Ban Thoet Thai

Surrounded by picturesque hillsides, this ethnically diverse community comprises predominantly the Akha, along with Shan, Yunnanese, Lahu, Lisu and other tribes people. With around 3,000 inhabitants, the village has expanded along a three-kilometer stretch of road towards the Burmese border.

In the late 20th century the town became very wealthy due to the drug trade, which was rampant here between 1974 and 1982, involving the infamous drug warlord Khun Sa. He was driven out by Thai troops in 1982 but then continued his business over the border in Myanmar until the mid-1990s, when he cut a deal with the military junta and moved to Rangoon. Since he died in 2007, some attempts have been made to draw tourists to the region on the back of its ‘untamed’ reputation.

These days Ban Thoet Thai hosts a few simple guest houses offering visitors the chance to enjoy the atmosphere of a remote mountain village and visit Khun Sa’s former military camp, which is located on a narrow lane behind the market, though there’s not much to see apart from a statue of Khun Sa sitting on a pony.

Built on solid ground instead of on stilts, the houses in Ban Thoet Thai are not Akha style but show Yunnanese influence instead. There is a large Chinese temple, a Thai Buddhist wat, and a mosque, which emphasize the various religions practiced by the villagers, while the mélange of several different cultures becomes evident in the miscellany of food, drink and herbal medicine.