Cambodia & Thailand Day 13
Cambodia & Thailand
DAY 13 - December 8, 2003 - Chiang Rai
Due to the internet connection, I am having trouble sending the pictures. When I have a decent one I will send them. Sorry.
Breakfast this morning was a little different. We got there early, 6:40, and as we sat down they brought us three pieces of toast, butter, jelly, coffee, and juice. We did not know what to do.
Then they came back and gave us a menu and we ordered. Each person’s order came by itself. I was one of the first to get my eggs. Gennie’s was much later. Then they brought us the fruit. This was another experience.
Some of the group did not act very well, demanding their breakfast and complaining. No thank yous were offered. Not showing the good side of America! We were all served and it was good. Coffee was plentiful and the wait staff tried to smile. Anya told us that tomorrow it would be a buffet - that should make everything easier for the staff who do not know the terms, over easy or sunny side up!
Instead of the 7:30 departure, we finally left the hotel at 7:45. Not too bad. Anya pointed out the area of pineapple production - a small sweet fruit that is about the size of a softball. She also gave us a historical account of the British occupation of Burma. They are now changing everything that was British, even driving on the right side of the road.
We crossed the Sai River and entered the town of Tachilek in Myanmar. Burma or Myanmar, as the country between Thailand, Laos, China, India and the Bay of Bengal has referred to itself for the past decade or so, has again opened up for tourism after a long period of self- isolation.
Myanmar has some magical sights and incredibly friendly people and, because of the government's clampdown on outside influences, it is one of the least Western-influenced countries in the world.
Our rickshaw exploration of Tachilek included a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda a Shan-style temple. Later, we walked through the local market with its astonishing assortment of goods. Anya then went back to the border control to collect our passports that she had left when we entered this communist state.
I do not think we were alone in being relieved in getting them back. This stop could be equated as going to Tiajuana to see Mexico.
At 12 we were on our way back in Thailand heading into the Golden Triangle region for lunch. This designation comes from the history of the opium trade, worth its weight in gold, from the countries of Burma, Laos, and Thailand. We rode on a truck like tractor, called e-taen, an open engined truck that has a removable power source that can be placed by the rice paddies to pump water.
Our lunch was back in the hills in a small garden café run by two women from France. We had a grilled chicken, curry rice in a palm bowl, and glass noodles wrapped in banana leaves. This was another adventure and we are all wondering how OAT finds these out of the way places.
After our e-taen ride back to the city, Anya offered to schedule a short boat trip on the Mekong River and over to Laos. For $10 each, to cover the ride and customs fees, we boarded a long, flat outboard motorboat and were taken directly to the Golden Triangle which is at the confluence of the Sai and Mekong rivers that divide these 3 countries.
The Mekong starts in Tibet and flows all the way to Vietnam, and out the Mekong Delta at Ho Chi Min City. We then went south and crossed over at a small village on the Laotian side of the river.
We walked around taking pictures and greeting the people. At 2:50 the boat took us directly back to Thailand where we met our bus to go back to the hotel. Along the river banks we saw plots of tobacco, tangerines, and more veggies, but no poppies.
Once at the hotel we got our laundry that had been done during the day. Nice to have clean clothes again. We had a nice buffet dinner and at 8:15 a few of us took the bus back to town to see the night market. What an experience! A great day, with lots of photos to download and memories!
Accommodations: Golden Pine Resort Hotel - Internet - Laundry
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