Find five-star dining in surprising Mae Sot

The city of Mae Sot in western Thailand displays most of the hallmarks of a small border crossing hub. Rich in trade, the quiet little town is a fascinating melting pot of people.

Over decades, influxes of refugees fleeing neighbouring Myanmar, many from the persecuted Karen tribe, have shaped the city and earned it the nickname of ‘Little Burma’.

Along the streets, the Burmese influence is evident in the food stalls and the way people dress: Burmese men in their longyi (sarongs), ladies with thanaka bark on their cheeks, Hmong and Karen women wearing their traditional hill-tribe dresses.

Due to the large population of refugees, the town has become a base for foreign NGOs and a destination for voluntourists stopping over to teach English.

With Myanmar a hop away, Mae Sot has been a convenient place for foreign tourists to cross the border to renew their Thai visa and resume their wanderings around Thailand. Thus I had primarily associated the city with easy “visa runs”.

However, a business trip combined with a long weekend changed my perception of Mae Sot and made me realise that this little town had a few surprises in store if, like me, you enjoy off-the-beaten-track experiences ...

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