Hi,
After an unusually cold morning, the day turned out hot. We had a very busy adventurous day. Ride along.
Looks like the ‘Easy Monday’ song was easy for some of you, but not many. Maybe another verse will help:
“What do I do when my love is away? (Does it worry you to be alone?). How do I feel by the end of the day? (Are you sad because you’re on your own?). No, I get by __ __ __ __ __ __ __, Mmm, get high __ __ __ __ __ __ __, Mmm, gonna try __ __ __ __ __ __ __.” Hint: This tune was sung by the drummer of the group, who wore four rings. You can get through a lot if you have the key word in the title of this song.
This morning we picked up Cat and her sister at the Talat (Big Market), and drove up to the Chiang Rai immigration office. Blue was going to get his Retirement Visa, and Cat was to apply for a Thai Passport. While Blue was at the counter having his papers scrutinized, I took Cat and her sister to another office nearby to see about more paperwork. When we returned to immigration, they had instructed Blue to go to Mae Sai, cross over to Burma and re-enter so he would have a certain amount of days on his remaining stay. It was very complicated and we didn’t thoroughly understand. We drove into town to another office where Cat discovered she needed to collect a lot more background information in order to apply for a passport since she is under 20 years old.
Our drive to Mae Sai was fun, noticing all the brightly painted buildings, the beautiful mountains, and the changes in the fields. It’s rice harvesting time in many of them and we could see mounds of the left over plant stalks. Mae Sai is a bustling border town. Since it’s High Season, there was even more activity than usual. We dropped Blue off at the border and went shopping. That’s what one does in Mae Sai. There is such an amazing variety of stuff for sale that it boggles the mind. Most of it is from China, and there are degrees of quality. There are vendors selling anything you can imagine, and things you’ve never seen before. One has to be careful since there are cars and motorbikes driving inside, making deliveries. We were on a mission for warm coats so we didn’t really browse. I did see several shops that I could spend time in though. Hmm, we’re going back next week. We did find what we were looking for so it was a successful venture.
Today’s photo shows one of the many shopping lanes in the Mae Sai district. It’s like a city within a city.
Across the border, Blue spent as little time as possible. We have been to Tachilek once, and our memory of it was that it was a very depressing place, full of desperate street vendors and shops full of knock-off designer goods. Blue confirmed this and noted that he didn’t see many smiling faces. There are some historic sites to see, but overall, it’s just not a destination we would choose. There are only a couple of towns one can visit without hiring a guide, under government supervision. Although the country is officially named Myanmar, I still call it Burma because that was the name before the military takeover.
Once we all reconnected it was time to head home. On the roadside south of Mae Sai there were lots of stands selling strawberries and assorted by-products like juice and wine. A lot of land is being developed with the speculation that more people will come to this region with the coming Association of South East Asian Nations, of which Thailand and Myanmar are members. Increased trade and easier border crossings for local citizens will mean a lot more business.
Have a Happy Tuesday.
Peace,
Danny
“How easy it is to see your brother’s
faults, how hard it is to face your own.”
~The Buddha
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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