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Another early morning (by my standards), and more American breakfast. We decided on a tour to chiang rai, the white temple and the golden triangle which is where Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and Laos all border the same river. Our tour guide's name is Rhun and he kind of reminds me of a Thai "Provo Apex" guy. Pink polo, skinny jeans, aviators, spiky hair... Nice guy tho. I can't tell you how many times he squeezed opium into the conversation. We drove for about an hour and stopped at a little natural geyser but, as with most tourist sites, they really stop there because of the market. This market was actually selling some really great, genuine products such as silver platters/jewelry boxes, real gold/gem stones/diamonds. They were higher priced but still a bargain in comparison to US prices. I had my eye on this gorgeous Burmese ruby set in 18k gold but it was a little out of my budget. I did get a silver jewelry box though. I collect spoons and key chains and pretty much anything I can scrapbook into my "Adventure Book," but I haven't seen a single Thai spoon! What the heck?! It was seriously about 20 degrees
warmer as we drove further towards Chiang Rai, so it was also necessary to grab a diet coke. It's funny to barter with Thai people because they always bring out a big calculator and type the price rather than say it. Like it somehow seems more impressive? Some will barter down, or type lower numbers, but others just keep typing and clearing the same exact number saying "okay, special discount for you Madame." Poor Stacy gets sucked into these sales people all the time!
We packed back into our air conditioned van and headed another hour or so to The White Temple. Pulling up, the temple is breathtaking. Mosaic-ed in mirrors and so ornate! They only have us 30mins to walk around and through, and as soon as we walked through the main gate, I was approached by a very smiley old Asian man trying to take a picture of me. I'm guessing they don't see a lot of tall awkward red heads in chiang rai. Then three more came over and wanted pictures too!! I can't decide whether or not to be honored or offended. Anyways I made a couple scrapbooks! The entry path leads through a random
field of grasping marble hands. The crazy symbolism there is insane. Inside there are paintings of all sorts of American insignia and symbols. Star Wars, a sick dying hospital patient, Harry potter, twin towers being blown up, superman, angry birds, converse shoes. Maybe they think American culture is the cause of suffering? (Suffering is pretty much the basis of Buddhism). It was hella hot and humid so we got more fruit popsicles and, you guessed it, shopped in a little market.
Agh then we had to sit in our van for another hour to get to the Golden Triangle. Didn't think I would be checking any more countries off of my list, but I can now scratch off Laos and Myanmar! The Mae Khong river runs between those two countries and Thailand and is pretty much law free, from what Rhun was saying. They trade opium and gold and jump across the borders to go to the casinos. And the river is filthy and full of huge catfish. They had us throw on life jackets but "only for police checks, we never have accident on boat yet." Comforting.
30 Baht got us through "Immigration" to Laos then we
walked through their huge market and around that little island. They sold name brand purses and really unique decorative pieces that I coveted greatly. They weren't too overpriced considering the quality, but I still have quite a while left on my trip and limited funds/baggage space.
Back on the boat, stopped at a giant Buddha to take pictures, almost lost our Russian friend on the tour, ate a random buffet, then stopped at the Karen long neck tribe AGAIN. This time we didn't walk around much, but I did eat some fresh lychee off of the trees. So yummy! My heart breaks seeing the little kids and old ladies begging for money. Wish I had more to give. We skipped the night bazaar and just drove through it. It looked so interesting and fun but I have all of the souvenirs I need right now.
Tomorrow: Vietnam!!
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