I've come to the conclusion that I am addicted and I want to use this blog to reach out for help. I've already done it twice today and all I can think about is my next score. I tell myself that its good for me and I'll satisfy my craving soon, but it never stops. Once my lips touched Pad Thai I didn't look back. For those who don't know, its a mound of rice noodles cooked in fish sauce with eggs, bean sprouts, tofu, green onion, chicken/shrimp/pork and I don't even know what else. As well I like to garnish it with red chili pepper spice and crushed peanuts (standard Thai condiments). I'm not doing it justice here but I'll get a pic uploaded to make up for it.
I decided to change my itinerary somewhat and use the rest of my time to really soak in one region of Thailand - the north. The incredible beaches and snorkling in the south will have to wait for another trip. Solo once again (Claudia and I parted ways at the border) I switched my first destination from Chiang Rai to Chiang Saen. On the first day I was regretting my choice. Chiang Saen has little to offer. There are few restaurants and the ones I do find have no english in their menu; instead I must point to the picture which looks most appetizing. The sights are nothing to write home about either, so I won't. The shopping also is a let down. To make it worse, disaster struck. I accidentally deleted about 200 pictures from my camera, stretching back to Vietnam. I was dumbstruck. A real bummer, but let's move on.
Today was much better. I rented a bike and took off to cruise the countryside and see the Golden Triangle - a geographic region where the borders of Laos, Burma and Thailand all meet. This region is famous for, and gets its name from, being the world's largest supplier of opium for much of the 20th century, before being stamped out by the three respective governments. For a time it supplied 50% of the world's heroin in the 60's and 70's. Those who have seen American Gangster with Denzel might be familiar with some of this.
The town of Sop Ruak is the self-proclaimed home of the Golden Triangle. It features a fantastic view of the triangular meeting point of the three national borders, as well as two awesome museums: The Hall of Opium and The Opium House. I came particularly for these museums and they did not disappoint. The Hall of Opium is a spectacular government sponsored museum (you can really tell they put a ton of money into it) chronicling the history of opium, its medicinal uses, and its side effects. The other museum was privately owned and more humble, but just as interesting with its displays of opium-smoking paraphanalia, methods on growing, harvesting, processing and how to properly smoke it (lying down on your side, feet pulled up to your rear is supposed to be the best position). It's interesting to see how the Thai government has embraced this darker side of its history and used it as an anti-drug awareness program and way to show its effective leadership.
After some Pad Thai I carried on down the highway to Mae Son, which has a great view into Burma. Here I haven't done much besides eat, shop, drink espressos, smoke cigars rolled in banana leaves and soak in Thai city life. Tomorrow I head to mighty Chiang Mai where I hope to take a Thai cooking course and spend a day with an elephant. After that I head to Mae Hong Son to hike and hang with beatniks. Now for a dark bike ride home with McClusky playing on my Ipod.
I decided to change my itinerary somewhat and use the rest of my time to really soak in one region of Thailand - the north. The incredible beaches and snorkling in the south will have to wait for another trip. Solo once again (Claudia and I parted ways at the border) I switched my first destination from Chiang Rai to Chiang Saen. On the first day I was regretting my choice. Chiang Saen has little to offer. There are few restaurants and the ones I do find have no english in their menu; instead I must point to the picture which looks most appetizing. The sights are nothing to write home about either, so I won't. The shopping also is a let down. To make it worse, disaster struck. I accidentally deleted about 200 pictures from my camera, stretching back to Vietnam. I was dumbstruck. A real bummer, but let's move on.
Today was much better. I rented a bike and took off to cruise the countryside and see the Golden Triangle - a geographic region where the borders of Laos, Burma and Thailand all meet. This region is famous for, and gets its name from, being the world's largest supplier of opium for much of the 20th century, before being stamped out by the three respective governments. For a time it supplied 50% of the world's heroin in the 60's and 70's. Those who have seen American Gangster with Denzel might be familiar with some of this.
The town of Sop Ruak is the self-proclaimed home of the Golden Triangle. It features a fantastic view of the triangular meeting point of the three national borders, as well as two awesome museums: The Hall of Opium and The Opium House. I came particularly for these museums and they did not disappoint. The Hall of Opium is a spectacular government sponsored museum (you can really tell they put a ton of money into it) chronicling the history of opium, its medicinal uses, and its side effects. The other museum was privately owned and more humble, but just as interesting with its displays of opium-smoking paraphanalia, methods on growing, harvesting, processing and how to properly smoke it (lying down on your side, feet pulled up to your rear is supposed to be the best position). It's interesting to see how the Thai government has embraced this darker side of its history and used it as an anti-drug awareness program and way to show its effective leadership.
After some Pad Thai I carried on down the highway to Mae Son, which has a great view into Burma. Here I haven't done much besides eat, shop, drink espressos, smoke cigars rolled in banana leaves and soak in Thai city life. Tomorrow I head to mighty Chiang Mai where I hope to take a Thai cooking course and spend a day with an elephant. After that I head to Mae Hong Son to hike and hang with beatniks. Now for a dark bike ride home with McClusky playing on my Ipod.
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