Scott and Dean go to Burma

Mae Sai is on the Burmese border as far north as you can go in Thailand. The town is not much other than a trading post for all sorts of goods coming from China, Myanmar, and Laos into Thailand. Aside from being the only place in Thailand to purchase XXX DVD’s, you can also find all sorts of gems and most goods cheaper than anywhere else in the country. Elaborate carvings from teak wood, gems, and knockoff watches seem to fill most of the shops.

The guesthouse we are staying in overlooks a narrow river called the Mae Nam Sai and on the other side is Burma. Today we actually went across into Myanmar for the day. Arriving by plane in any foreign country is relatively painless as far as customs and immigration and such go. Overland border crossings are exactly the opposite. I guess my experience is limited to Cambodia and Burma, but regardless – pretty sketchy. Once on the other side you’re fine assuming you don’t get shot or kidnapped and that they let you back through Thai immigration. We circumvented this by not getting our passports stamped. If going into Burma is dangerous then going into Burma without any official documents or stamps has got to be one of the more ballsy things I’ve done. Once on the other side you’re in the knockoff capital of the world. Polo and LaCoste shirts for $5. Either these were the best copies I’ve seen or they were the “out the back door” variety, since most clothing is manufactured in China anyway. I almost bought a North Face jacket with with fleece liner for $45. Again, perfect copy or real thing? Anybody’s guess. Lots of swords and daggers, cigarettes, antlers, handbags, sunglasses, fake legos, Harley Davidson crap, generic viagra, and my favorite, “dirty lady boom-boom.” The people were nice enough and noone seemed like they were going to abduct us, but we were barely across the border. So we spent the day at basically the coolest/sketchiest outdoor mall on the planet, had a Myanmar beer and crossed back. Fun? Yes. Dangerous? Arguable. If we had hopped into a tuk-tuk and headed out into countryside in search of opium and hookers – suicide. But we’re back in home-sweet-Thailand, safe and sound.

I’m starting to understand what the crazy-eyed guy in Siem Reap was about. You travel around and your eyes gradually adjust from popping out of your head back to normal. It takes more and more to shock you or take a second look because it all starts to run together and seem normal. I could see how some have to keep pushing the limits and taking bigger risks just to feel like they saw or felt something. For me, Cambodia was enough, Burma was unnecessary. If you don’t quit while you’re ahead at some point, you’ll just end up moving to Columbia, or applying for work in Iraq.

On a side note, morale is good. Scott and I make great travel companions. We both have showered far more than I thought we would, but it is still early in the trip. The north has been pretty awesome, but we’re both looking forward to getting down to the islands. We’re probably going to meet up with his buddy Lockard in Bangkok, some of Eric’s Peace Corps buds, and maybe even Pok or Mr. Hughes. So plenty of good times to come. Neal, hurry up and sell the Rover so I can stay and go to Indo, a great place to learn to surf.

~ by deanius on January 15, 2008.