It will be a quiet day today....we earned it after our epic adventure yesterday when we visited 3 countries and one of them 3 times! So here I sit at a table in the covered area right outside our room at the Baan Bua Homestay in Chiang Rai.
We’d made arrangements with Paul (travel agency) to do a private tour to the Golden Triangle that included the Choui Fong tea plantation, a stop in the Thai border town of Mae Sai, crossing into Myanmar (Burma), back into Thailand, markets, sightseeing, viewpoints, the Opium Museum, a boat trip to and time in Laos and back to Thailand again, a drive through the 1000 year old village along the way and of course.....a return to our Homestay in Chiang Rai. Cost of our tour was 1,500 baht each plus entrance to Burma (500 baht) and entrance to Laos (30 baht) and entrance to opium museum (25 baht) and of course any food, gratuities, or other stuff we wanted to spend along the way.
So....here I sit munching on green tea popcorn (surprisingly good) as I catch up on facebook posts and this blog. Posting on FB and the blog really helps to remember all that we did! On a day like yesterday there was so much to see and do that it really is a bit of a blur.
We started our day at a very reasonable 8:30 a.m. when our driver/guide Mr Disuk picked us up at our Baan Bua Homestay. Natalie had walked over here so as soon as he arrived we were ready to roll.
First stop about an hour up the road (heading north) was the Choui Fong Tea Plantation. Gorgeous spot and what a gorgeous day to spend a little time here. One of the big advantages of having a private tour is that you can stop when and where you want and for as long as you want so our time at the tea plantation was a perfect start to our day. We learned about tea....how it is picked (by hand) and how it is dried (a lot of which is by hand), how it is sorted (mostly by hand) and in the end decided that we’ll never take a cup of tea for granted again! We spent some time sitting on the deck at the plantation and both Lynda and I commented how much it felt like we were sitting on the patio of a winery at home. The temperature is perfect (about 27) humidity seems non existent, views are gorgeous, light breeze blowing, and people from all over the world visiting this place with us. We enjoyed our iced tea lattes and green tea desserts before hopping back into the car again.
Mr Disuk was very proud of his brand new car! It is a little Toyota and only 1 month old. I think the style was Yaris so we wouldn’t have been able to fit any more people in there but for us it was perfect and as Mr Disuk said....it is the VIP car that can go places other taxis cannot. Wahoo! I always knew we were VIP’s. :-). Also important to mention here is that as soon as we got into the car we noticed on the middle of the steering wheel and on the roof right over the drivers head there were chalk like fingerprints. When asked Mr Disuk explained that the monks had given his new car a blessing for safety so we’re good to go! :-)
Next stop was the Thai border town of Mae Sai where Mr Disuk dropped us right by the Thai immigration to wait for him while he parked the car and hiked back to us from there. We were grateful we didn’t have to walk as it felt so much hotter here in the city than it did on the tea plantation! While we were waiting Lynda even had time to find herself a little gift that is absolutely GORGEOUS from one of the shops we were waiting beside! Once Mr Disuk returned we headed into the Thai immigration office where we were officially “stamped” out of Thailand. From there we walked across the bridge that leads into Myanmar (Burma) where we had to stop at their immigration office. The immigration office there keeps your original passport (along with 500 baht ($20 CAD)) for the duration of your visit. It feels a little uncomfortable leaving your passport there but it’s how they do it sooooo.....when in Rome......suck it up!
As soon as we exited the immigration office we were literally assaulted by taxi drivers vying for our business. Thankfully Mr Disuk was able to speak with them and narrowed the options down to two. We chose the truck taxi because it had 4 wheels vs the tuk tuk type that had only 3. Either was going to be the same price.....360 baht ($15 CAD) or $5 each. The driver would take us to three temples and a viewpoint before returning us to the market by the border....he’d be driving us up some pretty big hills and a fair distance as well as stay with us for well over an hour so we were happy to pay the $15.
The 3 temples we visited were all unique and beautiful in their own way. The 2nd was really interesting though as we were helped to find the day of the week that we were born so we could make our wishes at the right “station” on the site. I was born on a Wednesday and Lynda and Natalie were both born on Thursday. A young person attached themselves to each of us and walked with an umbrella over our heads to protect us from the sun as they guided us to the right station to make our wishes. My young girl is 16 years old. She was lovely and was able to tell me exactly what to do, which I did. I had to stand on a mat (because kneeling is not an option for my knees!) under a roof facing my Wednesday station. Then I had to bow and make a wish three times. From there I walked over to the station and used a small silver cup to scoop up water to pour over the head of the Buddha statue 3 times, then 2 more scoops of water over the shell that was behind the Buddha and finally 1 more scoop of water over the little elephant statue that was on the ground in front of the little Buddha statue. Once all that was done we walked across the big open space on this hilltop location to purchase a string of fresh flowers (20 baht) that I could then “offer” to the Buddha along with 3 more bows and wishes at this location. The final step was to then walk over to a very big very heavy brass bell where I used a large stick to hit the bell nine times to complete the process. We’ll have to see what happens after all of this! :-)
The 3rd temple was the largest and most ornate and it had a real sense of peace and tranquility about it. There are several buildings on this site that are home to many monks and this location is visited four times each month (in conjunction with the moon cycles) by many other monks and followers of Buddha....perhaps that is why there was such a sense of calm about the place. Behind the temple and beside the monks quarters there is a massive Po tree from India (I’ve also heard it called Pepo or People tree). This is the type of tree that Buddha is said to have been sitting under when he first found enlightenment in India. In the main temple building here there are massive columns that are circled by mirror work near their base. As the sun shone in the windows it caught the mirrors and caused the prettiest rainbow of colour. It reminded me a little of the time, so many years ago, in the bedroom at the winter palace of the king in Jaipur India when my friends Mohini and Robin and I were treated to a recital of twinkle twinkle little star by our guide as he spun around with candles in his hands to create this same reflection off the mirror work that lined that room (ceiling and walls). We had this massive space here in the temple pretty much to ourselves....it was so quiet and peaceful and even the air was cooler and felt gentle on your skin at this temple. Again, there was no rush and so as long as we wanted to stay we were able. The detail in the woodwork around the rooflines was stunning and there were so many pigeons here you could hear their cooing echoing through the property. In fact, there was one white tower like structure right beside the entrance to the main temple and it looked like some of the pigeons were calling it home as one of them stood in the “doorway” of their temple/house as if to say....hello....what do you want. LOL. It was nice to see them here (and someone must do an awful lot of sweeping as there was no poop for us to step on) but I’m sure glad there aren’t pigeons in my rafters!
As we headed back to the market area in the back of our truck taxi it felt wonderfully cool and fresh to have the breeze blowing by us. These tuk tuks and now this truck taxi are spoiling us for wanting to have vehicles where you can feel the breeze when you’re driving. Once back in the market we found a vendor selling fried treats that smelled amazing and that we all decided would make a perfect lunchtime treat. So corn fritters, potato pockets, and sweet milk fry bread were our noon meal this day. We also saw loads of cute kids but two in particular stand out in my memory.....one was a little girl helping her mom sell sunglasses. She was so shy to begin with but by the time I was leaving she was waving like a long lost friend with both arms in the air. Her cheeks and forehead were covered with circles of the paste that Burmese females spread on their faces and in fact all over their body. It is a blend of sandalwood and herbs that is mixed with water to make a light coloured paste. It is believed to be a tool in keeping their skin beautiful and the look of having the paste on their faces is thought to be attractive as well. The next little kid (or monkey as Mr Dusik calls all children) was just a baby. He was in the basket that his dad was carrying along with cartons of cigarettes for sale. The dad jokingly offered the baby for sale since we didn’t want cigarettes and I think Natalie was ready to make the purchase but for the fact that the border guards might have something to say about that! I’m sure the dad would have too....LOL..... :-). We found the Burmese people to be very friendly and this is a little different from my visit here to this same town almost 20 years ago. At that time we were the first white people they’d seen in more than 6 months and the border had just opened that day and no one knew how long it would be open. That time there were men and boys riding in the back of trucks all bearing weapons and the people in general didn’t look nearly as happy or easy going as they did today. What a difference a generation can make!
Just outside the market we headed back through Myanmar immigration, retrieved our passports (without any trouble at all), walked over the bridge, filled out the Thai arrival forms, and had our passports stamped to allow us back into Thailand.
Back in the car we headed in the direction of the actual Golden Triangle. The point of land that is where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos all meet with just the Mekong River separating them. The Golden Triangle got it’s name because it is the place where the opium trade got started. Opium was referred to as black gold because it is black in colour and it was typically paid for in gold as it’s value was so high. Here we visited the Opium Museum where we learned about the history of opium as well as several of the local area hill tribes including the long neck tribe. It was interesting to learn that the long neck tribe doesn’t really have long necks....they have lowered the shoulders, clavicle and upper ribs to create the illusion of a long neck. We’d already decided not to visit any of the hill tribes as that has been nothing more than a tourist attraction for many many years. But it was interesting to learn how they do it and the reason why. In the beginning of their story a tiger attacked their village and killed several women and girls by biting their necks. As protection it was decided that from that day forward all girls and young women (age 5 till 25 or married) would have 3 rings added to her protective neck covering that eventually was also viewed as beautification. On average the neck rings weigh about 8 kg by the time they’re finished getting them.
Next we were down a whole lot of stairs and into a little fast boat headed for Laos. Again, it was our private boat so we could stay as long as we wanted. Entering Laos was a different experience. They don’t want to even see your passport....they just want you to give them 30 baht ( about $1.50) and they’ll give you a paper that looks very official but that is likely just a souvenir. LOL. There’s not a lot here at this riverside town in Laos....and all of it is geared for tourism. There is one casino with another under construction as well as markets selling everything from clothes and suitcases to whiskey with snakes and scorpions in the bottle. The boat ride first up as far as Myanmar and then back down the Mekong to the port in Laos was rough! Our little boat literally flew across the water and at one point we were even airborne as we crested a large wave. All of us were hanging on for dear life and none of us were dry at the end of the “ride”. What an adventure! We took special note of the printing on the back of our life jackets where it said “Thai Life Insurance” and realized this is probably what the tour company was referring to when they said our trip included life insurance. LOL! After some time and a cold drink in Laos we were even able to watch the sun set over Thailand and then it was back into the boat for our final re-entry to Thailand for the day. This would be our third and final time entering into Thailand today. Once back on Thai soil we took a little time to enjoy a delicious iced coffee along with the views as dusk settled over us and then it was time to climb back into our little VIP car for the journey home.
We drove through the 1000 year old village that holds so much history but unfortunately as the sun had already long set there was not enough light for us to be able to appreciate any of it. The drive home was entertaining nonetheless as Mr Disuk is a character! He entertained us with his running commentary. Some of it we wanted to know and some of it we didn’t but all of it he wanted to share. LOL. Yes, he was a character but in a good way.
We had him drop us off in town so we could grab a late dinner and once that was behind us we headed home to our respective places as we were all done for this day. And now you know why today is a day of rest. Yesterday was a full one! Till next time,
LorLyn
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