Today I had a 3h bus ride to Mae Sot (next to the Burmese border). Funny that geographically I am almost back to Myanmar! Mae Sot is a border town with a cultural mix of Thai, Burmese, Chinese and Western people who mainly work with NGOs. The other side of the border is populated by the Karen people (an ethnical minority within Myanmar). They have been persecuted for a long time by the Burmese military government and that's why they were forced to flee to Thailand where they live under very bad conditions. The local NGOs are mainly active in surrounding refugee camps. The Karen people have recently been mentioned in the press because the new (more democratic) government of Myanmar has signed a cease-fire treaty with them. Hopefully things will now improve!
Apart from visiting the local market (not good for sensible noses), the only thing I did today was trying to figure out how to go to the last remaining jungle area in Thailand, which is located around 160 km south of Mae Sot. I will have a 5h bumpy bus ride tomorrow to Umphang, from where I will try to arrange some trekking. Wish me luck!
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