This day is the official day of New Year, I think. Since it is celebrated for about five days, it is hard to tell which is the real day. Nu, the driver, and bus boy all poured scented water with flowers in it over our cupped hands and sprinkled it down the back of our necks. I tell you! I am going to have such a happy year with all this blessing!

We drove a short way to the Burma border. Actually it is now called Myanmar, but people seems to still think of it as Burma and that's what everyone calls it. I still think of it as Burma, too.



We walked across the Sai River bridge and stepped into another century. I don't mean the 22nd.... probably the 18th! We walked down a steep, muddy, rocky street to where the cycle rickshaws were lined up waiting for passengers and we each got our vehicle. Mine was number 13.... hmmm.

There was a market here at the border and that was very busy. The smaller streets were unpaved and the paved streets had so many holes in them it was like riding down a rail way track. I tried to take some photos from the moving rickshaw but it was so bumpy that I was afraid they wouldn't turn out... thankfully I had very fast -- stop action -- film. Because there was a lot of fast action in this ride!

We toured the town of Tachilek and visited a walked through a small neighborhood where the rickshaw drivers lived, we were told. The women were pounding rice with an ancient looking manual device,



the streets were narrow dirt, but the very simple (I can't think of another word) homes were very clean.



We also walked through the market.. oh boy... this was really fun. There was the usual myriad of foods and smells, and lots of flowers. Also, for some reason, this market seemed to have for sale lots of bras and girdles. The people all had a whitish paste smeared on their cheeks.. of their faces... and we thought this was part of the New Year celebration, but we were told that they always do this here in this part of Burma.

The tour included a trip up a hill, by foot, to a lovely golden pagoda. But with the heat.... Gypsy was one who opted to stay at the temple and wait for the climbers to return. So a wonderful time was spent meditating with The Ruby Buddha. Cuz would rather climb than meditate.

We visited another temple which was under construction, then headed back for the border. On the way back we were assaulted by the water brigade... the streets were full of them. Mostly these were bucket-of-water throwers... and to say we were soaked to the skin seems to understate the situation.



After we returned to the area of our hotel, the bus dropped us off in the street market... where I worked on my Thai clothing collection. What a great time I had and how much I spent... hundreds of Bahts! I wish I could go back there today, right now that I have cooled off and rested up. I loved shopping in the street markets; I don't know when I've had such fun.

The next morning, we drove back through Chiang Rai and stopped again at the hospital. Or original sickie was going to the test results and another person wanted to see a doctor. But this time, we decided to go to the temple to wait... we had already seen everything the hospital had to offer. The new patient saw the doctor and received two medicines for the equivalent of $4.75. She threw away the medicines because she didn't know what they were... so what was the point? I really don't know.



Back on the road again. On the way Nu stopped and bought some roadside food for us to try. He was very good about having some sort or unusual treat for us, some little snack we had never heard of. This time we got sticky rice, black beans, and coconut milk sealed in a bamboo tube and roasted. You peel the bamboo down like a banana skin and eat the rice. I was rather tasty... I guess I am getting used to the food here, I wouldn't buy food here on my own, though, because I wouldn't have a clue how to eat this stuff or what to do with most of it.



Our next visit was to Condoms and Cabbages. It is run by a group promoting birth control and safe sex. AIDS is starting to become a problem there. We found a lot of cute handicrafts made out of condoms... they looked like new ones, thankfully. But they didn't thrill me as much as clothes! So I didn't buy anything at the shop. I know what condoms are... but I really have no idea where the cabbages come it... do you? I asked Cuz and she said, "Never mind." Am I missing something here?

Nu related a cute story about the condom groups educational visit to one of the hill tribes. Condoms were introduced and demonstrated... by putting them on their thumbs. The next year the group returned to visit the tribe and all the women are pregnant again. The men faithfully put condoms on their thumbs, but they didn't seem to work. We noticed when we visited the hill tribes that they some anatomically correct illustrations posted pertaining to the use of condoms. Good idea.



As we approached Chiang Mai, we visited lots of "factories with showrooms" We saw gems, silver, laquerware, paper umbrellas, jade; I don't know what else. This made us a bit unhappy because Cuz and I much preferred to see native crafts and CLOTHES.

Surprisingly, many of our group were busy buying ruby rings and sapphire jewelry, jade jewelry, carved jade... I hate to even think of the money these people spent! Think of how many clothes I could have bought with this small fortune.

We had a long, slow drive through the city to our hotel, The Royal Princess The streets were clogged from all the water throwing and traffic was at a standstill with holiday revelers.

The hotel was right at the edge of the Night Bazaar. Guess where we spent all our free time? This night it was incredibly crowded... the whole city is. Many people from Bangkok are here for the New Year holiday.

Mostly the shops along the street are closed during the day... except for the food market, of course. The night market opens about six and stays open till about midnight. Every city has a night market. People seem to enjoy the shopping in the relative cool of the evening... and eating at the food vendors.