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back!
お帰りなさい!
On May 4th
I traveled northern Thailand and did a visa run to Myanmar. I stopped at four locations along the way and
that's what today's post is all about.
We spent a lot of time in a neighboring city called Chiang Rai. Chiang Rai (เชียงราย)
is the northernmost large city in Thailand with a population of about 69,888 people
(as of 2012). King Mengrai founded
Chiang Rai in 1262 and has been conquered by Burma and subsequently annexed by
Siam
in the early 20th century.
5月4日に僕はタイ北部に旅した。ミャンマーへにビザランに行った。道に沿って4箇所で行った。僕たちは、チェンライと呼ばれる近隣都市で多くの時間をかかった。チェンライ(เชียงราย)はタイの最北の大市だ。キングメンライは1262でチェンライを設立し。ビルマはそれを征服した。20世紀、シャムがチェンライを併合した。
Our first
stop was at a hot spring near the city.
There wasn't much to see or do there but I have a few pictures to give
you an idea of what it was like. It
seemed to be more of a rest stop than an actual touristic spot.
僕たちの最初のピットストップは、市の近くに温泉にあった。面白いものは何もなかった。でも、温泉の写真がある。それは、観光スポットじゃない。休憩みたい。
The next
stop on our trip was much more exciting, Wat Rong Khun (วัดร่องขุ่น).
This temple was built by a local artist, Chalermchai Kositpipat, in
1997. I went to this temple without any
expectations and had no idea what it would be like. It is a very atypical temple and looks
nothing like any other temple I have been to before. The temple is supposed to represent both heaven and
hell and you walk along a one-way path. You
begin the trip in hell, seeing demons and outstretched hands, then move across
the bridge into heaven.
Sadly, on May 5th, the day after my trip there, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck my region of Thailand and caused a great deal of damage to the temple which is now closed indefinitely. I was very lucky to have been able to experience Wat Rong Khun when I did. I hope you enjoy my photos.
Sadly, on May 5th, the day after my trip there, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck my region of Thailand and caused a great deal of damage to the temple which is now closed indefinitely. I was very lucky to have been able to experience Wat Rong Khun when I did. I hope you enjoy my photos.
ワットロンクンが旅の次の停留所だった。すごかった!1997年にこの寺は地元のアーティストコシトピパト・チャレルムチャイによって建設された。あまり期待をせずに、この寺に行った。それは本当に非定型寺。寺は天国と地獄の両方を表している。あなたは一方通行路に沿って歩く。
地獄から旅を開始する。それから、悪魔と伸ばした手を見ながら、天国に向かって橋を渡る。生憎、5月5日に旅行の日の後で6.3マグニチュードの地震が、タイの僕の領域で起こった。地震は寺に損害を与えた。だから、今、寺は
無期限に閉鎖している。僕はワットロンクンを見るのがラッキーだった。僕の写真を気に入ってくれるといいな。
The Golden Triangle ( สามเหลี่ยมทองคำ) is the geographic
point wherein the boarders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet. This term originally referred to the
mountains of this area and the massive Opium trade. We stopped on the banks of the Mekong River
for a trip to Laos. I didn’t participate
in this part; instead, I relaxed in the tour van. Afterwards, we went out for lunch and I got
to see my tour friend Jack’s bottle of Laotian whiskey containing a cobra and
scorpion “locked in mortal combat” (according to Jack).
黄金の三角地帯( สามเหลี่ยมทองคำ)がタイとミャンマーとラオスのボーダーが出会う場所。もともと、その名前は古いアヘン貿易から。ラオスへの旅行のためにメコン川のほとりに止まった。代わりに、ツアーバンでリラックスした。後で昼御飯を食べてツアーの友達ジャックのラオスのウイスキー見えた。ビンの中にはコブラとサソリが入っていた。
Our final stop was at the Long Neck Karen Tribe near
my current home, Chiang Mai (เชียงใหม่).
In
the late 80s - early 1990s many Kayan tribes crossed the border from Burma
(Myanmar) to Thailand due to the instability and conflict in their home
regions. Many of the Kayan people ended
up in refugee camps, one of which was designated for the "Long Neck"
peoples. This soon became
"self-sufficient on tourist revenue and not needing financial
assistance," according to Wikipedia. That said, I still did not feel
comfortable being there and neither did my traveling companions. It definitely felt exploitative, almost like
a zoo. None of the villagers seemed too
happy to see us, tourists, wandering around.
We were taken to a large, empty area that acted as a bazaar for the Long
Neck peoples to sell their products.
最後のピットストップは僕の現在の家の近くにロングネックカレン族。1980・1990でミャンマーは紛争と不安定性あった。それからカヤン族はミャンマーからタイへ行った。カヤンの人の多くは難民キャンプに行った。キャンプは「ロングネック」の人のために指定した。観光の場所になった。動物園みたい。それをあまり好きじゃない。村人は不幸かな。
Overall, none of us felt too great about this
portion of the tour. We're told that
life is difficult for them but still not as bad as it was in their
homelands. Whether or not it is
exploitation is up to you to decide.
全体的に僕たちは最後のピットストップあまり好きじゃない。ツアーガイドが今、生活簡単になった
って言った。それは搾取の?あなたが決める。
Thanks for reading!
読んでくれてありがとう!
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