Returning to Mae Sot for a visa run at Mywaddy, Burma

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Not long after settling into MHS I found myself already back in Mae Sot town. While I was dreading making the 8 hour journey through all the twisted curves again I had no choice but to return for a visa run in Mywaddy, Burma. I spent a week in Mae Sot which coincided with the farewell of an Australian work colleague, Claire.

On the day after arriving into Mae Sot Daryl drove me to the Moei River Friendship Bridge to do my border run, which proved to be an amusing experience. He explained to the Thai immigration officer that we were there to renew my visa. The officer wasn’t that receptive to Daryl, proceeded to speak to me in Thai and had a hard time believing I was the foreigner, even after I showed him my Australian passport. I think Daryl being a white American speaking fluent Thai with Asian looking me standing next to him not being able to utter a word except Sawadee Ka, definitely confused the poor guy. Upon arriving into Mywaddy, Burmese immigration officials also mistook me for a local and began talking to me in Burmese. I guess these are the benefits of having a multicultural face in Asia you can just blend in and remain pretty inconspicuous; that is before you have to open your mouth.

I stayed in Mywaddy for only an hour which was enough time for me to notice the difference across the border - it was a lot poorer then Mae Sot, there were less motorised vehicles, numerous saamlaw drivers asking me if I wanted to be driven somewhere and many self-proclaimed guides trying to sell me tours of the town. I managed to visit a temple close to the border crossing and wander the main street. Mywaddy is the furthest town you are permitted to enter on foot into Burma and is the most important trading point between both countries.

You will see from the photos that many of the hill tribes will sell their vegetables on the front of our Mae Sot office stairs. After having spent time with the Hmong in Vietnam I have taken a particular liking to this tribe. It is not difficult when the children have big, beautiful round faces, cheeky smiles and dark Mongolian-Chinese like features. It is said that they originated from Mongolia or West Asia and later migrated into China. According to anthropologists they are people born to the open spaces of the mountains, without physical or temporal limits. Their desire for independence dominates their lives and they seek economic independence through their industriousness and liberty to follow their own lifestyle. Perhaps this is what appeals to me the most, their fierce independence and love of open spaces!

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Photos

Thai-Buma border at Mywaddy
View from Moei River Friendship Bridge

Mywaddy
Saamlaw drivers

View on the opposite side of the bridge
Returning from Mywaddy on the bridge

Hilltribe goods
Sold in Weave