Exploring Golden Triangle of Thailand – Lost – Help !

Dear SHC members,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

I am planning to retire in 2014, and with 2 good friends, we are planning to explore the Golden Triangle of Thailand. All of us are first-timers ? Would really appreciate if any one can provide some pointers on :-

1. The do’s and don’ts when visiting the Golden Triangle;
2. The things to do and must-see places in Chiangmai, Chiangrai and the border town of Myanmar;
3. Can we stay over night in Myanmar? And if yes, any recommended lodging;
4. How can we travel overland from Chiangmai or Chiangrai, cross border into Laos and travel up north to Kunming Yunnan ? Any suggested mode of travel ? by bus, by train, by boat up Mekong river, etc.

We are planning to spend 2~3 weeks in March 2014 to explore the Golden Triangle.

I truly appreciate and thank all of you in advance for your suggestions !

BTW, I am also interested in Terrance’s idea of retiring in Thailand. Thank you !

Warm Regards,
Ronnie Chow.

Author: ronnie chow

Retiree

9 thoughts on “Exploring Golden Triangle of Thailand – Lost – Help !”

  1. Hi RonnieC,

    I rarely see you in the Club forum This is encouraging.

    A few things to share. You can cross over to Myanmar from the Thai border town on a day pass. But since this is your 1st trip, you may want to stay on the thai side. The beer is tastier.

    It would take many days to get to Yunnan. But you can drive or take a bus from Chiangmai eastwards to Nongkhai, and cross over to Laos for a couple of days.

    I suggest you have a Thai guide, makes your trip fun and relaxing. Have fun.

    Terence Seah

  2. Hi Ronnie,

    Some years ago I went with some SHC people to Chiang Mai. Then we took a boat across the river, which is also the border, to Chiang Khong, in Lao.

    We stayed 1 night at the border towns. There are many cheap hotels there and food is plentiful.

    Next day we took a bus to Luang Namtha, a very peaceful and friendly Lao town.
    We liked it such that we stayed 2 or 3 nights there.

    From there you can take a bus to Boten, a border town between PRC and Lao. If you ae a Singaporean, no need to bother about visas. We stayed in the border town which was quite interesting but had some casinos. Then we took a bus to Kunming. This ride is very interesting.

    From Kunming, you should go to Dali and or Lijiang. or perhaps fly back home.

    Bon Voyage.

  3. Hi Ronnie
    I think Çharles has got it down pat as to what and how to get to Laos and Kunming, China. He has a sense of adventure and willingness to explore and, I’m sure, made some wrong turns and decisions.

    I’m not sure if you have been to these areas before, but if you want an easier way, then I suggest to take Terence’s option. There’s nothing like a good guide if you are all “green”!

    Please note that you require a visa to enter Myanmar… The Golden Triangle tour offered by travel agencies usually take you only to the Thai/Lao side. There is really nothing to see at least for me: a lone casino On the Myanmar side to cater to Thais, an opium museum and a dismal Laotian village offering some crafts and snacks.

    If you do get to Kunming and Lijiang, there’s a direct TigerAir flight back to Singapore from Lijiang.

    Happy planning!

  4. Hi Ronnie and Kenneth,

    We did not have any problems on that trip, no wrong turns, no food poisoning, robberies or difficult stretches.

    In fact I think it is easier to go to Kunming from the western route to Boten. PRC than from Udon Thani to Nongkai, Vientiane, Luang Prabang to Kunming. There are 2 reasons why I take this view.
    1) I don’t think the Asian Highway is completed and the route from Vientiane to Luang Prabang will take some days by road. (assuming no flying except for the initial and ending journeys). Luang Prabang is a beautiful city and should be visited for at least 2 or 3 days. But the journey from Luang Prabang is slow and tedious. Also I suspect boring as roads are poor.
    2) The road from Boten to Kunming is an engineering marvel. The route is mountainous but the Chinese have built tunnels, bridges, so many that I gave up counting, and these pass over high valleys and under steep mountains. It is incredibly impressive. And no one talks about this route. The Chinese must have spent a lot of money to build this backlane to Myanmar and to the Rangoon Port.
    But of course you must be able to speak ‘putong hua’ in PRC.
    But let’s not spoil your adventure, plan and do it and come back and tell us about it.

    BTW Ronnie, how did you get my email address?

  5. Hi Terence, Charles, Kenneth and all,

    I wish to thank all of you in advance for the help and tips that you are so generously sharing with us. When I come back from the trip; and hopefully still in one complete piece, I should have more stories to share with you. Thank You !

    Happy New year !

    RonnieC.

  7. Hi Ronnie,
    Hope my following information can be of help to your travelling plan.
    1. 60 km North of Chiang Rai, a Border town Tachileik,after crossing it, you are on China Territory.
    2. 60 km NE is a town Mong Lin, continue 90 km your will reach Keng Tung. You are advisble to lodge for a couple day.Make friends with the locals to find out how to travel by the mountainous road to Xishuangbanna-240 km from Keng Tung
    Alternate way is to travel NW towards Dali and make your way to Kunming
    3.From Xishuangbanna, trunk road all to way to Kunming ,passing Pu’er, 180 km. use to be A tea processing township. Kunming is 450 km from Pu’er.
    In between, there are interesting township like Yuxi , Eshan,Yuanjiang, Mojiang,Ning’er.
    Have a pleasant trip

    Tony Ang

  8. With three, we encourage you to go for the “Golden Triangle” trip whilst you are still fit. It will be ideal to have 2 men and one woman to balance the different roles in the team or 2 : 2 ratio. However, it is a challenge to get one willing to put up with a grunge lifestyle and two men.

    “Golden Triangle” is that spot when the three countries converge in a piece of real estate where the poppy trade used to thrive. The “Greater Golden Triangle” will have to include the China portion of the XiXuangBana stretch.

    As Back Packers, Chiang Mai is your beach head and you move NE towards Chiang Rai and then Mae Sai the Thai border town with Myanmar. Within Thailand national boundary, the places are relatively like Singapore in the 60s & 70s in the suburbs. If you scan hard enough you will be able to find Mandarin speaking Thais with ancestry tied to the Kuomintang-Communist history of conflict.

    For visa run, most Westerners will do the Bht 500 into Tachileik, Myanmar side of the border town. That place is a bit wild with people out to make a quick buck to eke out a living. A day trip in will suffice and stay on Mai Sai side if you have woman in your team.

    Crossing the river into Laos you will see Bokeo and Luang Namptha provinces, the latter with much activities for the young and young-at-heart.

    If you wish to see the “Greater Golden Triangle, enter XiXuangBana, the southern district of Yunnan Province of PRC. Then follow the route that Charles CHUA suggested all the way up to Shangri-la on the China side.

    In your travel, you may want to get a guide as Terence suggested and you will go to the touristy areas. The other way is to sign up as volunteer to see the places or do homestay. For this you must have the luxury of time on your side which I usually like to do to optimize my set up cost/time of travelling. The web site chat rules do not permit the mention of the organizations or people and so I will leave it as that. Let me know if you need help and suggestions.

    After the trip should you like what you see, feel, eat and smell, you may want to take up Terence’s idea of having an extended home up there. It is definitely cost effective and certainly a safe haven when Heaven forbids, we have an island wide riots, more frightening than the Little India one. I know with the diet and the perspiration I had, my medical bills will slow down as one ages.

    For five weeks in Chiang Rai in 2012, I spent S$2,500 flying Thai International which took up a significant percentage of the cost. One can do a lot less, cheapened by the dozen. Good luck and have a time of your life, you earn it :~)))

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