go beyond Tachileik. There is really nothing much to see there, other than more Chinese goods at even cheaper price. Tachileik is one of the popular visa run border towns. But the border can be closed at times with the unstable relationship between Burma and Thailand.

There are many buses that go to Mae Sai from Chiang Rai city, roughly once or twice every hour. Be sure to bring your passport with you as there is a police check point along the highway. You need to transfer to a songtaew from the Mae Sai bus station to town. You can get off near the border (the three storey building/gate in the photo).

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Khun Korn Waterfall , is at the end of a 30 minute trek through a majestic forest. A gorgeous and peacefull setting with many mountains surrounding the park. It is about 30 minutes from central of Chiangrai.. Khun Korn Waterfall is the tallest fall in Chiangrai,70 metres tall.

Rice is a main food in Thailand, so no wonder they grow it here, too.
The difference to other countries that also grow rice is, that you won´t see many terraces, because the area is flatter.

The land around Chiang Rai is one of thailands main Rice growing grounds. Don´t hast ethrough this or you will miss an important part of Thailands culture.

Rice can be grown twice in a year. It takes a lot of water. When they have taken the fruit, they let the water out, so the rest of the plant gets dry.
They use this to feed the animals (and the dung of the animals is the fertilizer for next time).

It's well worth taking a boat trip down the Meh Kok river.

It's only a day long and costs in the region of 600 baht (10 English pounds) but you get to go elephant trekking around a hill tribe (although one that is well used to tourism) and take a dip in the hot springs. On the way back if its in the early evening the chances are that you'll get to see a fantastic sun set.

It really is a journey well worth taking.