In Thailand, every house, hotel, office or business has a bit of garden, whether large or small, they are always beautiful. This is part of the garden at Jay's house.
On our second day in Chiang Rai, we headed to the border to do our 'visa run'. As we were waiting for a long traffic light we met these guys. The one waving to us said he was on his way to ask his girlfriend to marry him! I think we counted 18 guys in the back of the truck.
As we drove thru the countryside we saw lots of crops growing - corn, tobacco, sunflowers, grapes for wine, lots of veggies and rice paddies, lots of them! Most paddies were empty, but some like these had just been planted with tender green sprouts.
Here we are at the Thai side of the border - I'm a little nervous & very glad we're with Beverly who has done this a few times.
When we reached the Burma/Myanmar side we had to surrender our passports & pay a 500 bhat entry fee ($16). We were given temporary travel permit cards with our photo on them for our visit.
I guess most border towns are known for their shopping opportunities and this one was no exception. Down some steep steps, it felt a little like going into a sinister Diagon Alley. Cigarette sellers & beggars vied for our attention nearly every step of the way.
This market is known for its abundance of black market items & knock-offs. Here's a shelf of current US TV series, we also found '8-in-1' DVDs - 8 feature length movies on 1 disk!
It was a fun experience, but we were happy to go thru the 'Foreigner (Out)' door, give up our travel permits & be reunited once again with our precious passports.
The next step was passing back into Thailand, and getting that all important visa stamp allowing us to stay up to 2 months longer.
Phew - we made it!
Next, Jay drove us up to the 'Golden Triangle', the point where Thailand, Myanmar & Laos meet. This gorgeous archway opened into a wide vista.
The Golden Triangle is at the confluence of the Ruak & the Mekong Rivers.
Once considered the wild west of drug trafficking of opium, it's now slowly being developed as a huge casino area for tourists. The beautiful gold building on the Laos side of the river is a brand new casino.
One of many benches in the area - all with the same message.
Overlooking the river is a gigantic golden Buddha,
guarded by this pair of enormous elephants,
and another pair that you must pass beneath to reach the shrine, one at the front & one at the back.
Here we are in the sweet spot for picture taking with the Golden Buddha.
Beverly, Jay & I are standing in front of a table of cash offerings left by the many visitors.
The giant Golden Buddha overlooks the immense Mekong River that flows out of China, dividing Burma and Thailand from Laos, on it's way east to Vietnam.
It was a very moving experience for us to be there.
~*~ A note from Sada: Driving through northern Thailand on our way to Burma was my first experience seeing rice paddies on a grand scale. Combined with the steep volcanic mountains jutting out of the countryside, this landscape brought to mind my imagined picture of Vietnam. After all my reading about this country and everybody's terrible experience with their American war, it really felt like I was finally seeing what I had previously only imagined.
The next day, after our border crossing experience, Jay offered to take us to the Golden Triangle. What I didn't realize was that we were going to the exact epicenter. When Jay said "OK, We're here" I was stunned to see the Mekong River rolling by in front of us. I got out of the car and walked up to the monument showing the dividing point between Thailand, Laos, and Burma. With the Mekong flowing directly towards me, I was mesmerized and nearly speechless. Almost instantly I saw something bobbing towards us from about a quarter mile off. I froze and practically held my breath as I waited for it to float by. With great relief I was able to identify it as a bloated water buffalo.
We spent a half hour or so walking around admiring the glorious giant Golden Buddha and the other sights. Just before we left, at dusk, I made my way down a long flight of stairs to a small deserted boat dock, slipped my shoes off and bathed my feet in this glorious river. It was as much of a religious experience as I've always imagined doing the same thing in the Ganges would be. As I put my shoes back on, I glanced back up the steps and spotted two Thai DEA agents intently watching every move I made. ~*~
On our last day in Chiang Rai, we went up the mountain on a curvy road to Doi Tung, where we visited the King's mother's beautiful villa, and the fabulous royal gardens. These critters were a funny welcoming committee.
Mae Fah Luang Gardens was a wonderful place - I could have stayed all day! There were lots of lovely plantings in clever, whimsical settings and terrific water elements everywhere,
ending with a wonderful large formal garden with a killer view.
We also ran into a group of cute young Thai girls (& some security guards) who all wanted to have their picture taken with us, here they are with Beverly - totally cute!
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