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Saturday, April 05, 2008

Burma Border Run 3 - Chiang Mai to Mae Sai

[Phil at Progressive Alaska has linked here in his weekly blog roundup and to the fact that
he's having to travel, on the road from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai, right through the area where Richard Armitage earned his chops in the underworld of off-the-books U.S. intelligence ops, helping Khun Sa come to power in Burma, and feeding the needs of Armitage's so-called "import-export business," based between 1976 and 1978 in Bangkok.
For the record, the point where Burma, Thailand and Laos all three meet is officially, "The Golden Triangle" (upper right hand corner of the map) but this whole region was a major poppy growing area. I guess I'll need to get Armitage's book when I get home. But I haven't even gotten the posts to the border yet, so I better keep posting.]



Thursday, when we left, was an unusual day because the sky was actually blue. Haze, smoke, and other pollutants generally make the sky less the bright blue, but Thursday was as though everything had been washed clean. (It didn't last)








I'm not sure where we stopped, but the soldiers (passengers) on the bus made off quickly to where they could light up and pee. (There are decent restrooms in all the bus stations, but it does cost 3 Baht.)











As time went on, more clouds appeared and then dissipated.




The remaining clouds made for a stunning sunset.














And motorcycles are everywhere.

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