Golden Triangle - Burma, Thailand and Laos
Trip Start
Jun 13, 2008
1
37
54
Trip End
Aug 20, 2008
Where I stayed
Chiang Rai, Thailand
Saturday, July 19, 2008
We also saw some legit natural hot springs (like wicked hot, Dad). We trekked past Chiang Mai into the hillside to visit a couple local tribes. It was interesting to see how they live and learn some of their history (a lot are refugees from Laos and Burma). Although they are smart enough to set up some small shops for tourists.
Highlight: The highlight of the trip was going to the Golden Triangle, which is the northernmost point of Thailand and the intersection of Thailand with Burma and Laos, and was the central point of the opium trade for hundreds of years. The three countries are very different politically and economically, so we're excited to see some of these differences when we get to Laos. It is called the golden triangle because so much of the surrounding areas in all three countries were opium fields, which were then exchanged for actual gold. Although opium production is now outlawed in Thailand (see the movie Brokedown Palace), it is still very much alive in Laos and Burma. The 3 countries are divided by the Mekong river, which starts in the Himalayas in Tibet and finishes at the Southern tip of Vietnam. Since it is rainy season, the river is very high and fast...I think we will be going down it at some point in Laos, so that should be interesting.
Lowlight: The lowlight of the day was 1.5 hrs into our trip, when we realized we left our camera charger and battery in our hotel room in Chiang Mai. Our guide kind of freaked out, but managed to get the battery onto a bus headed for Chiang Rai and we picked it up at 6:00pm for the hefty fee of $3.00....not bad. We are starting to wonder if we were just not meant to have a fully functional camera on this trip.
After a day of sightseeing and taking in the local culture, we arrived at our hotel for the next two nights. In typical Thai tradition, it's a lot of open air buildings with comfortable rooms and enormous breakfast buffets to appease the western tourists (everything from Pad Thai to Fried Eggs to Salad). The rules are strict about Internet use, bringing in food from outside the hotel and "lady joiners" - yes, you are allowed to have a lady joiner, but you must pay an extra 600 Baht (about $20). Fortunately, since my name was on the reservation, Andy didn't need to fork over the 600 Baht for me.
Chiang Rai is a quiet mountain town and it is low season due to the rain, so there is not a lot of action. We ate dinner in the middle of the night market ($10 for food and beers - thanks to Kate & Mark for their leftover Baht, we had a great meal!) and walked around there for a while. Lauren has developed a bit of a soft spot for the local children selling handmade things (flower garlands, dolls with one-eye, etc.) so we did some early Christmas shopping. We grabbed a tuk-tuk to head back to our hotel, which is always interesting given the very small size and the extremely reckless driving. These things are not made for anyone over 5'2".
