Here's lookin' at you, Burma

After a successful day, I am sitting in a very nice bamboo and wicker bungalow in the far north of Thailand, looking across the river that separates Thailand and Burma. It was a long driving day...I started out by going down some of the dirt trails that went to the villages surrounding Mae Salong. It was a look back in time at people living self sufficiently off of the land, but with a handful of modern things thrown in the mix. After that I made way towards Mai Sai...the long way round. I made the long way even longer by getting myself nice and lost, and almost drove into Burma through a non border crossing area, but I'm pretty sure they would have stopped me. From there it was smooth sailing through some of the most stunning scenery imaginable...an awesome drive, perfect for the bike. The last stretch was the best...21 km due north right along a mountain crest that forms a natural border between the two countries. It is a highly watched area and I had to pass through military checkpoints every couple of miles. It is a bit disconcerting to see kids looking about half my age holding automatic weapons...they were all really nice though. The good news for me was that it was almost all downhill, because I was about out of gas and was under the impression that this would probably be the absolute worst place on this little adventure to run out of gas. I rolled all the way to Mai Sai...no problem. There is a border crossing here, but I don't think I'm going to go to Burma...I like the idea of sitting here with a cold beer and watching it across the river...