Burma Time

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I walked back to my room with 2 cups of extremely strong espresso served in plastic cups from a street vendor. His cart was attached to the side of a motorcycle and he precariously balanced the cups in a plastic bag so I could carry them without burning my hands. The plastic bad swung at my side as I strolled through the market on my way back to the room. Centrifugal force kept the coffee in the cups and I enjoyed semi warm coffee while overlooking Burma and the river from my balcony. They did the trick of giving me motivation to tackle my first full at the Nothernmost Point of Thailand.

Things flowed smoothly and uneventfully on the Thai side of the border. The officials were as friendly as officials could be and in no time I was walking across the bridge into Burma and the city of Talichek. The bridge to Burma was busy with commercial traffic of hand powered carts, sidecarred motorbikes and goof ole overloaded pick-up trucks. There was the additional commerce of beggars and peddlers who seemed to be allowed to straddle the fence between Thailand & Burma. I wondered how that was possible. I also wondered why I was the only tourist on the bidge. At the crossing I shot some photos, ducked the beggars and dodged traffic. When I entered the Myanmar immigration office a distinct change to the energy was apparent.

I entered the office by ducking past a curtain that shielded the interior from the street and was met by several officials in military uniforms with severe looks on their faces. A dark cloud of opression was apparent in the room and the Thai Land of Smiles was definately a foreign country now. Apparrent also were two clocks on the wall informing me that not only was I entering a different country but also entering a different time. One clock labeled "Thailand" was 1/2 hour ahead of the one labeled "Myanmar". My confusion peaked as I was under the assumption that the whole world operated off of GMT and only adjusted in full hour incriments. The 1/2 hour adjustment seemed not only an attempt to distinguish Burma from Thailand, but also from worldly convention. The severe looking men in uniform seemed only interested in processing my paperwork, taking my photos and collecting my entrance fee. Opeing a discussion to their reasoning for a difference of 1/2 hour in time seemed out of the acceptable forms of communication. I handed over my 500 Bht and silently cursed myself for not bringing US$ with me as it would have been cheaper at the current exchange rate. Oh well ... time and money ... it's all relative.

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