Sunday, January 17, 2010

Golden Triangle Tranquility


Today we left the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, flew to Chaing Rai and drove north to the small, tranquil town of Bon Sop Ruak. This is the area known as the Golden Triangle, where Burma, Laos and Thailand all converge, with the Mekong and Ruak rivers separating the three countries. Once know for it's opium and illicit drug trade, the area is now becoming a bit of a tourist attraction, with its easy access to the Burmese border and several local hill tribe villages.

Upon arrival we took an orientation walk along the Mekong river and then hiked up to my favorite Buddhist Monastery, where at 6:00 pm a monk rings a large iron bell, signaling the time and alerting other monks to gather for chanting. We had the opportunity to photograph the ritual and then returned to our hotel for dinner.

Tomorrow we set off to see the long neck tribes, followed by a brief border crossing for some photography in Burma. Wish you were here!

4 comments:

jeremy said...

I wish I was there too!

jager ~EB said...

Have a great trip Karl. I was in Thailand a few years ago documenting a girl returning to her refugee camp in Ubon. She was Laotian and we did get to cross the Mekong into Laos. I will continue to follow along here on blogger.
EB

Gustavo Payan said...

Good Morning Sir! Hi from the Philippines Karl. As usual, I am following your steps through your blog. Great way to keep everyone updated and worked up...I promise I'll join one of your tours one day. Good to know you're safe and having fun, as always.
Take care,
Gustavo

mike said...

Wish I was there too! I miss being over there. I think we are going back for Christmas this year if Malida can get the time off. Have a great couple of tours!