We looked at a variety of tours that run out of Chaing Rai and go place to place, including Mai Sai so we could dart over the border, get our stamp and do a little bit of shopping. However for just 2 people these were really expensive and we had paid out a lot to stay where we were staying already. In the end Chris came up with a cunning plan of hiring a driver for the day. This turned out to be much cheaper and we still got to see all the places we were interested in seeing (except the White Temple but we need to leave something for next time).
This also meant we still got the VIP air con mini-bus and could very much set our own itinerary. Starting at 9am (not 7 or 8 am as some tours did) we drove up to the Queen Mothers Winter Palace which had some amazing views and a beautiful flower garden. What was quite strange was that a group of Thai Tourists insisted on having photos taken of them with us, as if we also were some amazing tourist attraction. The Queen Mother worked really hard to try and improve the lot of the Hill Tribe People and here Winter Villa also full of really interesting architecture and art.
After that we headed over to the Monkey Cave, sadly however there were no monkeys as they had all gone into the Jungle to feed.
We then went to Mae Sai and the border, a drive through some lush and verdant countryside. We literally nipped over the border, taking less than ten minutes to get in and out. We have been to Mae Sai before and although the bustling market Burma side is fun and cheap, it's very hectic and you need to be in the right mood.
The contrast between Burma and Thailand is huge, as soon as you step over the Burmese border you are plagued by hustlers and beggars. The buildings are run down and the place somehow even smells poorer. The people are still friendly but pushy sales people desperate to make some money out of the Thai and Foreign tourists. Mae Sai on the Thai side in comparison has almost tried to make a point about how richer Thailand is to Burma, with well maintained buildings, plated in gold and silver. Large fancy hotels and wide streets. However the market although less intense is very similar mostly run by Lisu and other hill tribe women. Still we managed to get some good deals on Ginger Leaf Tea.
After Mae Sai we headed down to the Golden Triangle, the area where most of the Opium used to be produced. The Hill Tribes became quite dependent on this trade and now are struggling to find an alternative crop. There are many King's Projects addressing this showing his concern and compassion for the tribes people, however nothing is really going to have the same value as the illegal crop.
The area is indeed beautiful though, from the amazing statues to the view over the river where you can see the coast lines of Burma and Laos (we are in Thailand) and further away parts of China. We visited a number of temples and a really old ruined one that was fun to explore. We didn't visit the Hall of Opium or the Opium Museum as we felt we were running out of time and had learnt quite a lot about the Opium trade from the Hill Tribe Museum. On a side note I strongly recommend going to the Hill Tribe Museum before booking any tours involving Hill Tribes. They have some very good and not very obvious advice regarding responsible tourism and how to behave in the villages, which many other tour companies do not provide.
Finally we finished off our tour at Big C in Chaing Mai. It sounds silly to say we got excited by a shopping centre, but we haven't seen one for 6 mths and it was a novel experience. Sadly nothing we wanted to see was on at the cinema as we are quite keen to see the new Harry Potter!
Next day we went on the VIP Green Bus to Chaing Mai, to spend two nights there before heading back on the Bus to Pai. Only new thing to report is that we found an excellent Mexican fast food restaurant (a new concept to me) called Miguals which is just up the river from TaPae Gate. We also found somewhere that served a pint of bitter although it was Tetleys. We also while utterly drunk managed to build the highest Jenga tower we have ever seen. Just shows what Kung Fu can do for your co-ordination as I always used to be awful at that game!
We had a fantastic holiday and are now back in Pai and the MTC ready to get on with some hard core training!
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