Bonus Blog: Biking to Burma

Bonus Blog: Biking to Burma.

Or 'Motorbike to Myanmar,' if you prefer to be politically correct. Either way, I went there. On a motorbike. By myself. Sounds a bit crazy, I know, but I'm going to prefer to call it 'adventurous' instead.

Remember in China when I had that thought of 'this is all too easy?' Well, though I had certainly faced many difficulties in the previous six weeks, I still felt as though I needed to challenge myself in some way on this trip, especially as I sat in tourist cafes, sipping on coffees and people watching. While that was lovely, of course, I wanted to push my limits. So, in Cambodia, after hitching a ride on the back of a motorbike, I thought a motorbike trip would be feasible, fun, and a very independent step for me to take as a traveler.

My opportunity presented itself when I reached Chiang Mai. (Forgot to post this before Bangkok - it happened first) I had three days to myself, and knew once the girls came I would be with them nonstop, so as I was researching the possibilities of a trip up to the border to see the Golden Triangle, I decided to avoid the hassle with stringing little bus trips together and just go for it.

Then I read about a popular visa run that many foreigners do to Myanmar to renew their Thai visa- apparently it was possible to go into the border town across from Thailand for two weeks while the authorities keep your passport, or you could just stay a couple of hours and do some shopping, then go back to Thailand.

One of the main reasons I had wanted to go to the Golden Triangle - notorious as the historical opium smuggling outpost, where the Mekong River merges to create a three way border between Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar - was to see Myanmar, so when I saw the possibility to actually go into the country, I thought why not?

Chiang Rai clock tower

So, I did my research, packed a day trip bag, left my backpack at the hostel that I was paying three dollars a night for anyways, and set off for my adventure. To save myself about five hours on the bike I took a bus to Chiang Rai, where I found a room and rented a bike for 24 hours, about 12 dollars. My practice session around little Chiang Rai that evening was a good orientation - my drivers training took about 5 minutes, and way more exciting than drivers ed back home. It took me about four times around the block of only making left turns (they drive on opposite sides of the street, surprisingly not that weird to adjust to) before I braved a right turn across traffic. Success. I was ready. After a nice little stroll through the night market and a pad Thai dinner with some girls from the guesthouse, I headed to bed, excited but nervous for what lay before me the next day.

Next day. 6 am. Go time. After some 7-11 coffee to get me going, I packed my bag in the little seat trunk, took a deep breath, and got started. My plan was to stay as far on the left as possible, go as slow as I needed to and let people pass me, and I knew I could always turn around if I had to.

But, once I got myself on the highway and stationed in the left shoulder lane, and slowly increased to about 50 km an hour...I absolutely loved it. I could pull over whenever I wanted, go wherever I wanted, and do it all my way. Freedom! The roads were perfect - not too busy but enough people around for help if something happened. And it wasn't even weird that I was cruising on the wrong side of the road.

My hour and a half passed by quickly, and before I knew it I was in the border town of Mae Sai. The highway literally ends at the border, so after locking the bike, all I had to do was pay 500 baht ($16) and surrender my passport while the authorities gave me a temporary identity card. And with that, I walked my way into Burma.

I wasn't alone - the crossing is a pretty hopping place for Thai and Burmese merchants selling goods or, like the coffee shop girl I chatted to, Thais who cross to work in Burma in the morning, then go back in the evening. I was surrounded by shops, tents, and people, with cars and motorbikes zipping around me.

I spent about three hours just walking around, taking a few pictures, and just observing. To me, Burma was a bit of a cleaner version of India, minus the cows and Hindu temples plus some Buddhist monks. It was also less affluent as Thailand, evident as soon as the border was crossed. Sidenote: most of the monks wore crimson robes, to contrast the orange of Thailand and Laos. There were more motorbikes on the streets than cars, and lots of moms taking there kids to school. I was definitely the only white person around, so even though I'd been stared at all over Asia, I figured this staring would be more for curiosity's sake than anything. I took it upon myself to be a good ambassador and proceeded to give friendly smiles to most stares, because who wants to look mean when they could look happy?

I did receive quite a few stares, but also many friendly smiles and 'good mornings!' in return. But it wasn't until I took a pit stop in a nice little store to buy a notebook and check out the imports that I realized what some of the staring was coming from. I caught the salesgirl motioning frantically to another worker with her hand way above her head when I remembered something. I'm super tall compared to 98 percent of the Asian population, something she had no shame in mimicking to her co-worker. Funny how I forget that sometimes.

Some further observations of Burma included seeing advertisements for local Myanmar beer, (nope, didn't try any - it was 8 am) seeing men wearing the traditional white shirt and a longyi (like a sarong skirt), which I remembered reading about in a book, and the amount of English signs until I remembered it was a former British colony - duh. As I wandered the markets near the border I realized they were mostly Thai products. I chatted with the coffee shop girl and bought a couple things, but soon had to move on - my adventure wasn't over yet.

Next up was the Golden Triangle, another 45 minute drive from Mae Sai. I followed the signs (it was incredibly easy to get around due to the well marked signs in Thai and English) and drove through beautiful lush green fields and rolling hills. The sun was shining, I was on a motorbike, and life was good. I got a little nervous as I got closer to the river, as the roads started getting hilly - wasn't sure how much it could take, as well as how much of it I could take - so just as I reached the top of the biggest hill and considered taking a different route...I was rewarded with a beautiful view of the Mekong and a sign saying Welcome to the Golden Triangle. It was fascinating to be there, and to actually see its existence. I had had a crash course in opium history from a museum I had visited the day before in Chiang Rai, but I knew that I would definitely need to learn more.

In Thailand, with Laos across the river.

After the Triangle I headed back to Chiang Rai via a different route, creating a little triangle of my own. The rest of the drive was just as scenic, with an added bonus of driving along the Mekong border with Laos for a stretch. I made it back around 3 pm, returned the bike, then hiked over to the bus station to get a ticket back to Chiang Mai - the girls were due to arrive the next morning. The next day was also the halfway point of my trip - as I sat on the bus I tried to think back to all I had done, seen, and learned since I'd left Korea. I ended up falling asleep before I could think of it all, but I knew for certain that my experiences had definitely helped me grow not only as a person, but as a world citizen and a traveler  With this in mind, as I looked ahead and began the second half of my journey south that day, from Burma to Bangkok, from the islands of Thailand to Malaysia, and then from Bali to Australia, I could only hope that the second half would be just as amazing as the first had been.

Adventure success. Until next time, Burma.

Note: my trip probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't read the excellent travel blog. I sent them an email thanking them for the inspiration and details regarding how to get there. Just goes to show a little research goes a long way. I hope in the future I can help fellow travelers as much as I've been helped by people like these two!