Mae Hong Son to Mae Sariang and Mae Sot

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Mae Hong Son to Mae Sariang and Mae Sot

Thailand Road Trip, Mae Hong Son to Mae Sariang

Today we began to head south on the third and, for us, the final leg of the Mae Hong Son Loop. Due to the distance and the bendy nature of the road from Mae Hong Son to Mae Sot, we felt we had to stay one night in Mae Sariang even though there is not much there. We had used the same accommodation before so we knew that it was ok.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, we were on our way once again, this time to Mae Sot where we would spend 3 nights.

The first stretch of this journey took us on the type of road we had become familiar with over the last few days - relentless bends through mountainous terrain. We remembered the first time that we drove along this road in 2009 when it was very rough, narrow and quite hair-raising with little protection. There were also many roadworks as improvements were underway. Despite the twists and turns, it is now a very good road with appropriate safety barriers. The scenery is much greener and more thickly forested than we had seen on previous days and quite beautiful, especially as we drove through the Mae Ngao National Park. As we zoomed down a mountain, we glimpsed a coffee shop that appeared to have a splendid view over a fertile valley so we quickly did a U-turn. Both the coffee and view were worth the stop, and thoroughly refreshed, we ploughed on towards Mae Sot. We reached the point where the road meets the Salween River which also forms the boundary between Thailand and Myanmar. As we drove along the parallel road, we were treated to glimpses of this lovely river and the towering, foreboding hills of Myanmar on the other side. There are frequent army control points along this road and there is also the huge Mae La refugee camp that is currently home to some 50,000 Karen refugees. On either side of the refugee camp are army control posts controlling the inhabitants' movements and providing protection from any possible incursions from across the border. Eventually, we reached our destination which was the Centra Hotel.