What's so GOLDEN about this TRIANGLE?

Golden Triangle: don’t let the name mislead you like it did us! David McNeill and Brian Rouch came to visit us for our Songkran week off. We (Terra, Daniel and I) wanted to show them all around Thailand including the glorious Northern tip of Thailand where Laos, Burma, and Thailand meet; The Golden Triangle. So, the trip was planned and since the guys wanted it to be an “epic” adventure, they decided that making the 300 mile (round trip) venture on mopeds would be fun…it was for the first hour! Day one: we rented our mopeds, packed up our backpacks, strapped on our lovely helmets and hit the road. Stopping several times along the road to look at the map, we found our way up through hills, small towns, villages, and windy roads to the town of Chiang Saen. Here is where we all had great hopes of seeing this triangle-esque area with us being able to stand in all three countries at once…NOT! Instead it was a very sleepy town (except for the few that were out splashing everyone with water, celebrating Songkran) with the Mekong River flowing through. After asking locals where the actual point where the three countries come together, we found out (through translation) that it’s in the middle of the river and there really isn’t an exact location. Everyone would kind-of just point in one direction and say, “It’s over there” and excuse it. Disappointed, we got some food and found some cozy bungalows for the night since we weren’t heading back until the next morning. Day two: we were done with the not so “Golden Triangle”, and loaded up the HOGS to head home. All was going well until Daniel and I took a spill going through a small town looking for somewhere to eat lunch. Road rash and a pretty bruised up knee was all I got, but the shaking nerves where the worst! The rest of the trip home was slower as the temps got hotter and hotter. All the locals were still out celebrating Songkran and water continued to get poured on us! Was it “epic”? That only depends upon one’s opinion of what “epic” means. Needless to say, I don’t know when Daniel and I will be on a moped again and I don’t think the “Golden Triangle” is a must see in Thailand!