Golden Triangle

I had quite a transportation adventure getting to and from a small mountain town called Mae Salong. My plan was to take the five hour boat ride and then a short sawngthaew (literally means two benches, these are attached to the bed of a pickup truck) ride to town. The day of my departure, a thunder storm was forcasted. I didn't want to take my chances as a massive palm branch was felled by the wind in the garden I was sitting in the day before. My Lonely Planet claimed that an alternative was to simply hop on the local bus, get off at a crossroads and board a sawngthaew to Mae Salong. I got off at the intersection and quickly found the line of 5 sawngthaews waiting for passengers to take to Mae Salong. One of the drivers spoke a little English and explained that we had to wait for other riders or I could pay 400 Baht for a private ride. I waited, imagining that people would emerge, and surely by the time the next bus passed there would be enough passengers to warrant the trip. Even one or two other passengers and we could have split the 400 fee (the price is usually something that can be bargained but the driver made it clear that he wouldn't go any lower when I arrived, and 'saving face' is a huge part of the culture here - ie, even if he wanted to drive me for less after we had waited for hours, he couldn't because he had already told me the price was final). I enjoyed my time watching the small neighborhood with an auto body shop, assortment of restaurants, small clothing store under renovation, and toddler in the house behind who wanted to play. I finally got tired of waiting and crossed the street to wait for the next bus to Mae Sai (where the original bus was going and a town that I wanted to visit anyway). Ten minutes later, another sawngthaew driver (who looked a lot saner than the one I had been dealing with), came over and offered to take me for 200 Baht. There was a small yelling match between the drivers (I guess undercutting the original price is not okay) and we were on our way.
After an hour of winding roads and beautiful views we pulled up at a guesthouse that was recommended, and better yet, under $2, the best deal of my trip so far.
Mae Salong is a small, one-road town surrounded by hilltribe villages. I woke up early to head to the morning market (5AM-7AM) where everyone gathers to buy, barter and eat. Then it was off to horse trekking! I was joined by a lovely Taiwanese couple and their young son and led by our "English speaking guide" who didn't know a word of English. The horses were small which turned out to be a good thing because I coud get my foot in the stirrup without help (yes, I know I'm a shrimp). We spent a lovely four hours riding through the peaceful hilltribe villages and scenery at the mercy of our horses (mine kept trying to cut in line but would bite any horse that would try to pass it... this led to occasional cantering to see which horse would be in front).
The next day, I had my hotel arrange a sawngthaew (instead of sitting for three hours on the side of the road), which still involved some sitting and waiting but I arrived at my destination and wasn't overcharged, woohoo. A busride later and I was in Mae Sai, the northernmost town in Thailand. I was expecting a small town but was surprised to find a sprawling small city that had built up around trade with Burma. Thai vendors head across the border to the market on the other side where they buy goods in bulk to sell to other Thai vendors who come to Mae Sai to stock up. The entire town turns into a marketplace (literally, roads and alleyways and anywhere in between... and it's not a small town) from 9-6 and you can get anything from cowboy hats (quite the craze in Thailand) to dried fruit to electronics.
The river that serves as the country's border is much smaller than I expected - there were kids swimming in it and most of them could touch the bottom in the middle. I waved across to Burma and decided I wanted to go and check it out. The next day I headed across the bridge and through the very low key immigration offices. In the Burmese (or Myanmar as the government calls it - there are politics behind each name which I won't get into here) office they asked me the purpose of my visit and before I had time to answer asked if I was going shopping. I decided saying yes was probably a better bet than explaining that I wanted to witness the military regime first hand.
I was not blown away by Talichek, it was merely another market/border town. It was a bit poorer than its Thai counterpart and they drove on the right side of the road, but other than that it was 'same same' as they say in Thailand. I would have loved to have gone to a smaller town and really experienced Burma for longer but visas and time constraints limited my stay.
I made my way down to Chiang Klong (the border crossing with Laos) via Chiang Saen, a wonderful sleepy town with a bustling market along the river - it seemed like a really nice place to live. The town was dotted with the ruins of temples from the town's heyday from 1200 - 1500. Chiang Klong is also on the Mekong but a bit more touristy than Chiang Saen. I stayed in an absolutely wonderful 4-story guesthouse. Each floor was skirted by amazing verandas, shaded by palm trees and overlooking the river. It was strangely empty for having so many rooms and being in such a prime location and it's low pricetag (a whopping $6 a night). I am thinking maybe there is a haunted house problem - it looked ripe for that kind of reputation. I sat and drank a neon green drink with globules (the specialty of the stand down the street) and read my book on the porch - a wonderful break from a few days of constant traveling.
I arrived in Laos today and am getting ready for a three day trip into the jungle where I get to play on zip lines and sleep in tree houses!