Myanmar!

I am excited to have, after all these years, finally stepped over the boarder into Myanmar (the former Burma). Featuring one of the most repressive regimes in the world, I am happy to say that my boarder crossing was fairly uneventful and not even that strange. I went there to get a two week visa extension. I was basically participating in the dance of the farang (foreigners - ex-patriots), who, on a periodic basis, need to leave Thailand either into Myanmar, Laos, Malasia or Cambodia, get their passport stamped, pay a fee, and then re-enter Thailand with another month or two (or in my case, two weeks), to kick around this strange and beautiful country.

The crazy thing about my trip was that it was so unexpected and therefore done in a unusual way. Usually people just take bus from Chiang Mai, over the hills and mountains in an overly air conditioned, but comfortable bus, directly to Mai Sai, the Thai border town, cross over, get back on the bus, and head back to Chiang Mai that day. But I got some misinformation in which I was told that I could do all my visa extension in Chiang Mai. But when I got to the immigration office yesterday morning at 9, they said that they only do 7 day extensions. So, my friend, in her SUV (an unusual tank of a car in this land of motorcycles), raced me to the bus station, while working the cell phone to figure out how I was going to get there and back in one day. The direct bus to Mai Sai had already left but the bus to Chaing Rai was about to leave. So after a quick breakfast of some classic Thai northern sausage and sticky rice, i jumped on. The day went like this: Over-airconditioned 4 hour ride over twisting mountain roads to Chiang Rai. Tuk tuk (little three wheel open air taxi) to the other bus station in Chiang Rai. 2 hours on a local bus with seats so small that i had to sit completely sideways and when it filled up, i gave my seat to a pregnant woman and stood the rest of the way but i was too tall so i had to crane my neck to keep it from hitting the ceiling which it did every time we hit a bump. A motorcycle taxi from the Mai Sai bus station to the boarder. A motorcycle taxi from the boarder back to the Mai sai bus station. After consulting and realizing that the last bus from Chaing Rai was leaving at 5:30, I paid 400 baht ($15) to a motorcycle taxi to take me the 30 miles to Chaing Rai. After two check points and a thorough going over by the Thai police (to make sure I wasn't smuggling any gems or drugs from Myanmar), we made it to Chaing Rai with 5 minutes left before the bus left. I jumped on the bus, not so nice as the first, and took the most jarring, whiplash inducing bus ride back to Chiang Mai. Then the final tuk tuk ride back to my hotel by 10 pm. Another Thailand adventure under my belt!