a note for travellers to mae sot

so the reluctance to write into the blog has nothing to do with a shock or our health or access to the internet. we've just been swamped (all of a sudden) with new assignments that dr. cynthia has trustingly given us, and also yumi has been trying to figure out the language setting and photo setting on the laptop that she bought. we will tell you more about our assignments and strife we have encountered concerning internally displaced people of Burma, but first, we just have to note some travel precautions, because we think it will be helpful to anyone who plans to come to mae sot, since it is not clearly stated ANYWHERE.

first, be aware that the direct bus from bangkok (leaves from mo chit northern bus terminal, closer to the new airport) to mae sot (also spelled "mae sod" occasionally) only runs in the evenings, and the schedule is limited. the better way is to catch a "wee ai pee (VIP)" bus bound for chiang mai that stops at tak. luckily our bangkok metered taxi driver was nice enough to find the ticket counter for such bus, but we believe, it's at the window #20. to our knowledge, the bus to chiang mai (thru tak) runs pretty frequently, throughout the week. the travelling on the bus comes with a roadside lunch stop which yumi ate (but there was a dead bug in it...) and felt fine, as well as bready snack and few cups of soda. the ride is about 6 hours, and it is pretty comfortable. once you're dropped off at the bus stop at tak (yes, be aware it is not a big terminal) you can be adventurous and just haul your bags and cross the multi-lane intersection onto the road diagnal to the bus stop, or if you are like us, you can take a tuk tuk (usually some waiting at the bus stop, but you can always have the ticket counter attendant get you one) to the "mimivan" termial. from there, you can take the orange, white and blue tiny minivan all the way to mae sot for 50baht (we believe). they drive pretty darn fast through the misty jungly highway, but yumi enjoyed it while annie was slightly traumatized. it took us about 1.5 hours, but make sure to call your host either in bangkok or tak, so that he/she can come pick you up at the minivan dropoff or have an address ready in thai so that the driver can bring you to where you're supposed to be (which we failed to do and suffered the consequence...). just a note - we ended up being dropped off at the clinic, but i would minimize the mention of the clinic around police and other government officials, because of the illegal refugee status among many that live, work, and are treated at the clinic.

we hope this is helpful to some of you prospective volunteers because other foreign volunteers we talk to have all faced difficulties getting into mae sot.

oh, and the japanese version of the blog and the photos will hopefully be uploaded soon...