January 15, 2018

January 15, 2018

At breakfast this morning Aimee and I both decided to try Thai coffee. It comes with a layer of sweetened condensed milk on the bottom that sweetens the concoction considerably.

On the bus early, we drove to the northernmost point of Thailand and the border crossing with Myanmar. A few of our group paid the visa fee for a short excursion across to Myanmar. Instead another group of us climb 200 steps up Serpent Stairs to reach Wat Phra That Doi Wao, We made the climb mostly for the great view of Myanmar and the surrounding hills. As a bonus the temple at the peak is known as the Scorpion Temple possibly because an old local king was fond of these Arachnids. About a hundred yards away we discover a Giant Scorpion statue.

When our group rejoins, we drive east to the Golden Triangle and then load up into several noisy two-cylinder engine trucks and slowly make our way into the backcountry passing farms with banana, pineapple, teak, and rubber groves. In the middle of nowhere we have our most delicious tour-provided meal. Aimee and I both have Tilapia.

This area is called the Golden Triangle because Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet at this point separated by the Mekong River and a tributary. After lunch, we board a narrow boat for a short tour of the area and then passage across the Mekong River to Laos. Not real Laos, but a large island called Don Sao that was declared  a Special Economic Zone. The Chinese are financing the construction of casinos to lure in Thai money. We did some shopping but only bought some Lao Beer as a souvenir.

Back in Thailand, we went to the House of Opium, a museum on this drug and its long history. Not too many years ago the Golden Triangle region was the notorious capital of the Heroin industry. It has mostly been pushed out to Myanmar. We found the museum to be light on information and heavy on artifacts like opium pipes. So we sped through it and finished with a little shopping.

Back in our hotel in Chiang Rai, I tried the Lao Beer. It won’t make my top 10 list, but I did enjoy a nice sunset during the taste test.