Give and Take Cafe House (in Mae Sot, Thailand)

[@ihategooogle]

Don't stop posting videos of your cafe visits please, I never get tired of them ☕🍵 💖

[@corporateauthentication]

Good video Doug.

[@PlanetDoug]

Thanks 👍 I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@LouisLuzuka]

I’m happy with these posting

[@LouisLuzuka]

I can’t get over how the audio is so crispy 😍

[@PlanetDoug]

Thanks. I'm still using the Rode Wireless Go microphone (first generation). It seems to be working fine. The only problem is that the connection with my current GoPro Hero 9 isn't reliable for some reason. I have to plug in the microphone multiple times (sometimes up to six or seven times) before the GoPro will finally register the microphone and connect to it. But once it starts to work, I'm happy with the audio. I have no regrets about buying the Wireless Go, that's for sure. It's probably the one piece of equipment I've purchased that I've been the happiest with. It was a good purchase.

[@LouisLuzuka]

@@PlanetDoug hmm i feel the same way with my hero 7, I love it but I'm just getting tired of all the glitches.... but the wireless go or the Dji mic is definitely on my list, otherwise I'll have to just sync in post until then. but you've inspired me because I just usually run it naked and process the audio in post, but theres only so much you can clean up. how's your health lately you sleeping good and eating good brother? I still enjoyed that Thai tea episode it made my really thirsty bravo on all the hard work

[@WanderEats]

Wow... another great looking and chic cafe in Mae Sot. I am truly surprised by how good they are for such a small border town. That being said, I much prefer the LaOr Garden and Cafe just because of the abundance of charging points which I do not see any in your video at this Give and Take Cafe.

[@PlanetDoug]

Yes, this place was a real surprise. I had no idea it was as nice and as modern as it turned out to be. I agree about the LaOr Garden and Cafe. I love it when a place has electrical outlets and USB charging plugs at every seat. I don't know how many people actually take advantage of them. But it's great that they are there.

[@donaldghtan]

Hey Doug, heard about air intrusion and attack near Tak province, are you ok? Come to Malaysia quick!😀

[@PlanetDoug]

I'm fine. I don't know exactly where that took place, but I'm pretty sure it was quite a distance north or south of Mae Sot. That's one thing about Tak Province. It is quite long and stretches for quite a long ways along the border with Myanmar. Most of the cross-border activity seems to take place out there in the more remote areas, not close to Mae Sot where I am. That being said, people in Mae Sot often talk about hearing gunfire and explosions coming from the border area. But I must not have sensitive hearing, because I've never heard anything. There was even the car bomb at the Myawaddy side of the Friendship Bridge, but I didn't hear that either.

[@mohamadzahidzainulabidin6862]

Mr Dough,,,I can imagine you doing tea tarik and roti canai tour of duty in Kuala Lumpur or in one small town near sea side in West coast of Malaysia. Stay safe and stay happy 🇲🇾😁

[@WanderEats]

Yea Zahid... he needs to return to Malaysia asap... lol

[@DJUnduka]

Are you going to Burma? It is open now.

[@therock8224]

The land borders aren't open yet and won't be for some time. Mandalay airport only recently re-opened to international arrivals. It's getting easier, as the pre-departure test requirement has been dropped for vaccinated adults, however, insurance and a post arrival ATK (antigen test) are still required, in addition to proof of vaccination for foreigners. It's a start, but not quite back to the good old days. That will probably take another 3 months or longer.

[@PlanetDoug]

As The Rock mentioned, I don't think the land borders are open yet. I've been up around Friendship Bridge #1 here in Mae Sot a few times recently, and the whole place is still closed. There is no traffic going across at all. The gates are closed and locked and no one is there. Friendship Bridge #2 is open to commercial truck traffic, but I think that is all. I don't think people are allowed to cross there yet. Certainly not foreign tourists. In any event, I don't have any plans to go to Burma. If the land border were wide open and I could get a tourist visa easily, I might consider it, since I'm still right here at the border. But the way things are, the only way to go would be to fly from Bangkok.

[@roygoad2870]

If you lived in any large town in Vietnam, you would live the rest of your life trying every coffee shop 😝

[@mohdk2299]

If this video is recently recorded, I guess you still haven't decided where to go next after returning to Malaysia. Make sense just to stay out in Mae Sot while you can

[@therock8224]

I guess it's nice to still be able to take advantage of the Covid visa extension. Doug can seek at least one more extension before the end of July, which would allow him to remain in Thailand until late September. Plenty of time for more exploring or waiting until Myanmar re-opens its land borders. However, Doug did state that he wanted to travel to Malaysia first and wasn't so sure about Myanmar, given its volatile situation at the moment.

[@PlanetDoug]

Yes, this video was just recorded. And I'm still here in Mae Sot. As The Rock pointed out, I'm pretty sure I can get one more extension of stay through the covid program. That would allow me to stay in Thailand until the end of September, if I wanted to do that. It makes some sense to stay here as long as possible simply because the cost of living is so much lower for me here in Mae Sot than if I suddenly appear in Kuala Lumpur. Plus, it feels like my life would suddenly get much more complicated upon arriving in Kuala Lumpur and being reunited with my touring bicycle and touring gear and extra camera gear. I'll have to deal with all of that stuff and decide whether I want to keep a bike in my life or just let it go. Staying here in relatively affordable comfort in Mae Sot, I can postpone any of these decisions or complications for a while longer. 🙂

[@therock8224]

@@PlanetDoug ​Yes, that's a good plan. Take advantage of the Covid extensions as long as you can. There remains a chance there could be another extension, though I personally doubt it. I don't think they will extend it anymore beyond the end of July (meaning a stay until September) but of course, I could be wrong. I'm not sure whether you are still keen on going to Myanmar. They have greatly simplified the entry procedures now, but they're still enough to deter most potential travelers. Mandalay airport has opened up now, in addition to Yangon airport, but all land borders remain closed. The pre-departure PCR test is no longer required (except for unvaccinated minors). Flights from Bangkok (Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi) to both Yangon and Mandalay airports have now resumed. Not sure whether flights from Chiang Mai to these two cities have resumed yet - would have to check. You do need proof of vaccination (2 shots) - I believe you have had three so you are more than "qualified" LOL - plus insurance purchased from a specific Burmese company, with details provided on the Myanmar e-visa website. Then, after arrival, an ATK or antigen test, is required to be taken at a cost of MMK 15,000. My guess is for those who are willing to take the risk of being quarantined if they test positive to this test, they'll find that a lot of places are now off-limits to foreigners, due to violence and fighting. This probably includes Myawaddy, as well as many other border regions. There also remains an 8pm to 4am nightly curfew in place throughout most of the country, if I'm not mistaken. This could make any travel very complicated at the moment.

[@LouisLuzuka]

your life is a movie

[@dennisgonya4500]

I am renting a 2bd home in Tecate, MX for 200 US.

[@PlanetDoug]

That sounds like a great deal. If I remember right, Tecate is a small town just across the border from California. Is that right? Or is there another town or region in Mexico called Tecate?

[@dennisgonya4500]

@@PlanetDoug About 20 miles east of Tia juana and is a border town. About 120K population.

[@dennisgonya4500]

@@PlanetDoug There is Tecate, Ca. and right across the border is Tecate Mx.

[@andrewaung6834]

I think those casinos are illegal and operated by the BGF