On the Myanmar Border

The photo above: monks crossing the bridge from Myanmar into Thailand.

We arrived in Mae Sai this morning, which is on the Myanmar border. Tomorrow Zander and I are heading into Myanmar and going up to Kengtung. We won't have any internet access when we're up there. In fact, internet access in general has been getting more sporadic. There were no places in Mae Salong, only one here in Mae Sai, and we don't expect there to be many in the more rural areas of Laos, where we're heading once we return from Myanmar.

Mae Sai is a strange place. The main road ends at immigration, and there's a bridge fording a small river to Myanmar. The river doesn't provide much of a barrier. We've been watching as Burmese wade across the river and kids strip down naked and swim across. There are little girls begging in the markets, their hair and dresses damp. There are signs warning us not to buy Burmese cigarettes or sleep with underage Burmese prostitutes. In the markets there are goods from Burma ranging from jade to antique figurines. Gem dealers are everywhere, sorting piles of tiny purple stones. We don't know if they're garnets or rubies. There are fresh roasted chestnuts in the streets, served hot in the bag.

As long as we don't have any problems with immigration, our visa will be good for two weeks. I imagine that we will stay for one week at most, and more likely a shorter period of time. However, don't worry if I don't email or update this for a couple of weeks. I'll make sure to resurface once we get back to Mae Sai.