Searching for the mysterious golden triangle wandering in the northernmost part of Thailand

The mystery of the Golden Triangle is well known. During the war years, it was full of various wars. Now it is a peaceful time, and it has become a place for everyone to explore. The northernmost part of Thailand is worth a visit.

meisile: a Chinese town with strong homesickness

"meisile" is a transliterated place name, which has a taste of pre-Qin Chinese, and translated into vernacular: beauty makes happiness. Meisile is a place where Chinese people live. Chinese people are "Hakkas" to Thailand, so they all live in the mountains when they arrive. Meissler is in Chiang Rai, passing through Chiang Mai, and the car is climbing the mountain all the way.

the culture of northern Thailand

is still sunny and windy at the foot of the mountain, but when it comes to Meisile, it becomes foggy, and sometimes there is a cool rain. Although in summer, it blows like a willow spring breeze. The place where the mountain road changes from uphill to downhill is the location of Meisile, and the houses are distributed on both sides of the winding mountain road, forming a unique Chinese town. Cascading mountains and tall trees surround the town of Mesle.

When Meisler just settled down, Chinese people still lived a poor life, because it was located in a high mountain, sparsely populated and barren land. However, it was later found that the alpine climate of Mesler was suitable for planting and processing alpine tea. After discovering this economic path, they began to bid farewell to poverty. Nowadays, Meisile and Alpine Tea are as famous as leisure tourism.

the Chinese in meisler have never forgotten their homeland. China's traditional couplets are pasted on the doorframes of residential houses, and door gods' New Year pictures can be seen everywhere. Here, you can put down your blunt English and speak Chinese when eating, shopping and staying in a hotel. The children here go to Thai schools during the day and Chinese schools at night, which have been passed down from generation to generation and remain unchanged. A Xiang, the tour guide, also took us to visit the Chinese school. Although it is a bit shabby, it is a place where generations learn the language and culture of their hometown.

Xiang said that now that China is strong, Chinese identity has become an honor. A Xiang made a gesture of beating his chest and said, "I am Chinese. Anyway, I am Chinese!"

Messer: the fruit holy land in the northernmost city of Thailand

There are many place names with "mae" in Thailand, which translates into "beauty" in Chinese, so there is beauty everywhere. After leaving Mesle, further north, I came to mae sai, the northernmost town in Thailand. Language is always so magical and interlinked. In Chinese, "Sai" means border town, and "Mei Sai" means beautiful border town.

Fruit Holy Land

People who come here are bound to take photos at the border between the United States and Myanmar in the northernmost part of the town. There is a small bridge connecting Thailand and Myanmar, and you must pass the customs before you can get on the bridge. On the Thai side, a golden classical gatehouse was built beside the bridge, indicating that it is the northernmost part of Thailand for tourists to visit and take photos. The appearance of Meisai town is messy, but it is orderly in chaos. Under the surface noise, it is the peaceful heart of the people.

it is worth mentioning the local fruits. People who like to eat durian will have a gluttony, which is cheap and especially sweet. Durian is the king of fruits in China, but it is rarely sought after in Thailand, because there are too many. If you go to visit relatives and friends with local durian and lotus mist, it will be regarded as stingy, while bringing some apples and peaches from China is a very high-end gift, which is just the opposite of what Chinese people think.

In Messer, I also ate an unknown fruit, the skin is like longan, the head is like a pipa, peeled like a banana, the sticky juice is like a fig, and the taste is like a combination of rambutan and longan. There is also a stall selling green mangoes on the street. Immature mangoes are peeled and cut into strips, dipped in a salty and sweet powder to eat, which is crisp and sweet, and mixed with a strange salty taste. It is also amazing to eat. In my impression, Guangdong mango only tastes sour when it is immature, while Thailand mango feels a little guava.

Golden Triangle

Golden Triangle: Fade the mystery and take on a new look

When it comes to the fame of northern China, even Chiang Mai can't compare with the Golden Triangle.

the golden triangle refers to the area around the sancha estuary of the Mekong river, with Myanmar in the north, Thailand in the west and Laos in the east. At present, the Golden Triangle tourism is mainly developed in Thailand, and the form of tourism is mainly to visit the Mekong River Delta by boat. When I came to the ferry on the Thai side, there was a wooden sign standing at the entrance, which read "Golden Triangle" in Chinese characters, and a map of this area was marked next to it. When I got on the boat and sat down, I went over the waves. The Mekong River was very open and the water was muddy yellow, but there was no peculiar smell. Therefore, the river breeze in Xu Lai was very refreshing.

first, visit along the Laos side. The coast of Laos has been opened as an economic development zone, and it is said that the investment is also Chinese, so there is a huge line of Chinese characters written on the shore: Golden Triangle Economic Development Zone. Come to the tip of the delta, that is the territory of Myanmar, with no sign of vegetation, only a huge building with a red roof, like a gorgeous hotel. The tour guide said that it is a hotel, but it is also an internationally renowned gambling place. In fact, gambling is the main industry of Myanmar and Laos in the Golden Triangle, while Thailand has developed a good tourism industry because gambling is prohibited by law.

On the side of Thailand, there is a tourist town, where there are shops selling souvenirs and clothes, and some resort hotels with beautiful environment.

Long-necked villages: The neck collar is beautiful with the neck length

There are three long-necked villages in Mae Hong Son, a suburb of Chiang Mai, and we went to one of them.

At first, I felt a little strange. A busload of tourists made a special trip to see a woman's neck, always feeling that this behavior was not so glorious. However, I later learned that there is no need to have this psychological burden, because the long-necked people are long-term migrants, have no fixed land, and most of them do not have Thai citizenship. The reason why they can stand in Thailand is precisely because their customs have unique tourism value. In other words, the more tourists are willing to see the long-necked people, the more stable their lives will be.

Long-necked

Villages are primitive, all made of thatch, and the ground is covered with yellow mud, with no trace of modernization. Long-necked women, sitting in thatched cottages, sell long-necked women's dolls, ethnic scarves and other things.

Of course, their most striking feature is the layered copper rings around their necks, which make their necks look much longer than ordinary people. However, this length is actually due to the visual extension effect caused by the copper ring to a great extent. Only when the copper ring is worn for a long time, the collarbone and shoulder bone sink and deform will really lengthen the neck. Despite attracting people to visit, these long-necked women are still very shy. When they see tourists, they always smile shyly, which makes people feel a little touched.

Long neck is the beauty

One way for tourists to repay them is to buy souvenirs, and the other is to take photos with them and then give tips. The prices of souvenirs are reasonable, and the tour guide A Xiang also reminded that if you want to buy them, don't bargain. Long-necked women rely on this meager profit to support their families. The tip for taking a photo is 2 baht according to the general standard in Thailand, which is equivalent to 4 yuan RMB.