Tuesday 16th September 2008
This is what the itinerary promises:-
Transfer - hotel to Yangon airport:
Road To Mandalay staff will meet you at the pre-arranged time and take you to the airport.
On arrival Chiang Rai, private arrival transfer from airport to hotel.
3 nights ANANTARA RESORT in a Anantara Suite.
Perched on a ridge overlooking the hills of Myanmar and Laos, Anantara`s Golden Triangle resort is as enchanting as the region in which it is located.
Mr. Win and the regular driver pick me up, as arranged, and Mr. Win says that Doctor Hla Tun will meet us en route. He and the lady doctor arrived back from the Delta Region at four o'clock in the morning. We meet the doctor and he joins us in the car, inviting me to make a copy of his most recent photographs. He's got a camera to USB computer cable so I drag my Notebook out and fire it up. But then we find that the USB connector has suffered mechanical damage and will not work. I haven't got a cable like that, so we take the SD Memory Card out. But I struggle to read that (it's not easy balancing a battery laptop in the back of a car, when the daylight makes the screen difficult to read and every pothole makes you mis-key). I'm not sure yet whether I've got a readable copy. At the airport, I have to say goodbye to all my friends and a courier gets me to check in for the Thai flight to Bangkok, then I'm to get a second flight to Chiang Rai in the North of Thailand. I'm surprised that Thai offer to check my big suitcase right through to Chiang Rai but, if it works, it will be easier for me. Thai have a smallish but comfortable lounge where I can wait for the flight and even do a bit of writing on the Notebook.
It's only an hour's flight to Bangkok but Thai flights are invariably relaxing. Just as well, because arriving at the huge new Bangkok airport is always a bit worrying. But, it all worked out and I got to the Anantara as planned. As an International Arrival, I had to go through Immigration first. Then I tried to follow the signs for 'Transfer to Domestic' but I think something may have gone wrong, because I ended up in the Arrivals Hall with people trying to book me taxis and hotel rooms. I then managed to follow the signs for 'Domestic Departures' but it seemed an awfully long walk. I checked in without incident, and enquired about the Business Lounge. Of course, that was another walk, but at least it offered an oasis of calm. All too soon, I was off to Gate 1 and then via the airbridge, to be welcomed by the stewardess off the Yangon - Bangkok leg! Then I realised that gate B1 was where we had arrived and that we'd got the same aircraft and cabin crew.
We took off on time and made a turn so that we were heading North for Chiang Rai (not to be confused with Chiang Mai). We landed safely and taxied to the terminal where an air bridge was used to get us off. I'd gone through Immigration but my bag hadn't been through Customs, I followed the signs for 'International Arrivals'. My bag turned up so I went through Customs. No sign of a guide, but after a few moments a charming young girl called Koon turned up. Quite logically, she was expecting me through Domestic Arrivals but thought "How many unaccompanied elderly European ladies can be coming in this afternnon?" when she spotted me.
Koon took me to a large, modern personnel carrier and we set off North on the A-2 Highway. The dual carriageway was in good condition but for miles we passed modern strip development. The A-2 goes to the Tai border at the town of Mae Sai where only the river Mai Nam Ruak separates Myanmar from Thailand. Periodically, we passed Thai Police checkpoints, part of the attempt to control the movement of drugs. We don't go all the way to Mae Sai, but turn right for Golden Triangle where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar are separated only by rivers.
We continue for a short distance beyond Golden Triangle and start picking up road signs for the various resort hotels in the district. The Anantara is reputed to be the best. Although it's a modern affair, it's built in traditional style. I'm soon being shown to my second-floor (that's one up from ground using 'American' counting used in a lot of countries) suite. The room is large, with a large external balcony facing the Mekong, a few hundred yards away. The grounds occupy 160 acres so I explore a bit, before it drops dark, and locate the 'Elephant Camp". Although there's broadband over a network cable in my room, I can't get it to work. A number of visits from the Hotel's IT department are required before I get a stable connection. However, I'm being met in the lobby at 7.00 a.m. the next day for my 'Elephant Experience' so bed beckons.
