A Day in Burma

Unfortunately my camera isn’t working so there wont be very many pictures until I can get it fixed. Sometimes I might be able to use Siriporn’s camera. Anyway, this means I don’t have any pictures of my (brief) experience in Burma, so I’ll have to be all the more descriptive J. The drive to the border town of Maesa was 2 ½ to 3 hours. I didn’t mind the distance, because one of my favorite things to do while travelling is stare out the window at the unfamiliar surroundings. It’s incredible how much you can learn when doing this. I’ll tell you what you see when you look out the window in Thailand. On the road, there are many motorcycles. If you crash in to one, it’s pretty much automatically your fault. Actually, it sometimes seems like the only driving rule in Thailand is “try not to run into anything”. Oh, and they drive on the opposite side of the road. If you’re in a city or town, you’ll see various shops just off the road. Most of them have no wall facing the street, due to the heat I imagine.  The only “American” shops I’ve seen in this area are 7/11 and KFC. Cities only take up a short amount of the time. Mostly, you pass through farm land or small villages. In this case, there is almost always a ditch running alongside the road to keep it dry during the rainy season. Past this, there are small houses, a few traditional Thai houses (up on stilts) and ENDLESS fields of rice and corn. To someone who has only ever had a vague notion of how rice grows, these fields are highly interesting. Sometimes you will see people in their wide brimmed hats tending to the rice. HOB grows rice and corn as well, but the rice won’t be ready to harvest until December. Then, it will be sold to help pay for the girls who don’t have sponsors. We work in the corn fields on Saturday sometimes. It’s hot, hard work! We stopped at a noodle soup place for lunch, and then crossed the border. The difference between Thailand and Burma was striking. You can see it in the styles of the buildings, the goods sold at markets, and the people. I have no gift for describing architecture, so I'll let pictures speak for me when I go again in two weeks. As for the markets, they were...interesting. In Thailand, markets are about the most fascinating thing in the world. In all the markets I've been to in Mexico and Nicaragua, I always felt a little disappointing in the souvenirs. Not so in Thailand. If you go to the right place, you can find lovely handmade things. Burma's markets stood out in sharp contrast. Everything was either pirated or a cheap imitation. Siriporn and I walked through the market just a block from the giant arch that marks the border, and never did I see one thing that I might want to buy. The people were even more depressing. They lacked the friendly, gentle, and welcoming disposition that the "land of smiles" is famous for. Obnoxious salesmen followed us everywhere (alas, the curse of being obviously not native). Children and elderly people were begging. The street food was not safe to eat. I have known for some time that Burma possesses one of the world's worst governments, but I had not thought that the people's oppression would be so obvious to me after only a few hour's visit. I feel all the more grieved for the Burmese people's situation. I was relieved to cross the border once more. Thailand is better than Burma. :)