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Published: March 19th 2009
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In our travels so far I have to say that Americans and Australians are by far the most ignorant tourists out of all the nationalities we have encountered. Perhaps this is a generalisation, but perhaps there is also some truth. Maybe it is a geographic thing; Europeans and Asians are surrounded by a multitude of other cultures and nationalities at their doorstep, Americans just have Canada and Mexico and we have New Zealand and, well, Tasmania as our neighbours. A responsible traveller should do some background research on the country they visit, and at least learn what is respectful and what is not respectful. It is extremely disrepectful in Thai culture to pat people on the head or to point your bare feet towards someone. It is respectful to give your seat up on public transport for monks and to bow your head slightly when saying hello or 'sawadee'. It is just plain dumb and stupid, when told that we were going to the "Golden Triangle", to say "Oh, the Bermuda Triangle, how lovely!". Shamefully, that was from an Australian woman.
The trip to the Golden Triangle was a very long (650 km round trip) drive to the very north
of Thailand - through the province of Chiang Rai - though had some of the most beautiful landscapes. The low-lying clouds hanging over the grey mountains, and the slowly drizzling rain made it all seem apparently miserable but I found it beautiful....until Aaron informed me that the 'misty-mountain effect' was due to the locals backburning during the wet season (obviously someone was listening to the tour guide).
Nonetheless we witnessed some truly beautiful places, like a white temple north of Chiang Rai - the only one of its kind in the whole of Thailand to be completely white. The Golden Triangle was the next stop; the point where the Mekong River and another one converge to form the boundaries of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. We went for a short boat ride to a small port in Laos, which was heartbreaking. Little kids were playing in the dirt; their pet was a dung beetle tied to a piece of string. They didn't have shoes, their clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in weeks and they all had such big sad eyes. I asked the tour guide if it was okay to give them money; she said it was better
to give food and water. So instead of spending our money on fake silk scarves and useless souvenirs we bought snacks and drinking water for a few families.
Aaron then tried a shot of whiskey. This wasn't any ordinary whiskey. This whiskey had the penis of a tiger soaking in it for a few weeks. It supposedly helped with "blood circulation". There were other less humorous additions to Laotian whiskey...including whole cobra, armadillo, turtle....I felt a bit sick after that so I didn't wait to find out what other specialties they had in store...
Travelling to the far north-west of the province, close to the border of Myanmar, we visited some local 'Karen' hilltribe people. Many of the hilltribe people originated from Myanmar and Laos, migrating to the north of Thailand to escape the Burmese government or in search for better pastures. Once upon a time they made their living through opium fields; nowadays it is through lychee farming and sale of (real) silk scarf and local handicrafts. The particular tribe we visited were nicknamed 'Longnecks' and 'Bigears' - see the pictures for why - and seemed to be very humble and grateful people who lived simple lives.
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Rach
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Looks like you guys are having a great time. Aaron u look like u got a bit of a tan happening, u don't look so white, lol