2012: Revered democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visits various Burmese communities around Mae Sot, 2 months after being elected to parliament, and 18 months after she was released from house arrest. Hundreds of people waited along the highway to get a glimpse of her exiting the airport.
2012: Revered democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visits various Burmese communities around Mae Sot, 2 months after being elected to parliament, and 18 months after she was released from house arrest. Hundreds of people waited along the highway to get a glimpse of her exiting the airport.
2010: Loi Krathong is a lunar festival in which handmade baskets (traditionally made of banana leaves and flowers, but often in modern designs such as bouquets of 'Angry Birds') in are floated in rivers. The timing coincides with Yi Peng, a lantern festival, as well as the Burmese festival Tazaungdaing. Burmese and Thai come together in Mae Sot to celebrate at temples, attend special markets and performances at the border bridge, to float krathongs in the river between the two countries, and to light sky lanterns.
2010: Loi Krathong is a lunar festival in which handmade baskets (traditionally made of banana leaves and flowers, but often in modern designs such as bouquets of 'Angry Birds') in are floated in rivers. The timing coincides with Yi Peng, a lantern festival, as well as the Burmese festival Tazaungdaing. Burmese and Thai come together in Mae Sot to celebrate at temples, attend special markets and performances at the border bridge, to float krathongs in the river between the two countries, and to light sky lanterns.<br><br>While the river is the more common place for floating krathongs—crowded, with young boys volunteering to swim with the lanterns into the river to make sure they float well—some people prefer to use the drainage canal behind one of the central temples. I lived near this temple, and found the practice somewhat unsanitary and charming at the same time.
2013: Mae Sot faces an intense rainy season each year compared to cities like Bangkok or Chiang Mai. With mountains nearby and the Moei River that borders Myanmar, minor floods happen regularly, but are handled through the drainage canals and regular release of the town reservoirs. In 2013 the water levels grew too high in the reservoirs, and when released the town was flooded for a couple days. The town runs slightly downhill towards the river, thus the western parts of town--including Mae Tao Clinic--faced the biggest problems, but the heaviest damage was on the other side of the river in Myawaddy.<br><br>This photo shows one of Mae Sot's main roads, which turned into a river with fairly strong currents when the reservoir was released. A rope was strung across the river and volunteers helped people across.
2013: Mae Sot faces an intense rainy season each year compared to cities like Bangkok or Chiang Mai. With mountains nearby and the Moei River that borders Myanmar, minor floods happen regularly, but are handled through the drainage canals and regular release of the town reservoirs. In 2013 the water levels grew too high in the reservoirs, and when released the town was flooded for a couple days. The town runs slightly downhill towards the river, thus the western parts of town--including Mae Tao Clinic--faced the biggest problems, but the heaviest damage was on the other side of the river in Myawaddy.<br><br>It had rained heavily 5 days in a row until the day of the flood.
2011: Borderline Collective, a fair-trade shop, art gallery and vegetarian Burmese restaurant, celebrates its anniversary with a performance from Babymime, Thailand's professional mime group based in Bangkok. The anniversary parties have petered out with changing staff, but Borderline, established in 2004, is still going strong.
2011: In a kind show of support, Mae Sot residents—with relatively low purchasing power—collected donations throughout town for the Japanese tsunami.
2010: On November 8th, the evening of the first democratic elections in Myanmar, fighting erupted in the villages near Myawaddy, and a bomb exploded in the border market on the Thai side of the river. Refugees poured in Thailand and were lodged at the army base on the highway. They were officially sent back after 3 days to avoid government conflict.
2010: On November 8th, the evening of the first democratic elections in Myanmar, fighting erupted in the villages near Myawaddy, and a bomb exploded in the border market on the Thai side of the river. Refugees poured in Thailand and were lodged at the army base on the highway. <br><br>They were officially sent back after 3 days to avoid government conflict. Not everyone felt safe to return and hid in Mae Sot. Those who returned were helped by various NGOs like Help Without Frontiers, who arranged transportation and provided food (in addition to support from the Thai army).
2010: On November 8th, the evening of the first democratic elections in Myanmar, fighting erupted in the villages near Myawaddy, and a bomb exploded in the border market on the Thai side of the river. Refugees poured in Thailand and were lodged at the army base on the highway. <br><br>They were officially sent back after 3 days to avoid government conflict. Not everyone felt safe to return and hid in Mae Sot. Those who returned were helped by various NGOs like Help Without Frontiers, who arranged transportation and provided food (in addition to support from the Thai army). The river is crossed by long motorized boats for a small fee. This is also how migrants enter illegally under normal circumstance.
2011: At the traditional Karen ethnic group's 'wrist-tying festival', held yearly usually in August. Mae Sot has a huge celebration encompassing ethnic Karen who are nationals of either country, and welcomes the whole community, but in 2011 I attended a small Thai-only celebration in Padaeng village nearby. <br><br>This woman wears modified versions of traditional clothing and jewelry; many old women have exchanged their headscarves for thin towels these days.
2011: At the traditional Karen ethnic group's 'wrist-tying festival', held yearly usually in August. Mae Sot has a huge celebration encompassing ethnic Karen who are nationals of either country, and welcomes the whole community, but in 2011 I attended a small Thai-only celebration in Padaeng village nearby. <br><br>These girls were waiting to dance, after community announcements, and health information.
2011: At the traditional Karen ethnic group's 'wrist-tying festival', held yearly usually in August. Mae Sot has a huge celebration encompassing ethnic Karen who are nationals of either country, and welcomes the whole community, but in 2011 I attended a small Thai-only celebration in Padaeng village nearby. <br><br>Tying strings provides blessings. Many elders are asked to tie the wrists of babies.
2011: this year flooding was 'normal' level, more an inconvenience rather than causing serious damage. Here, the Burmese staff of a home-improvement store sit along a temporary wall formed to help with the flooding.
2011: this year flooding was 'normal' level, more an inconvenience rather than causing serious damage. Ice-cream carts like this are common in Mae Sot.
2011: this year flooding was 'normal' level, more an inconvenience rather than causing serious damage. This is one of central temples, Wat Chumpol Khiri.
2011: this year flooding was 'normal' level, more an inconvenience rather than causing serious damage. Even so, in back areas like this, the water completely covered the grass and small lanes.
2010: In addition to the sprawling daily market, weekly pedestrian walking street, and markets along the highways and near the bridge, Mae Sot has markets for special events like the King and Queen's birthdays and other holidays. In those markets, there is stronger presence of carnival games, bingo, kids' rides, and Muay Thai events. This was shot during the King's Birthday market, December 5th 2010.
2011: A Buddhist Bamar-ethnic man and a Muslim-Burmese woman marry in Mae Sot. It was a relatively casual affair since their families were not going to make the long journey from Yangon. These days, there is a movement within Myanmar to ban mixed-religion weddings.