. . N 121  Continuation of Visiting Hometown 

•     U Sai had asked a friend U Maung Maung for some help to cross the border, to keep our car while we were in Taunggyi,and so he came for us at about 9 and we were driven towards the Thai Myanmar border. 
•     The crossing point was crowded with cars and peoples, many with bags and luggages. We got down from the car and went into the Thai immigration to get our passports checked, take photos and give our fingerprints.Then to the Myanmar immigration and got checked again . There was no problem until now. But after waiting sometime and my daughter and grandson didn’t appear we had to call her and learned that there was something wrong with their passports. They had gone to visit Singapore in October and though the departure seal was on their passports there were no records in the computer. Anyway they were released after waiting more than half an hour.
•        
• After that we went to UMM’s house and stay there for a short time. As our Tachileik plane will leave only in the evening,we have some time to visit some places in Tachileik. So we did what any Buddhists tourists might do, visiting temples and pagodas. 
• After Maesai, Tachileik is untidy and dusty. The one main road is crowded with cars and motorcycles and cannot drive fast enough. The bad condition of the roads also made driving slow. But we learned that only the main road is crowded while the other roads are not that much. Business seems to thriving . I saw many gold shops with aluminum barriers that is a sign of unsafe  condition.Comparing with Thai towns  and cities there are much municipal works to be done here but I doubt no officials are interested in doing so.

        We visited three pagodas. The Shwe Dagon replica pagoda , the Thuwanna Theingi  pagoda and Loi Yun Kham pagoda.All are situated on not very high hills

and all are gilded  and shiny with its gold and own designs.The Shwe Dagon pagoda is exactly like the Shwe Dagon, the Thuwanna Theingi pagoda is built on a boat, Loi Yun Kham pagoda is a small Thai design pagoda. Beyond this pagoda there is a place with big and small figures of men and beasts and other beings which a monk commissioned for them. People come to take photos with these figures ,so the place looks more popular than the pagoda itself.

After 3 we went to the airport . Traveling by plane is convenient for domestic travels

because they don’t take long.Let me narrate one incident we encounter on our way back. One passenger near me enquired about the flying time from Heho to Tachileik and when he was told about an hour he was amazed.He kept murmuring oh… only a little time, oh…. so fast.It would be his first time on a plane.When we landed he was still saying oh….really , like he even couldn’t believe it. 

Something about Taunggyi……the weather in Taunggyi is cold.We had to face it with warm clothes,wearing socks the whole time and sleeping with many layers of blankets. But it is hot if we go out in the daytime. I think winter in Taunggyi is not as cold as it used to be,when we had   to warm ourselves with coal earthen stoves, because there were no electric heaters then.Cherries are only budding , so we will miss the blossoming season this year and also for how many years to come ,nobody knows. About the town itself we can say it is bustling with a grown population buildings and traffic jams now that it can’t be said to be a cool and pleasant town.

The two weeks of my stay in Taunggyi went swiftly by.I saw the three friends who are all I have, ate with two of them twice and visited one whom I think was not very well.Visited relatives at Golden Valley-once and had lunch with friends Ko Aung -AAT at Shan Queen there. Went coffee shop hunting which my daughters like very much but ended at Ayetharya vineyard. Oh… nearly forgot to mention another one which we went to: The Pine coffee shop at Payar Hpyu.

I went on a day trip to Kalaw once. It is a popular visitor’s destination now and I had not really been there. I went and pay homage to the Bamboo Buddha and spent some time at a coffee shop (even in Kalaw  and not long after lunch ) We got to visit the Myin Mati cave,the Byaik mountain and  the new viewing deck which is beside the road near Aungban as new places I have never been.

While at home I sorted out old clothes for donations.My daughters also did the same. We got altogether 13 sacks, so with some cash a friend went and donated them to the needy for us.There are still many clothes and things which need to be discarded and we haven’t finished all this time.So they will have to wait for our homecoming  next time. I entertained guests who came and visited me but there were not much .Apart from these activities there are not any really interesting things done which are worth mentioning. But I have some regrets because I haven’t gone to some places I intended to go, like our Loikong farm and checking on trees we planted to see how many survive.

So when the day for our return arrived, we said goodbye to friends and relatives and to our hometown  and departed through Tachileik, Maesai, to Cheingmai. The border crossing, the retrieving of our car took much time and the 4 hours drive was tiring because it was at the end of the day. But at last we arrived back to our 2nd home safe and sound.

     N.     121        Visiting hometown 

It’s been over 9 months that we’ve been in Cheingmai, so during the Christmas holidays we decided to visit our hometown. For our past trips between Myanmar and Cheingmai we come directly to Cheingmai from Yangon and vice versa. Now we hear that we can cross the Thai Myanmar border at Maesai, which is the northernmost point of Thailand into Myanmar because we have long term visa. After crossing the border we will reach Tachileik where we can board a plane to Heho which is only  25 miles from our hometown ,Taunggyi.

        But to get to Maesai we have to go by car which takes 4 hours. We  a family of 5 took our family car, and reached Maesai at noon. I had arranged to meet Sai Aung Kham , a relative to take us places around Cheing Hsen an old town near Maesai. So after leaving our baggages at the hotel we went to have lunch at a Shan restaurant .

         From the restaurant the view is nice. Far away across fields and plains we can see low mountains . One distant mountain we saw is higher than the others and SAK  told me that it is the Nang Norn  mountain which got famous because of the rescue of the boys trapped in the cave for many days . The cave they were trapped in is under the mountain. 

       After lunch I took some photos with the background .When I called Sai Ollie to come and take photo with me he came and lie down on the bench beside me. I posted the photo in FB ‘s my story with the text Nang Norn, Sai Norn , expecting few people to know its meaning. True …..even my daughter Nge  who is a Tai didn’t grasp the meaning. Norn is sleep in Tai and Thai. So as the lady sleeping on top of the mountain ,so is Sai Ollie who is lying down beside me.

        The first place SAK took us is the venue where the 60th birthday commemoration of  Merng Pone Sayadaw Jao Khuva Woon Jum will be held. We entered through the magnificent gilded gate into a vast compound where the road is lined  neatly with lamp post and prayer flags. We stopped at the big Buddha where the scaffoldings are still on and cement flooring was still in progress . I enquired about the height of the statue and was told it is 300 feet. We were also shown the pavilion where sermons by the khuva will be given. There are also other religious buildings which are donated by devotees and come into existence because of his benevolence.

     We departed to visit  the famous Golden Triangle, a place not to be missed for people visiting there.I was eager to see the great Mekong river again . It is a little crowded with people from Myanmar, Thailand and tourists. We even had to wait for our turn to take photos at the gate. I had been here about seven years ago, which is an experience I shall never forget and I also had written about in my blogpost No 56/57 Mekong @ Golden Triangle. 

      

 . 

       The  difference between 7  years ago is distinct on the Laos side. When we last visited  it there were only low buildings and stalls selling souvenirs and fake designer handbags.But now the place is unbelievably full of high rises and concrete buildings and the place is said to be rented to China for 99 years . The buildings are used as casinos  ,restaurants and bars and nightclubs.To extort money from fun loving people.My thoughts went to the kyar hpyant  or money scamming business done in the eastern border of Myanmar. Because nothing is done to eliminate it, and many Chinese people lost their money through it the Chinese government took action by themselves.We still don’t see the end of it but I hope these evil doings will come to an end forever. 

       This place on the Thai side is the same as ever. The big elephant and the big golden Buddha is the same as before . So after some gazing at the great Mekong ,some resting, many photos we departed for another place which SAK said an old Buddha was earthed.Cheing Hsen is an old town which has its own history. It is one of the old Cheing towns along with Cheingmai, Cheingrai, Cheinghung,etc. I would like to explore Cheing Hsen as an old town if there still are some signs of history. But the only thing I saw is  the remnants of the old  wall that can be seen along the road as we drove on.

       

        When we arrived we pay homage at the unearthed Buddha image which the head is missing. When they unearthed it was not only the Buddha statue but also with the brick building which housed the image,because the old brick walls are still with the statue. There also is a Lanna style temple complete with dragon railings and another one which is joined by a bridge. We cannot resist taking photos there ,so after taking some we left there to head back to our hotel and rest……

X7