Lonely Planet says: "Despite its remote location and relatively small size, Mae Sot is amoung the most culturally diverse cities in Thailand. Walking down the streets of the town, you will see a fascinating ethnic mixture - Burmese men in their loongyi (sarongs), Hmong and Karen women in traditional hill-tribe3 dress, bearded Muslims, Thai army rangers, and foreign NGO workers" (the NGO workers are us).
We agree with Lonely Planet - this place has an amazing variety in dress and ethnic features. We are not quite experienced enough to discerne what is what and who is who. Mae Sot has an official documented population of about 40,000 but the undocumented may drive this up to 80,000 we have been told. A busy place with lots of action.
The woman with the baby has thanaka cream on her face, and her babys face. Thanaka is a cosmetic paste made from ground wood of a thanaka tree (several varieties that must be 35 years old). Burmese women have used the paste for 2,000 years.
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