Golden Triangle -- Hall of Opium Museum, what a trip!

And so, it was farewell to the four-legged surefooted elephants at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant camp, and back to the nimble two-wheeled possibility of my BMW 650.

  

Not that we went very far before dismounting … about 500 metres to be exact.

You see the Hall of Opium Museum is directly opposite the Anantara’s entrance. It sits on a 40-hectare tract of landscaped land, with an impressive modern building housing the museum. (It was established by the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, under Royal Patronage.)

 Intriguingly you enter in one side of the building and exit via another. The starting point is a long uphill ‘tunnel’ with disconcerting bas relief mural images of suffering opium users. It’s as though Picasso’s war-time masterpiece La Guernica and that other bloke’s The Scream have fused into one 3-D walk-through work of art. Jing jing!

 

Then you enter a series of very modern and airy chambers dedicated to different aspects of opium. Its international history (and a big hello to you Doctors Jardine and Matheson), its local popularity, its booming prosperity, the tools of the trade, the smuggling rackets, the pushers and the users. All wonderfully and colourfully curated. Posters, animations, videos, 3-D recreations.

 There’s a net feeling of sadness: what a wasteful (not to mentioned wasted) outcome opium produced. Of shattered lives and dreams. The needle and the damage done.

 A powerful and potent portrayal. Do not miss out on this.It's a real trip, man.

(Footnote: don’t be fooled by a lesser imitation in the touristy part of town billing itself as the Opium Museum. Visit the real one.)

Golden Triangle -- How to Drive an Elephant

A three day mahout course sounded like a real, well, hoot. And it was a hoot until the last item on the agenda day 3 ...

Picture me with a plastic glove on, with my arm -- nearly up to the shoulder -- thrust all the way up an elephant's butt with a tiny thermometer taking its temperature. For the record, Boon Na's temperature was normal, thanks for asking, and the elephant registered barely a thing other than thinking 'gee, those flies are a nuisance today'.

The things I do to get stories for you, my dear readers.

By the end of the course I was actually emotionally attached to my elephant. Since the first morning, I'd fetched him out of the deep misty jungle overlooking the Golden Triangle each morning, giving him a massive feed of bananas to supplement the limitless supply of leaves he wrenched from trees en route.

Under the watchful eye of Khun Kwan Wit, I would then take him -- plus a whole host of other elephants -- for a morning bathe in the river. It was like these elephants were young playful puppies. Like kids in a bath with a new rubber duck. The trumpets of jubilation!  At the mahouts' command they'd duck their heads under the water. Or their whole bodies. Or re-surface again. All the while I sat there on its back, scrubbing its bristly skin and lapping it up. I felt one with nature. Then, on command, all of a sudden bath time was over.

We'd saunter back to camp, itself a pleasant sunny square of thatched houses and stables, where kids kicked soccer balls, and the womenfolk busied themselves with weaving silk.

Over the three days I practiced my driving skills. Slalom courses. Mounting and dismounting in countless different ways, with the elephant absolutely faultless in its understanding of my mangled Thai commands. You could climb on and off via its head, its trunk, it's cocked leg, by having it lie down and grab its ear and swinging a leg over. But my funnest dismount was sliding down its trunk.

The rest of the time was spent practicing my driving. An elephant has four gears: forward, backward, left and right. Reverse gear is the most fun: you toggle back and forward in your seat while yelling 'Back up ya brutish bugger!' in Thai. Sure enough, the thing reverses.  Given their size you expect to hear the beeps of a reversing truck.

The satisfaction of guiding one of these behemoths through natural primary jungle in somewhere as exotic as the Golden Triangle is inestimable.

Especially when I look into their eyes and they seem so damn omniscient.

To qualify for my mahout’s certificate, I had to take its pulse (behind its ear), count its toenails (at the end of its feet, duh!), and measure its height. To do this you measure the circumference of its foot pad then double it. Jing jing!

Then it was on with the rubber glove …talk about tough love.

Chiang Saen -- two wheels, three countries, and tons of elephants

We left the markets of Mae Sai -- and Thailand's northern most point -- behind as we took the 1290 east to Chiang Saen, morning sun in our eyes. The road was under repair for most of its length, meaning it will be great in a few months when all the work's finally done.

Guests were still breakfasting leisurely when we arrived at the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort and Spa, nestled amid lush jungle with a perfect viewpoint over the junction of Thailand, Laos and Burma. The latter two countries are easily distinguished by their eye-sore casinos which poke incongrously from the misty wilderness.

Here the Mekong is a muddy brooding confluence.

The Anantara has its own jungle-adventure feeling about it, not for the least reason that it's home to the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation. Here, nearly 30 elephants have been rescued and rehoused from major cities where they once plied the street begging for bananas, which their mahouts (owners) sold to tourists and locals alike.

Here, they get to live in the primeval jungle and forage on lush greenery -- up to 250kg of leaves and bananas per day. Each. Jing jing! And their mahouts and families get to live in the camp, while their elephants are effectively leased to the Foundation for a generous monthly rental.

The Foundation in turn enables tourists to experience elephant rides in the bush, and take 'crash courses' -- not literally I hope -- in being a mahout. I decide to sign up for a 3-day course (check back soon to see how I progress).

Now I've got a question for you: when you were growing up, most of us wanted to be firemen, pilots, that sort of thing, didn't we? Englishman John Williams has a business card which reads 'Director of Elephants'.

John overseas operations here and is an evangelist for conservation. (He previously worked in Nepal, in tiger conservation.) John has helped the local villagers develop a silk weaving operation, giving the womenfolk something productive to do. Within 18 months they are already shipping orders for handmade silk BlackBerry covers to Europe and the USA. Talk about traditional meets modern!

On the way back to our luxury lodgings, we take the time to sit on the grass and feed bananas to a baby elephant. The cute little Dumbo look-alike just needs a quick 20 or 30 kg snack to keep it going ...

And after the gourmet breakfast, lunch and amazing Italian dinner at the Anantara, I was doing a pretty good impression of Dumbo myself.

Two Wheels to the Triangle

We had now completed the Mae Hong Son Loop, back to Chiang Mai, and pointed our nose north now to head up to the Golden Triangle, then to follow the course of the mighty Mekong River along the Laos border and then down through the heartland of central Thailand, including Sukhothai, then back to Chiang Mai again. Motorcyclists' heaven!

Heading up the main road to Chiang Rai, the wide and winding but wonderful 118, we took the turnoff to Phrao. For 70 km we blasted along an amazingly wide and smooth road, where the lush primary canopy sometimes joined overhead completely. With no traffic about, there were plenty of opportunities to test that the accelerator was working Ok. You can never be too sure. Pleased to report that it responded up to 150km/h with admirable ease.

One of the great things of motorcycle touring in Thailand (and I'm not endorsing this, just making a factual observation) is that you don't ever see a speed radar outside of Bangkok. The police have to provide their own bikes, too, which means many have a small 125 or 250cc. But in any case, even if they are on the  road or roadside, by the time they've seen your blur fly past, it's too late for them to do anything about it. As I said, I'm not endorsing this sort of behaviour. Jing jing!

Following the ridge road, we glided into a scenic lookout point from the ridge, at just less than 900m altitude, with a stunning view to the lake which is the signature of Phrao. Phrao itself is quite popular for its old temples, parks, and monuments, but the money shot is its lakeside promenade, from where you can wander about watching fishermen catching weeds and the occasional fish.

There are lots of lively places up this way, including Chiang Rai town itself, and Fang, but we'll come back for those another time. It was open throttle to Mae Sai, on the Burmese Border. The Golden Triangle.

The very name of The Golden Triangle reeks of mystery, adventure and exoticism, doesn't it?

Mae Sai, like any border town in the world, is just markets, markets, markets. DVDs, pharmacies, bags, shoes, t-shirts, jade-like trinkets, silver. Desperately cheap! We rode through the middle of one street market, emerging out the other end right on the river that defines the border. It's only about 5-10 metres across in parts, and children swam in its brown waters. If one wanted to do a 'border run' it would be most easy.

Getting motorbikes into Burma is a more complicated process, but the walk across the bridge (with visa on-arrival) into Tachilek is well worth it. More of the same really: markets, markets, markets. A chance to send a postcard from Burma and get a stamp in your passport. Thais seemed to top up on grog; I was content with a new pair of adidas running shoes for about $20.

Back on the Mae Sai side, we bedded down in a quaint little wooden cottage right on the river, where the flowing water soon sent us into the land of nod. It was clean, tidy, cozy, friendly, but, mainly -- for 500 baht per couple -- it was a steal.

Anantara hat-trick in Travel + Leisure Awards USA

Every year Travel & Leisure USA asks billions (well, OK, lots) of its readers to select their top hotel picks from around the world to ascertain the 500 World’s Best Hotels. This year their readers’ poll ranked three Thailand-based Anantara Resorts & Spas worthy of inclusion.

(Anantara is a home-grown hotel and resort group. You might remember me gushing about their pool villas on Phuket some time back?)

1. Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa (photo above):  in the country’s legendary northern jungle sits on a hill ridge overlooking the misty forested slopes of Myanmar and Laos, as well as the Mekong and Ruak rivers. Highlights of the 160 acre resort include the on-site Elephant Camp and a pool which overlooks three countries.


2. Anantara Hua Hin: Proving that quintessential seaside charm in Thailand’s Royal Paradise delivers equal allure. Nestled on the golden sands and temperate waters of the Gulf of Siam, this picturesque resort is designed to resemble an authentic southern Thai-style village.

3. Anantara Bophut, Koh Samui Resort & Spa: This romantic haven blends island magic with Thai charm and Anantara style. (Actually it's directly opposite the Samui go-kart track, the real reason why it won. Jing jing!)

William E. Heinecke, Chief Executive Officer of Minor Group under which the Anantara brand operates, commented on the win: “These multiple award wins place Anantara on an unquestionable pedestal, highlighting the brand as a globally revered luxury hotel company and a leader in the hospitality business. We are delighted to once again be celebrating Anantara’s interactive concept of indigenous luxury in the most exotic destinations around the world.”

Overall, Thailand scored 19 hotels in the Top 500. That's 4% of the world's best hotels. Right here. Amazing Thailand!

For full listing see http://www.travelandleisure.com/tl500/2010/region/asia