Tachileik was a border crossing probably used in the opium trade from the Golden Triangle[2] and was the town that the drug lord Khun Sa used to live in.

[7] Located immediately following the bridge that divides Myanmar and Thailand is a marketplace[8][9] that sells a large variety of products, including DVDs, perfume, clothing, luggage and wine.

Tachileik once had the reputation as a distribution nexus for heroin and ya ba (methamphetamine pills) moving from rural Myanmar to the world market.

There are no maps and no guides for such excursions, and Burmese authorities frown on foreign visitors leaving the beaten track.

Tachileik has an airport which links to four Burmese cities – Yangon, Mandalay, Taungyi Heho and Kengtung.