Around The World 2011 Day 14: Chiang Rai, Thailand

Today is basically going to be our only full-day in Chiang Rai.  (Remember to pronounce that in your head Shee-Ahng Rye.  It will stick, soon enough.)

Rainy mornings are still beautiful.  You really cannot mind the rain when it lowers the temperature a few degrees.

I took a QuadCam shot for breakfast, thinking I would include room shots as well as food shots.

Then this little lady showed up just outside the restaurant.

When she lifts her trunk like that, it means, "Welcome to the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa.  Please enjoy your breakfast."

Clearly the morning QuadShot has to be re-done.

Better?

See that picture?  I took that picture and switched to video as she began walking towards me.  She is about to do THIS.

How can you not be fascinated by a creature that is gigantic and gentle?

I was told around an hour later that her name is Meena.  Sujay, one of my closest friends for the last thirty years, is married to a Meena.  It will be fun to show her that I have now met two beautiful women named Meena.

Barbara Elaine Howard, relaxing in her natural habitat.

This water buffalo's name is K.  He looked at me and his eyes said, "Dude... this hotel gig beats pulling a plow."

The entryway of the Anantara, looking outward.

Meena leans in for a hug THERE.

Last night's dinner was THERE.  After driving around a windy road in the dark, it is kind of amusing to see that we were very close to the hotel's back patio.

Soon we were on a site inspection of the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa.  Seriously.  These travel agents do not have it easy.  All of the civilians like myself who are tagging along with a travel agent are getting pretty tired of hotel rooms.  But you have to see what your clients will get.  That is what you travel halfway around the world to do.

Checking out the the spa during the site inspection.

A hotel room must  have a television that is viewable from the bed without turing one's head.  If it does not, that hotel room is a failure.

Barbie saves the day with her Vanna White impression.

After the site inspection, we were taken down to the resort's elephant camp.

A mama.  If you look closely, you can see that she gave birth not long ago and her body is in nursing mode.

So that she can nurse this little guy!  When it comes down to it, human babies might be the least cute babies on our little, blue planet.

Michael makes a friend.  Just like humans, elephants like those who feed them.

Time to get on the bus!  We got stuff to see and people to do.

Yours truly is given the front seat again, next to the driver.

Another shot specifically for my nerds.

I always try to get a hotel entrance shot as we enter a hotel.  This was my first chance to get this one.

I have affectionately dubbed this Six Flags Over Buddha.  They literally have a ride or two, and it even looks like a roller coaster is coming out of his bhutt, though this is not the case.

Our first stop is the Opium Museum.  This area is second only to Afghanistan for opium production.  Most of it is grown across the border in Myanmar and Laos, and then trafficked into Thailand where it can be shipped to the USA and Europe.

That is what an opium poppy looks like.

This is what an opium grower looks like, IN JAIL!  Because that is where you will go if you are caught growing or using the stuff!  Stay away from drugs!  I mean it!

Next to the museum is a hill that we must climb to get a view of the Golden Triangle.  When we get there, I will discuss what makes this triangle golden.

I thought it might be easier to jog up the steps, skiping every other one.  You know, half the steps equals half the energy.  At least that was the logic behind it.  And at least it allowed me this great shot of Barbie stepping her way to the Golden Triangle.

At the top there was a temple, or three.  I sat with Buddha to contemplate and seek enlightenment.  (Guest photographer B.E. Howard.)

There it is.  The Golden Triangle.  The point where three countries meet, and a lot of opium is produced and trafficked.  The lower river to the left is the Ruak River that marks the border between Myanmar and Thailand, while the river that runs through the center is the Mekong river that separates Myanmar from Laos and then Laos from Thailand.  This point marks the end of the Ruak, where it disappears into the Mekong.

The Mekong River  originates on the Tibetan plateau of China's Yunnan province, and flows through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.  At 3,050miles/4,909km, it is merely the Earth's 10th longest river, but you can imagine its significant importance to Southeast Asia.

For some perspective, the Mekong River is longer than the USA is wide.  (If you do not cheat.  If you are such a patriotic American that you want to cheat, you can measure from Maine to San Diego and get 3,300miles.  I say the fair measurement is to go from the center of the West coast to the center of the East coast, which gets you around 2,800 miles.

In honor of seeing three countries simultaneously, we get the Waste's first ever Three Finger Point.  (Cue fireworks.)

No commentary necessary.

Personally, I find the Thais willingness to load up a pick-up truck far beyond its limit refreshing.

From the Golden Triangle we drove to Mae Sai, where one finds Thailand's furthest North gate to Myanmar.

The border with Myanmar is THERE.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, poses a serious challenge to my viewpoint that you should call cities and nations by the name used by the people who live there.  Why?

Skip the next two paragraphs if you do not care about repression and freedom.  Seriously, I get it.  Two long paragraphs about political oppression are not for everyone.

After World War II, Burma became a democratic republic named the Union of Burma from 1948 to 1962.  In 1962, a General Ne Win led a military coup d'état and established himself as dictator; he reigned for 26 years.  Democratic uprisings and acts of civil disobedience were crushed on a regular basis during and after his reign.  In 1990, the government surprisingly held free elections for the first time in nearly 30 years.  Somehow the military junta lived in such a bubble that they believed that they were popular and would win the election?   Needless to say, the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won 80% of the seats.  Needless to day, the results were annulled and the military maintained power.  In 2010, the military junta announced that new elections would be held, introduced a new flag, and renamed the country the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.  In an election reported to be rampant with fraud, the military's Union Solidarity and Development Party claimed to have won 80% of the vote.

So... the reason I went into all that was over this country's name.  Burma is the British mangling of Bama, which is the spoken name for this country.  (They have the interesting tradition of having the written name Myanma and the spoken name Bama for their nation.)  The name Myanmar is significantly closer to the correct name Myanma.  (By the way, why add an r at the end?  The rest of the world can say Myanma as easily as Myanmar, no?)  But the people who restored the name from the British colonial version are EVIL, in all caps.  I want to call the place Burma out of disrespect for the oppressive government, but for all I know the people truly wanted the name change and the military gave them the renaming thinking it would help their fixed election be a little less fraudulent.  Say it with me... Quandary!

So...  I am going to go with Myanmar, even though it bothers me.

There sits the customs house at the end of the bridge to Myanmar.  Hundreds, maybe over a thousand, day laborers cross the bridge into Thailand every day to perform manual labor and such.  They cannot stay overnight in Thailand, and I suspect the penalties are harsh because nobody tries it.

The Northern Most Of Thailand.

In the center of that bridge, the row of Thai flags meet the row of Myanmar flags.

Thais cross to buy cheap goods and such.  We had hoped to be able to set foot in Myanmar, but getting the Visa last minute would have been a complicated affair.  Military dictatorships are rarely friendly places.

There was a lot of shopping along that road, and great people watching, but the rain was coming down and it was not very picturesque.  In other words, I do not like any of the pictures enough to bother showing them to you.  Back to Chiang Rai.  (I hope you read that as Shee-Ahng Rye.)

When a Thai highway ends, boy does it end.  Thailand is building many new highways, connecting its many cities. This nation is already more developed than the average North American would expect, and once the country is connected by efficient highways this place's development will likely skyrocket.

Once back in the Golden Triangle area, we hopped aboard Four Seasons boats to be taken to the Four Seasons Tented Camp.  You read that correctly.  Four Seasons, one of the highest end of high end hotel chains, has a tented camp here.

This is a pretty fun way to get to a hotel.

Michael appears to be enjoying the ride.

Looking back, we should have smiled.  But it is not easy when facing such wind in one's face.

The first tent visible from the river.  I told you, this is a Tent Camp.

We disembarked, walked up some steps, and saw this.

And them.

This elephant stood between me and my lunch.  I walked up, pushed her aside, and continued down the path.

The view for lunch.  I might point out that this is the same spot you saw three pictures earlier.

The Mekong River, separating Thailand and Myanmar.  The trees on the left sit in a constitutional democracy.  The trees on the right sit in a military dictatorship.  How often do you see that?

After lunch, and a chat with the general manager, it was site inspection time.  It was pretty much high noon, sun-wise, which meant stark contrast in photographs.  Fortunately, there is an app for that.

The same tent, but shot with the app Pro HDR.

As you see, the tent is as luxurious as any hotel room.  This is not camping.  You are staying at a Four Seasons, and you know it.

But how many Four Seasons properties have a bridge like that?  Honestly, I think they did not even need to build that bridge, but they wanted to just to show off.

This is a treatment room at the spa.  I must quote Justice Joseph.  "Could you do any less?"

How well do they know the average traveller.  This bridge is made of clearly visible steel, not rope.  I have a pretty normal fear of heights, and this bridge was so sturdy that it did not bother me a bit.  (Guest photographer Michael Roy.)

Another HDR shot.  Definitely worth ten seconds of holding still to get this for you.

After the site inspection, we sat in the bar.  I took a moment to catch my feet just so.  By the way, the trees closer to me are in Thailand, while the trees in the distance are in Myanmar.  Look closely and you can see the Mekong River between them.

We walked down the steps, got back on the boats, and headed back to the Anantara.

Back at the Anantara.  After such a long day, and remember, it is very hot and very humid every moment of the day, we went straight to the pool.  This time, nearly everyone joined us.  It was most fun.

And then we worked on our laptops and went to bed.  We skipped dinner.  Not another photo was taken.  

Until tomorrow.