Journey: Pi Thailand - Mae Sai border (10hrs), Mae Sai - Tachilek Burma (10 mins walking), Tachilek - Kuang Tong (3 hrs), Kuang Tong - Loi Moi (2 hrs), Kuang Tong - Tachilek (3 hrs), Border crossing (10 mins walking), Mae Sai - Bangkok (12 hrs), Bangkok - Taipei (4 hrs flight), Taipei - Ju Bei (45 mins by car.) Total duration: Approx. 10 days.The universe seems to have a way of surprising me when I least expect it. It's interesting planning a trip of this nature and thinking about where you're going to be in two months, and who with... It doesn't matter though because you can plan all you like but in a minute all those plans change, the faces around you change and soon you're sitting right back where you started knowing that this is where you are meant to be at this time...
The changes in regards to my trip began with an email in Pi. I was enjoying my time in the beautiful valley. Amazing scenery, cozy bungalow all to myself, friendly locals and travelers and stunning sunsets. I had finally decided that I would return to Taiwan for the summer to work, mainly because I left a sweet, gorgeuse, and wonderful little puppy back in Hualien and needed to find a way to get him home. Yogi is his name and he is a Tu go doggie (the name for mixed breed in Taiwan.) Anyway, I had finally found someone who would take him back to Canada and my mission was to get him ready. Plans all set, confidence in tact, I checked my email one week before my flight to find that Yogi had been hit by a car and died... I was, and still am devastated. He was such a special friend and although I never had any plans to adopt a dog (hence my intense allergies) he kinda adopted me. But that's life, and I have to believe that everything happens for a reason and I will see him again...
The following day, I decided that I needed a change of scenery if I didnt want to go insane with what ifs and such. The opportunity came with a guy I met in Pai JJ, who introduced me to the guy (Freddi) he'd been traveling with, who was heading to Burma that night. Keeping up with my no plans status, I decided to join him. 10 hours later, we arrived at the Mae Sai border.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into really, I hadn't done any research for Burma whatsoever. So when I entered the country, I received a little map that had a town about 3 hours north on it, called Kuang Tong, and decided to go there. The cultural change from Thailand to Burma aka Myanmar was seen instantly. The government officials at the border were pretty scary, they asked me a million questions, took my passport and said they'd be keeping it at the border until my return, gave me a handful of "permits," and they wouldn't even accept my American currency in the account of too many folds... When I hit the street, I could see that this country was much poorer in comparison to Thailand. I was interested to learn more about the country and decide for myself why it was that tourists are often advised not to visit.
It was strange traveling here on the account of needing to hand out passes wherever you go, as the government needs to know where you are at all times! I was pleased to find that there was a tremendous amount of chinese influence in this part of the country though, because this meant that I could communicate with the locals, something a lot of travelers are unable to do. I met a young girl on the bus to Kuang Tong who invited me to meet her family and helped me decide where I would stay. At this point Freddi and I had decided that we would just do our own thing, so this gave me plenty of opportunity to mingle with the locals. I checked into the only real backpackers in town that wasn't run by the government, and slept.
The next few days were incredible. I bumped into a local man on the street who was anxious to show me around. He introduced me to Li Li, a chinese woman from Beijing but who'd been living in Burma since she was 13. I spent that afternoon with Li Li touring around the city and chatting. She told me that she and her family moved here because there was more freedom and opportunity here than in China. Strange because the locals have very little freedom and opportunity. She plays tennis and told me that she and her father would return to Beijing for the olympics. Not sure if she said to participate in the olympics or watch them... I asked her where I could use the internet. She said "Ohhh no, you can't use the internet here!" She could only use it with a special pass and in another town three kilometers away. Locals are not allowed to use it and there is no way to get connected, except of course if you want to bribe the government officials on the top of a sketchy hill, which I was not prepared to do. Oh, and a one minute phone call home would have cost me about 6 USD for one minute!! She told me that almost everyone she knew didn't have a passport. Unless you are really rich, you aren't allowed to have one, but you can get special passes that will allow you to go to Thailand or China temporarily... A lot of people don't even have enough money to go to school as the government doesn't pay for it, so if you don't have money, you don't go... She was very careful about talking politics and such with me in public cause she would have gotten in trouble, not as much trouble as a local she said, but definitely trouble.. Wonder what trouble would be in store for a local talking to a foreigner... and why? Brings the question of freedom and human rights to a whole new level...
The following day, Li li, Mister um... Cant remember his name, and I set of for Loi Moi. An old village high in the mountains which was colonized by the English years ago. We had to go to the local immigration office and get a pass, which I had to pay a bribe to get, on top of the men at the office being incredibly sleezy. When we got to Loi Moi, I had to pay yet another bribe for them to let me enter, despite my having a permit. I was beginning to wonder if it was them who asked for the bribe or the old man who offered it to them... One US dollar was more than a lot of people make in a day, so I wasn't too upset in having to pay them. Nonetheless, it was worth it becuase Loi Moi was incredible, like a little heaven tucked away on a mountain. There were horses grazing in the fields and beautiful little houses covered in flowers. It was definitely worth the drive.
On our way back we visited a boy's orphanage. They were really intrigued by my presence, I think most of them had never seen a foreigner before. Even just asking them for high fives received a very happy response. I went with them to play soccer under the nearby temple and spoke a little with the owners, congratulating them on taking on such a wonderful task.
The next few days were spent cycling around the city and trying to find a place to swim, which ended with me finding a square hole filled with brown water with about 15 teenage boys inside... Not my cup of tea, but it looked like tea.. or coffee maybe... Anyways, the girl that I met on the bus to Kuang Tong had tracked me down and found me at my hostel. She invited me to come out to her house in the country and see the hotsprings. Very excited, I went with her. The drive out there was spectacular, rice fields with a huge fluffy cloud backdrop, and horses running by. Her family was so sweet, they wanted me to stay with them, but I'd already booked my bus for the following morning. She (wish I remembered her name, but it was chinese and not easy to remember) brought me to the local school which reminded me of little house on the prairie, see pictures below. I've considered going back to teach but I'm pretty sure that would not be permitted, I might cause too much trouble...
I wasn't able to get to the heart of the problems in Burma, but I could see a lot of them with my own eyes. People that are expected to adhere to a very strict set of rules, no socializing with foreigners, no passports, restricted travel, corrupt government officials... But the people were still... happy. As it seems is the case in all the countries I have visited. Those who have very little and yet don't need any more than that... Something to be learned from this?
When I left Burma, I knew that I needed to go back, and next time see more of the country via arrival in Yangon. I wasn't allowed to travel there by land because the space of land between where I was and where the capitol city is located, is where a vast majority of opium is grown and sold. There's been reports of a lot of violence in that area, as well as witnesses of military training of children... You can learn more at:
http://burmalibrary.org/reg.burma/archives/200102/msg00016.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5071966.stm
Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced Ong San Soo Chee), Burma's pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate, symbolises the struggle of Burma's people to be free. She is currently under her third house arrest and the government has continually restricted her movement within the country and abroad. See the link below to learn more:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/aboutburma/aung_san_suu_kyi.htm
And a great site to learn more about Burma is www.voicesforburma.org
The more aware we are of what happens in the world around us, the more we can help or bring awareness to those who can...
I'll leave you with that thought. I am leaving for Canada in one week from Taiwan. Going back temporarily to help my family and then will be traveling again. Let me know if you want to meet up, I'll be in BC for the month of September and then onto Hamilton, near Toronto.
Love and peace to all of you,
Kusuma/Tiffany xo
See Burma photos at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=a415xus7.43yistu7&Uy=-89sp5m&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=329394716108_797120681503
