Feel

Hi,

Think 'Tuesday in Thailand' as you read this post. We made a new friend today. We also traveled north again, with a border to cross. Later we all went out for dinner and music.

The song that we were all humming (Ha) was "Life In The Fast Lane" by The Eagles. Now we'll go back to the 60's: "Gave a letter to the postman He put it his sack But early next morning He brought my letter back..." Hint: You really shouldn't need a hint, but they call him The King and his initials are not M.J. This ought to be easy for some.

This morning Blue's friend Doug arrived in Chiang Rai. He's a photographer and has been doing some of the same festivals as Blue, taking pics of live performances. He came to the house and we all met him and then he and Blue headed off to take pictures of various things, including some Hill Tribes close to town. Then they were going to the elephant village. We planned to all go to dinner later.

Our friend Tay came to the house at 11a.m. for our road trip to Burma. We've never been and Kristin had read about the shopping district of Techilik just over the border from Thailand, and wanted to check it out. After a pleasant drive to the border (I wasn't driving) Tay drove right into the shopping section in Mae Sai. We'd seen cars go into the narrow one-lane street and wondered where they were going. Now we know. She parked at the top of the street and we walked through the market towards the border gate.

Going from Thailand to Burma is more than a notion. First we went to a counter on the Thai side where they checked our visas to make sure we had a right to be in the Kingdom. We walked across a bridge and into an office on the Burmese side where they took our passports, took our pictures and gave us a temporary 'day pass'. Just a little nervous about that one. When we finally walked out into the street we were confronted with a large crowd of men, all carrying cards touting various tours, casinos and tourist locations. We made our way through them, walked down a flight of stairs and met another large group all carrying shallow boxes filled with everything from playing cards to cigarettes to Viagra. This was to be our nemesis for the rest of our stay. At least every ten steps there was somebody trying to sell us something from their box. It got very annoying but we kept going. Most of the shops sell knock-offs (copies) of designer goods. We thought we might see some ethnic Burmese goods but none were to be found. We saw lots of nice things and made a few purchases, but it was mostly just an interesting experience. There was also the issue of the beggars. This is a 'target zone' and it was sad to see so many people in the state they were in. On the way out we had to fill out entry cards, stand in line and pick up our passports. A lot simpler than before. Not sure when we'll repeat this little trip. I'm still having visions of being swarmed by hustlers. (Ha)

Blue and Doug met us at our house at 6p.m. as planned and we all went to the seafood restaurant where Nong sings. I told you about her before. She sings in four languages and when she gets to the English, she does some Carpenter tunes and sounds just like the late Karen Carpenter. I wanted Blue, Doug and Kristin to hear her sing, in addition to sampling the food. We were not disappointed. We had a great time eating, listening and talking. Near the end of our meal it started raining lightly and there were big flashes of lightning across the sky. It never rained heavily, but I guess it did wash the sky a bit.

We all called it an early evening since we had a big day coming up. Wednesday we go to the mountains for a visit to a remote 'mixed' Hill Tribe village. Stay tuned for all the adventure.

It's time for Wacky Wednesday.

Peace,
Danny

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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