Where’s that? Click here to find out. Click here for a map of the immediate area.
The Burma border is temporarily closed, but Maesai is still a
destination for most. Rumor has it that if the bridge is not open by Oct. 12th, then it may be a while before it opens. Then only traffic on the barges to locals only, no foreigners. They were welding another ferry that had holes in it, so I guess they are getting ready for the ferries only biz.
Burma doesn’t need the the US$5 from foreigners when they can charge their own people 350 baht(US$10) and up! That was the price today, but at which ferry crossing one has to figure out!?? One guy swam across the river today; I sat at the bank waiting to see if I could eyewitness the guy being shot! Lucky guy, no little green men at the time, only the gray immigration guys.
Rumors from the other side, a total of 6 casualties at the border,
for border crossing or what? That is coming from the other side!
Other than that, business as usual with a closed border! Lots of Mekhong whiskey, moonshine and beer! What else is there to do!!!
If one could go straight out the back of KK Guesthouse, and straight up about 300 meters, you would find probably the world’s largest scorpion perched on the side of Doi Wow, often referred to as Wat (temple) Doi (mt.) Wow. Of course, it doesn’t move much, but if it were alive, it would be a match for Godzilla! Here one will find also a newly built prayer area for Buddhist and for meditation. Next to it is a scenic tower with the best view for the surrounding area.
Around the corner from KK, Maesai has it’s own Buddha Cave as well. A great place to meditate with a massive temple nearly completed to accommodate bus loads of pilgrims.
Come to Maesai for peace or a piece! Where one can have a quiet leisurely time or, with the new entertainment places of the night, blast those super woofers till your socks fall off! Live music is back in full with a couple of places to choose from. If you choose to sing, well you can always take your pick of songs at the local karaoke bar. For those tomcats on the prowl, well there is plenty for all to go around!
Ancient massage is a thing of the past. However, you will find it here as well. The more ancient the gal, the better the massage. Age before beauty they say in the massage parlor! And 2 is better than one!
For the out of the ordinary attention that a traveler might be looking for, well, ask the Kobra or come by. We can sit, have a beer, let you lie back on the lounge chair and give it all you got, we have an ear for these things here and don’t think we haven’t heard it before! We may be able to point you in the right direction……
Here are a few headhunters, starting with the little gal, the Kobra’s
daughter and rightful heir to the Kobra Kingdom and perhaps the next
Headhunter Queen of the jungle. With her grandfather, not pictured, as a chief in the Himalayan foothills, that would make her a Wa princess. That is grandma next to her and her younger Uncle.
Headhunters, a thing of the past? Not in these parts! One of the Legends of the Wa, is that when the elders are too old to be useful to the village, the young ones may round the elders up who are forced or helped to climb trees as high as possible. When they have reached the desired height, they are to be stoned until they tumble off the tree to their final plunge!
The elders willingly give themselves to the villagers as a sacrifice to the village. The Wa being cannibals as well, will feast on the elders which will bring new strength to the village. Lucky for my in-laws, they are still young!
For more information on Kobra Jo’s Guesthouse in this exotic area, check out this web site.
General Information about the author, Kobra Jo:
My name, as most people remember, and the place as well , is Kobra Jo.
Many people ask why. Well, it all started with snakes, mainly, always in search of the King Kobra. Then it eventually developed into the “Trek Of The Kobra”, Burma-Laos-China-N. Thai…I had a pet mongoose that just loved heading out to the rice fields with me to hunt snakes. Always found some every morning. The villagers thought I was just plain crazy to see me out on the fields with this little creature bobbing up and down across the fields.
Finally, the villagers started to turn up at the house with snakes in bags and in cans, thinking I was going to feed them to my mongoose. My mongoose really didn’t like snake meat, he would just play with them for practice and then leave them alone. He preferred pork!
My present wife is of the Wa tribe out of Burma, former headhunters and cannibals. Needless to say, I try not to piss her off.
People/tourists come to me and the border for different reasons. For me, Maesai is not like the rest of Thailand or like Burma. It is a unique border town with everything to offer. When I speak of Maesai, I can include Tachilek, Burma the twin town of Maesai.
Maesai is known world wide for gems, primarily for rubies and jade from Burma.
Be careful though, because not everything that glitters is real. Synthetic stone pushers are everywhere and the King’s treasure under the glass case is guarded by a 14 year old gal that swears that red glass is a Ruby the Sultan of Brunei should be wearing!
