Explore the Golden Triangle and visit Myanmar

Explore the Golden Triangle and visit Myanmar

Your guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel in Chiang Rai for your Explore the Golden Triangle and visit Myanmar Tour. This is a private tour so we are very flexible. First we will drive to the Thailand-Myanmar border, about 60kms north of Chiang Rai. Our destination is Mae Sai, the bordertown on the Thai side. You will visit Tachilek in Myanmar on a day pass. We will walk across the border. You will immediately notice the difference. In Myanmar many men wear the traditional longyis. This is a sarong-like tube of fabric worn by both men and women. Please note the signs that all are in Burmese language, a beautiful alphabet. This is one of the most lively bordercrossings in the region. Thousands of Thai, Burmese and people of other nationalities cross this border every day.

Tachilek

By local tuk tuk we will explore Tachilek. The local tuk tuk is a motorcycle with sidecar and it’s an important means of public transportation. It’s an ideal way to explore this interesting bordertown. You will visit the Temple of the Enrobened Elephant as well as the Mahamyatmuni Temple, which is a fine example of typical Burmese temple architecture. We will continue to Tachilek’s own Shwedagon Pagoda, a smaller copy of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. After this we will enjoy an authentic Burmese lunch in a local restaurant. The Burmese kitchen is decidly different from the Thai kitchen After lunch there will be time to visit the interesting border market, a favorite destination for Thai day-trippers.

The Golden Triangle

Return to Thailand. Continue to the Golden Triangle, the place where the borders of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet. Visit the Hall of Opium*, an excellent museum that tells the history of the use of opium, poppy cultivation and the opium trade in the Golden Triangle. In the past this area was a battleground of drug lords and various armed groups. Return to your hotel in Chiang Rai later this afternoon. It is the end of your Golden Triangle Myanmar Tour.

*Please note: the Hall of Opium is closed on Monday.