CityOutline guide

Ban Rak Thai

Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand

Photo: Derivative work by Shaundd. Other authors listed on source image page., CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

Ban Rak Thai (literally "the Thai-loving village"), also known as Mae Aw in many guide books and some maps, is a city near Mae Hong Son (44 km). It was settled by former Kuomintang (KMT) (Nationalist) fighters from Yunnan province, China, after the Communist takeover of China in 1949. The population is about 1,000, mainly Chinese-born or Thai-born Chinese. Many signs are in Chinese, and much of the population speaks the Yunnan dialect of Mandarin. If you speak Chinese, try it out, especially on some of the elderly people. They will be happy to speak with you, and can share some rather interesting stories of their lives pre- and post- exile, as well as about the drug trade that used to dominate the economy here.

Getting there and around

Getting there

Your best bet is to either hire a guide from Mae Hong Son, in which case she can provide you with far more information than this page will, or to rent a motorbike in Mae Hong Son and ride up on your own.

Read in the guide

Getting around

The village is not tiny, but is easily walked around.

Read in the guide

Airports and nearby hotels

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Mae Hong Son Airport

Mae Hong Son · Regional · HGN

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Read before you go to Ban Rak Thai

Articles and travel topics about Ban Rak Thai and Thailand.

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Full travel guide

Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.

UnderstandThe Chinese influence in this region dates to the civil war in China that raged until the communists took power in 1949.

Get inYour best bet is to either hire a guide from Mae Hong Son, in which case she can provide you with far more information than this page will, or to rent a motorbike in Mae Hong Son and ride up on your own.

Get aroundThe village is not tiny, but is easily walked around.

See

DoVisit a tea plantation to learn about growing and processing tea.

BuyTea and dried fruit. Any number of shops sell a dizzying variety of tea, which grows well at these altitudes, and seems to be one of the primary products.

EatYunnan-style Chinese food, which involves a lot of tea leaves, pork fat, and oil. It's tasty, but you will probably want to supplement it with a bit of dried fruit.

Drink

SleepThere are a number of guesthouses operating around the lake. Prices range from 300 baht to well over 1,000 baht for basic mud huts to nice little villas. Most are rather basic and tatty.

Sources and licences

Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Ban Rak Thai" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Derivative work by Shaundd. Other authors listed on source image page., CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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