Aof told me, there was a big market, and things were sold at very cheap prices. For example, she said she got the above sunglasses at just 40B (approximately RM4)!
We still met a lot of roadblocks on the way. Mong Kon, the driver, would say "SAI KAP" to the police. I asked what did that mean. Aof told me, SAI means Mae Sai, and KAP is a courtesy word said by a man. Overall, it meant, we are going to Mae Sai.
If a woman were to say the same, it would be "SAI KAH".
Reaching Mae Sai. To be honest, previously I thought it's a downtrodden town, but it was not really so. 
We got off from the car.. and the shopping spree started!!
Too much choices, but limited time and money?
Pardon me for bombarding you with lotsa photos again. There is really not much to talk about. It was just a simply walk around.
Aof had got a list of items to shop. I asked her to buy the things first whilst I'd just tag along and take some photos. She actually felt kinda not-so-good, but I told her, no worries, just do your shopping. I don't have any specific to buy.
The area was loaded with cheap goods from China, Thailand, and Myanmar. 
Since the cheap stuff might not have very good quality, perhaps buying some junk food is not a bad idea. 
The passion fruit. 
The stalls in Mae Sai are even more "multi-lingual" than those in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. 
Eh, where is the person-in-charge?
A chestnut stall. 
Originates from China, right?
Out of somewhere, this little boy followed us, asking for money. Aof told me to ignore him, by not giving any response. 
All the while, I only heard "Chinatown". I first encountered with "Chinesetown" at Mae Sai :)
Ah.. we saw a stall selling sunglasses. We were curious if we could get a pair of sunglasses at 40B, as what Aof told me earlier. 
Finally, we got it! Bargain is a must when you shop here! However, the man scolded Aof for helping a tourist (me) to bargain. I didn't know what his exact sentences were. I don't understand Thai. 
Aof bought 12 of this for 100B. She said, at Tachilek (Myanmar - priced in and payable in Thai Baht), the same price gets you 3 more packets. 
A very happy character with nice smile. 
Three for 50B!
Is she a Thai or a Burmese?
While writing this post, I realized that I missed something. If you get to Mae Sai next time, don't forget to visit a temple atop a hill to overlook the town - it's a Thai market town built around a river, which cut through the middle of it.
Photo by Adam. In this picture, the top half above the river is Burma and the bottom half below the river is Thailand.
"Everything looks normal at first glance, but when you look closely you can see a bridge over the river with no vehicles, just lots of people carrying luggage, and a checkpoint at either side. And Burma is so close, you feel you can reach out and touch it." ~ by Adam
Read more about Mae Sai here
0 comments:
Post a Comment