Opened in Oct 2011 and well worth a stop for a good hot coffee / ice cream / cookies. Whilst Mae Sariang lacks a skilled barista, at least the lady can make a cappucino that both looks and tastes about right AND its hot… On that basis alone, she deserves some support!

This year’s celebration of the end of the Buddhist Lent (Rain’s Retreat) festival was not marred by the rain. The town’s population is approximately 5000 and it looked like everyone was there!

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The reason for the drive on this day was to take out some malarial medications to the river, find a boat going down-river, and get the meds delivered to the Sob Moei village at the confluence of the Salween & Moei rivers. A friend’s baby nephew had malaria, so she had sourced the required medicines from the hospital… We drove the 50kms to the river, dispatched the medicine on a boat trip of some 30kms downstream along the Thai/Myanmar border.

Life for many people in the villages on the border region is very difficult – no more so than in Wet Season… Ban Sob Moei does have dry-weather dirt road access but like many remote villages in this region, in Wet Season the only access is via boat, or on foot.

The village of Ban Mae Sam Laeb is mostly perched on stilts, overhanging the stream, along the edge of the road that skirts the steep bluffs around to the Salween River.  There’s a vertical drop of 15 metrtes out all the rear ‘windows’ in these houses! Recent heavy rains and flooding have caused the stream to cut into its banks, sending some homes toppling into the muddy waters!

As a consequence, there’s now a temporary “kitchen/dining room” set up across the access street, through which ALL incoming and outgoing vehicles must pass!  Next time you are remodelling your already spotless kitchen, spare a thought for the poverty-stricken members of the Ban Mae Sam Laeb community… They are cooking and eating on the road under an open-sided shelter in the pouring monsoon rains and having to dodge passing traffic whilst doing so!

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For more images of the Salween River, see this trip from early in 2009: http://www.thailand-fly-fishing-guides.info/adventure-fishing/salween-river-trip.html

Awk Paansa Day marks the end of both Lent and the Rainy Season. It is traditionally held on the first day of the waning moon in the 11th lunar month. In 2009, that was the first weekend of October.

The streets are brightened up with masses of coloured lights, palm leaves and illuminated paper lanterns, sculptures and structures.

The celebration culminates with a colorful noisy procession which, in 2009, unfortunately coincided with a torrential downpour!

More images in the Gallery

The river is the border between Thailand and Myanmar for approx 250 kms. Boat trips in Wet Season are not without dangers!

The road is not without its problems either and adds a new dimension to travel in Wet Season. A severe rain event caused some headaches for the local authorities in Aug/Sept 2009, as the following images illustrate.

No idea what the driver of this truck did – location was just over the crest of the ridge-line, on the Ban Mae Sam Laeb side… He’d made it up ok and the only explanation is I could guess at was that as he went over the top and started down, he discovered his brakes weren’t working… and opted for the ditch and the bank.

There are some scenic gems along the way, and the luxuriant greens of rice paddies with a jungle backdrop are stunning.