For our first “visa run” (when we pop into and out of another country to renew our entry stamp) we spent a week in Laos for Christmas. The second time around, we were off cavorting around Southeast Asia for two months. This time, given our proximity to Burma, and the fact that we are practically out of countries to see, that was the clear choice.
Crossing the border at Mae Sai, the northernmost point of Thailand, is relatively simple. We hopped a bus from Chiang Rai, took a tuk-tuk to the border, and walked through customs checkpoints. On the Burmese side, things are a bit strict. They take your picture and give you a temporary pass. Your passport is left at the border. At this border crossing, tourists are given permission to stay in Burma for up to 14 days, but only to enter a specific string of villages, and you’re required to check in at checkpoints along the way.
As soon as we stepped foot on Burmese soil, with its relative lack of tourism, we were immediately inundated with offers from tuk-tuk drivers to drive us around the town at moderately steep prices. Some of them literally came running at us. Our plan, however, was simply to have lunch and head back, new entry stamp in hand.
The border town on the Burmese side, Takhilek, is practically Thai. They use Thai baht as currency since it is more stable. So many Thais come through there for shopping or immigration that many of the town’s residents speak at least functional Thai. However, in Thailand rarely do you see pickup trucks full of uniformed men carrying machine guns.
Over lunch, we were even more of a spectacle than we have come accustomed to. Especially me; I was the only female in the restaurant who wasn’t serving food (and without my face painted in a tribal fashion, white squares and circles blooming across cheeks and foreheads).
As we were finishing up our Myanmar beer, one of the many staring men walked past our table, did a double take and sat down, striking up a conversation. He was a non-government tour guide (which may or may not be illegal there). He was also adamant in using only the new name “Myanmar” for both the people and the country, no “Burma” for him. And he was exclusively pro-Myanmar; shushing Win whenever he asked a slightly critical question of the government or the country. His fear of being overheard daggled in the air.
Clearly, we hired this illegal tour guide. We stopped by several temples, many of which were similar to what we see on a regular basis in Thailand; the only exceptions being a Chan temple (more ornately carved and decorated), a meter-tall Buddha made from weaved bamboo, and a Chinese temple. Also, our tour guide got so drunk off the one beer we bought him that he forgot his shoes at a temple.
Interestingly enough, the Burmese people are some of the nicest we have come across, generally speaking. They also speak some of the best English we've heard outside of the English-speaking countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. They are gearing up for a full tourism explosion in the near future.
Now, it might not have been a full-scale, in-depth exploration of Burma/Myanmar. But it was what we could do with a small time frame and while avoiding giving excessive amounts of money to the government there, of which no one is in favor.
More impressive, Burma marks a milestone in my career as a traveler: country number ten. Double digits. Now, I know that ten isn’t the biggest of numbers, but for a girl who has yet to go to Canada, Mexico, or Europe, I’d say it’s not too shabby. And, it's not everyone who has a Burma/Myanmar stamp in their passport.
