After the trip to the Myanmar Border and a sumptuous lunch, we took a short drive to the waterfront where a boat had been arranged for us to take us on and across the Mekong River to Laos. We have Thailand on one side of the river and Laos on the other. Thailand, is of course the law abiding country where breaking the law can have serious adverse consequences. Laos, on the other hand, is not quite so serious, and this particular area houses a Casino called Kings Romans which is allegedly linked to the Mafia and on which the USA has imposed sanctions accusing it of money laundering, prostitution, drug trafficking as well as human, child and wildlife trafficking.
Our guide informed us that stuff like opium, and other banned products would be freely and cheaply available once we got across into Laos. He also warned us against buying anything illegal, because if caught with contraband on the Thai side, the punishments would be devastating.
Before boarding the boat for the trip to Laos, we had to deposit our passports at the Immigration Office on the Thai side. No official immigration stamp is stamped into the passport, however you can get a souvenir stamp of the Golden Triangle affixed in your passport upon your return. The boat ride was interesting. There is a casino on the Thai side, which is patronized by the law abiding and then there is the Kings Romans Hotel and Casino on the other side, where all the fun and excitement supposedly is, where the entry fee is US$ 800 and so it is patronized by the Chinese and Thais with heavy pockets.
The Mekong River goes all the way from China to Vietnam and carries heavy traffic along its 3,000 Km journey . On the way we could see two barges which our guide said were smuggling crocodiles, and we also saw several other vessels carrying stuff which we would never know.
A few short minutes later, we crossed over to the other bank, into Laos, where theoretically speaking, we were in a Special Economic Zone which was supposedly a holding warehouse and a market for all sorts of international brands. Rolex, Omega watches, Mont Blanc Pens, Branded Ladies Bags and accessories, branded clothes for both sexes, branded luggage – , you name it, its all there, at ridiculous throwaway prices, and only the dumb will believe that what they are buying is an original. Alcoholic drinks laced with opium are another speciality of that place, but we did not indulge. Spent about an hour or so exploring the ‘Duty Free Market’ and then headed back. We still had another halt before we headed back to Chiang Mai and the sun was already on its way down. Some pictures from our ride to Laos are below:
