The Golden Triangle
Trip Start
Feb 01, 2004
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25
44
Trip End
Jun 01, 2004
Chiang Mai-Mae Sai,
Thailand
Thursday, March 25, 2004
With the Golden Triangle within its borders, Chiang Rai beckons adventurous travellers with hilltribes, the Mekong and majestic mountain scenery. As you head into town Myanmar is within view, with lush vegetation, and looking east the landscape changes and the virgin territory of Laos rises up above the Mekong.
Since we left Chiang Mai, we've had many miles of travel and interesting experiences. For example...from the day you are issued your first Canadian passport, you are taught never to relinquish it to anyone for any reason
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. However, you find out quickly that if you want to really travel, you simply have no choice. We needed to get visas for Laos in order and a copy would not suffice...so two Canadian passports and 1400 baht handed over to a travel agent with nothing in return...very scary. We were told to meet back a few days later at 8;30 a.m. since we had a bus north at 10:00. By 8:45 no one had appeared and we had visions of someone trying to enter Canada at the Rainbow three months from now with our passports and new photos! A bit later a guy arrived saying that our passports and visas might arrive in 10 minutes or so...even more scary! But shortly thereafter a kid drove up on a motorbike with our passports in hand..no envelope, no courier bag, nothing. All was well once again in Northern Thailand. We stayed only one night in Chiang Rai before taking a local bus with a hilarious commandant to Mae Sai. It turned out the Mae Sai bus station was far from town so we caught a songthaew to Mae Sai where we stayed with a lovely Shan family for a couple of days. The interesting thing is that here busses, boats, trucks are never full. You would think at some point the attendant would say "sorry, full, another bus will be along in 15 minutes." But this never happens. People just keep getting on even when you think it is impossible. The commandant just rearranges the seating of cargo and passengers. Paul was made to move twice so that women would not be seated next to monks (since we were so crammed we would be touched and of course, women cannot come into contact with monks.)This is no way to travel if you value your personal space or if you are worried about inhaling avian flu (since you are onboard with all manner of rice, pigs, and chickens!)
We met a man from Burma (Myanmar) and we hired him to be our guide. We discussed going into Kyangthiong, but settled on a day visit to Tachilek and outlying areas. Mae Sai is very much one main street leading to the Thai-Burma border. Thsi border has been open on and off sicne the mid 90's. Just a few years ago it was closede due to clashes between the Burmese miltary, Shan insurgets and the Thai miltary.
Since the internet has been outlawed by the Myanmar government, we'll update in Thailand or Laos. Photos to come.
