Up North: Chiang Rai, Mae Sai, and Burma

After 30 days in the country, tourists need to head out to get a new stamp and a fresh 30 days. Our northern trip was for this purpose. We have enjoyed taking the local buses around this area. They are dirt cheap, and you get to be around the locals more, who are very pleasant and friendly. We spent 1 night in Mae Sai. In the evening, we found a guest house where the South African manager briefed us on the area. There are legal border crossings, and also illegal ones. While on the balcony, he told us we were actually in Burma. Ambitious Thais kept building closer and closer to the river. Eventually, it grew past the marker stone. So we could be in 2 places at once. On the left foot, Burma time 8 PM, on the right foot, Thai time 7:30 PM.

The manager pointed to the river, where there was a small staircase going down, a small damn where you could walk, and another staircase going up to Burma, conveniently right next to the casino. Talk about a place to gamble. The most notoriously corrupt country in the world...really! Just a decade ago, the opium king of Thailand was finally forced out of the country by national troops. Where did he go? Burma. He now has strong ties with the Burmese government, whatever that means.

So, maybe a little like Mexico, illegal border crossing is rampant. If you really want to get in to the country, it didn't look too hard.

So...we walked around Mae Sai at night. Not a whole lot to do. We walked down the main drag to try local food, we also spotted a pizza stand and decided to try something a little more familiar. The pictures looked really good, lots of cheese and plenty of toppings. Turns out the "cheese" was actually mayo, the "pizza sauce" was ketchup, and the meat toppings were not your usual pepperoni or sausage, but spam, imitation crab meat, and squid. Not exactly what we were looking for. We also noticed that basically everything being sold was from China. It is sometimes hard to tell, but it is largely accepted that China supplies these countries quite well. What they supply to Burma...well, they've been suppling this bloody regime for a long time.

The next morning, we started early and crossed the border. The Burmese officials kept our passports at their office, so we obviously didn't want to stray too far. The scenery didn't change dramatically, but it was obviously a much poorer place. Streets weren't as maintained, the supply of tuk tuk drivers drastically out numbered the demand, the people were extremely nice and many had more of an Indian resemblance, due to the fact that Burma was once part of India. And, of course it was less regulated. We refused touts for fake Viagra, boxes of Marlboros stuffed with poor Burmese tobacco, and your everyday black market porn. The kind of stuff that would most definitely raise red flags when we return. After wondering around a rather featureless place, we walked back to the bridge, happy just to have said 'we've been there.' The border patrol searched us meticulously and sniffed us and our things for drugs. After a good laugh, we walked back to Thailand, maybe feeling a little unfulfilled but satisfied enough with getting our stamp and a fresh start in Thailand.

We can tell you little more about the country than what you probably already know. But, since Thailand is such a close neighbor, the Bangkok Post keeps you updated on all the happenings, maybe more informed than western media. Though the media does a lot to shape our perceptions about the place, it didn't feel too dangerous, not so different from Cambodia or Vietnam. The local people are known to be extremely friendly and they are. It's so sad that because of a brutal military regime, they don't get a fair chance at life. But the people are strong, and they want change.

So, we chose to save our exploration of the country for another day; maybe the next regime. For years the current government has had trouble with the opposition leader, an eccentric democratic woman married to an Englishman. For years they have faced international pressure to enact a constitution and an electoral process for the leader of the country. They are making some interesting progress on it. In order to keep the democratic leader out of the race, they proposed an amendment which says that if you are married to a foreigner, you cannot run for president. Hmmmm.

So, when back in Thailand, we moved to our next stop, Chiang Rai. This whole area is part of what has been called 'The Golden Triangle.' Literally it is the place where Burma, Thai, and Laos meet. Symbolically it is a place long known for drug trade, especially opium. The Thai government claims to have made massive improvements, turning poppy growers into legitimate farmers. I don't know exactly how they could convince them to take massive pay cuts, nor do I entirely believe their heavily propagated story, but what can you do?

After getting our stamp, we went back to Chiang Rai for a few days trek. Our guide Nuey, was a bit crazy, but the scenery spoke for itself. We went along rivers, up hills, through the thickery, and after several hours of going through seemingly nowhere, we would end up in a bamboo hut village carefully cut into the side of a mountain. We enjoyed 2 days of staying in local villages, sleeping in their huts and eating their food. Life seems to be extremely simple here. Maybe we envied them, if not at least for the stunning views off the balconies.

Kids were everywhere, fences were no where to be found, mixing and living side by side by cows, pigs, chickens, and dogs. As much as waking up at 4 AM to the rooster call used to annoy us, we just might actually miss it when this rendezvous ends. At night, we kindly refused to go with the local pharmacist to her opium house. Big improvements on the drug trade, eh?

Our trekking partner was an Italian, Paulo, from Sardinia. He was a real pleasure. It seems to me that Italians talk about food the way that others talk about their lovers, very passionately, our mouths watering every time he described Italian pasta recipes. When we told them how we cooked our pasta, and that we broke it before putting it in the boiling water, he gave us the look a father might have when his son tells him that he is trying out for cheer leading. Utter disappointment. He was working a menial government job, but could stand it because like most other Europeans we have met, he gets a solid month and a week to do whatever he pleases in other parts of the world.

We trekked the next day for a short time, running into yet another Chinese village with incredible terraced views of the next oolong tea crop. Chinese people really are in every part of the globe, aren't they? After another hour, we stopped by the natural hot springs. Smelling strong with sulfur and feeling far from natural, we moved to the hill tribe guest house in the country for the night, chatting by fire late in the night with some Europeans about the Swedish social system, a conversation we surely wouldn't expect to have back home. 10 things we have learned about our world:

1. In Scotland, Aaron weights about 12 stones and Ely weights 9.3
2. In Sweden, unemployed immigrants can earn up to $3,000 per month
3. In Australia, what they did to the Aborigines was equally as horrific as what we did to our Indians.
4. In India, arranged marriage is still commonplace.
5. Italians don't like pineapple on pizza, or cooked in any dish for that matter.
6. Rubies are more valuable than diamonds, according to our Indian gemologist/geologist friend who insists that diamonds are a carbon, are not rare, and as such should not be considered precious stones.
7. Americans paid leave time (maybe 10 days/year) is about 1/3 to 1/4 the time in Europe.
8. Parisians party in catacombs under the city.
9. Sharks really are serious business in Australia.
10. And most importantly, the US isn't the sun in the solar system we call earth. Many places we have seen are on wavelengths completely different, time constant but with a pace decided completely on their own.

Well, our trip is nearly coming to an end. It really has been an eye-opening experience.

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