The Mexico of Asia...

First stop on our travels today included a visit to an area along the Thailand border referred to as Monkey Mountain. Hundreds of monkeys come down to this area from the nearby cliffs to walk the land but more importantly get fed by the tourists. Upon entry you only see a few, but as soon as you are holding a banana there are hundreds… additionally, you have Thai boys surrounding you with their slingshots to protect you from them… it was a little funky. Although neat to see, it was a little sad to see them relying so heavily on the humans for food, and a little discerning to have adult monkeys chasing after you for a banana.

After this we were off to explore the Golden Triangle area of Northern Thailand, and began with a trip to Burma. While also a Buddhist country, Burma houses a different type of Buddhist and the respectful, calm natured men of Thailand are replaced by loud and obnoxious Burmese… Additionally, the markets and villages are engulfed in poverty and unpleasant. Upon entry, we were ready to leave but instead went on to visit a local temple and tour the village along the border. Following this we were then given time to shop the market where you could find just about any item you wanted as a knock-off. Here you could buy anything from a Prada purse to the iPhone 5 (apparently Burma is the first to get it seeing as the US is still holding strong to the iPhone 4…). The market was chaotic and dirty, and given this in combination with the rest of our time in the country I have now dubbed Burma the Mexico of Asia.

 

After this we were off to a viewpoint of the Golden Triangle over the river that allowed you to see Thailand, Laos, and Burma together…

Then we were off by means of ‘Raceboat’ for a river tour and trip to our third country of the day—Laos. Here we visited another market and saw another fake good  market galore.

 

While neither of these countries were exactly thrilling to explore or see, we at least got to have the experience, and pick up a few more passport stamps while we were at it… Also, we realized even more what a great country Thailand is and how developed it is compared to its neighbors... but more than anything we were just happy to be 'home'.