Tiger2 does the Golden Triangle

Sitting on the steps by the bank of the Mekhong River, we are eating papaya (paw-paw) watching the sun rise. We had crossed the road carrying our plastic bag of fruit and were waved a cheery “good morning” by the early morning risers on their bicycles. There is a custom throughout Thailand for exercising at open public spaces. We would often come across crowds of keep-fitters, bending dancing and stretching in time to heart thumping music at sunrise and sunset. All ages and sizes, getting a daily work-out. There are cyclists, runners, walkers and exercisers occupying parks and tracks for the first and last hours of the day. We watch two elderly ladies using the sidewalk rails to bend and stretch before marching off with their walking sticks. While Westerners are eating breakfast, or are having sundowners, the Easterners are intent on keeping fit. Makes you think? Music from Laos came bouncing across the water as we packed up, loaded the bike and rode North towards Mae Sai . 9kms up the road we saw a sign to the Hall of Opium Museum and turned left up a very grand drive , passing an amazing pond, absolutely still waters with an immaculately cut sloping grassy bank displaying a box-type hedge with the words ‘Hall of Opium’ . The reflection in the pond created a bizarre inverted mirror image and we pondered about the symbolism, either by design or accident. The entrance fee for the museum was beyond our budget and we didn’t feel like funding this activity or anything associated with it anyway, so rode around the complex towards the exit, where B spotted an exquisitely beautiful kingfisher warming up in the morning sun. Stop, stop, quickly, quickly, unzip the camera bag, switch on, maximum zoom. Got it. Made my day :). A few kilometres further on we stop again at the ‘official’ golden Triangle, marked by many local vendors, golden statues and stall holders offering boat trips to Laos. A few buses pull up and a French tour begins. A portly chap wanders over, more interested in us than the tour guide and to my surprise we hold a passable conversation in French. Yayhay, our French is improving. His tour group moves on and he runs off to catch up with them. We spot a 4-sided triangular monument, studded with gold, silver and sparkling mosaics, illustrating the convergence of the rivers where Burma, Thailand and Laos meet. And yes, we bought the T-Shirt.

The road north to Mae Sai  is uneventful, we do the U-turn trick under yet another ‘Friendship Bridge’ and head down the highway for some speedy riding to Chiang Rai . B has been concerned about a ‘whining’ noise, perhaps a defective bearing somewhere, and wants to get it checked out in a big town where there may be a GPX Racing dealer. Chiang Rai is lovely, wide streets, lots of trees and statues and we spot a sign for A-Residence in the centre of town. The price is a bit steep but as we enter one of the rooms, I fall in love with the amazing super-size canvas (photo of original oil painting) above the bed. Gotta stay here, please. The owners are charming, free coffee and bananas, and super helpful on the telephone as we search for a GPX motorcycle dealer, draw maps and explain about the noise. The mechanic took the bike for a ride, it sounded normal to him, and B was reassured. The first oil change had been done at 1000kms in Chiang Mai, it was now necessary for a full service at 2000kms. Maintenance and bike things done, plus more free water and coffee, we set about exploring the area. There is a government sponsored settlement a short way out of town for the local Long Neck Karon people, where tourists can pay to walk around their villages, buy their wares, and take photos. The monies received go towards the maintenance of their culture, and finance their education and healthcare. Not sure about the moral/ethical issues involved which both oppress and sustain these people, we decide to see what it is all about. The entrance fee is exorbitant, so that solves that dilemna. But I take some photos in the reception area. The weight of the metal neck bands are over 2kilos and the diagram of the neck-bones rather interesting. We leave and go to an art exhibition, where the paintings are mostly in memory of the late King, a variety of styles and competency, but nevertheless a pleasant insight into Thai life. More photos.

The photos are on the micro-SD card on the camera, which needs to be removed and inserted into my tablet, so that they can be uploaded into the magic cloud beyond my comprehension. Once I have checked that all photos are ‘up there’ I format the SD card and clear the images off ready to take more. For this there needs to be a strong Wi-Fi which most accommodation does have and I do this every few days. My fear is losing the camera with the photos. I never thought about losing the photos in the cloud. Sundowner time is photo maintenance time and to my astonishment the last 300 are gone. Shock, Horror, Freak out Time. While I’m throwing hysterics, B calmly opens Mr Google and finds out that you can ‘untrash’ photos with a few simple clicks. I had somehow pushed delete instead of upload!!!! Peace is restored and we fall asleep under a beautiful painting. Before we leave the next morning, having filled up on bananas and coffee, we persuade the owner to open up the unoccupied rooms to view some more of the fabulous art work. I snap away, save them to the Cloud and we are on our way again.

Tiger2 has completed the loop around the Golden Triangle and we head East to Chiang Khong.