Burma
March 24, 1997
We didn't spend much time in Burma, we just crossed the bridge on afternoon
The Extent of Our Burma Experience
The official crossing between Mae Sai, Thailand and Thakhilek, Burma is at a bridge that is only open from 6 AM to 6 PM. There are lots of officials on both sides, which obviously makes it the official crossing,. For the most part, the Thais and Burmese came and went pretty freely.
For westerners, it's more formal, but still easy. The important things are that you have to leave your passport with on the Thai side, pay $5 to enter Burma (US cash only), you can't go more than 5 kilometers past the border, and you have to be back in Thailand by 5 PM or you supposedly don't get your passport back. We did all this, and for us, it was another line to cross. Burma's government may be one of the worst in the world (probably second to only China in this part of the world) and the politically correct thing to do is to boycott Burma. But most people never get the chance to go there so it's an easy gesture to make. This line was a more complicated line than the one to Laos, but it was still a line. We paid our $5 – ignoring what the government would do with it – and went to Burma.
We crossed the bridge, took pictures of the Union of Myanmar sign, watched cars shift from the left side to the right side as they entered Myanmar, and wandered around for a while. For a country that being boycotted by the rest of the world and desperately short of hard cash, it looked pretty good – much better than the Thai side. There were tree lined streets, roads that were in good shape, sidewalks that weren't hazards, modern new buildings, and much new construction.
Some of what we saw was also exotic, such as the pelts of endangered species and other assorted animal parts, but most of it was mundane. There were lots of American cigarettes, as well as Budweiser, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Everything was priced in Thai Baht; there was no evident use of the Burmese Kyet. For the most part, Thakhilek was a well scrubbed, well maintained version of a Thai town, and there were no signs of the brutal government that Burma is famous for, or forced labor, or any signs of repression.
Donsao, Laos
Instructions on how to shift from left to right
Tiger pelt for sale
Another City of the Golden Triangle
Thakhilek, of course, is what the Burmese government wants people to see. Before it had opened the border, the Burmese government spent a bunch of money to fix up the town in order to impress day tourists like us. There are also the benefits of a border economy. It is said that over $1 million in jewels cross the border every day, plus lots of opium. The wealth of a country, much of it illicit, passes through Thakhilek, and it shows.
Burma Map
Burma Links
For more information on Burma, the following are particularly good links:
Free Burma Information on the democracy movement and the current political situation.
Lonely Planet The best online source about Burma for general information for independent travelers.