Myanmar-Thailland connection...Mae Sot

Mae Sot is a smallish town on the border of Thailand and Myanmar, (used to be identified as Burma). Many cultures inhabit the area including a Thai majority, Burmese, Chinese, Lao, Indian, Native Hill Tribes, and Karen...a subset of the Burmese.  Many Karen have fled Myanmar due to persecution by the military government...on the other hand, the military says they were persecuted because, for many a year, the Karen trained their guns on the military for target practice....so who knows.  Anyway you split it, there are a large number of Burmese refugees in Mae Sot.  An Australian fellow and his wife we chatted with volunteer with the refugees...helping them get work permits, housing, and food...They liken the situation much like the Mexicans and Latin Americans who flock to America hoping for a better life. 

And by the way,  Myanmar Democratic activist and Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi and her politicl party, with an 85% voter turnout, won the majority of the seats in the Myanmar congress...by a landslide. The Burmese people are hoping for a change in government.  But this has happened once before and the military rule basically said, "just kidding" and crushEd an uprising by the people.  We talked to several people about the situation over there and Suu Kyi's move to lead the governmet...None were very confident that she'll make it to the presidency, although that is everyones hope. Good luck to her.

Rented our first scooter.  A Suzuki at 110 CCs.  A veritable sprint machine.  Not quite as stable as my Harley, but got us where we needed to go in fine fashion.  Our longest trip was to Highland Farms and Gibbon Sanctuary, about 45 kilometers out of Mae Sot. It also acts as a small wildlife refuge that houses a couple of bears..(question...who among you think it's a good idea to keep a bear as a pet?)...two jackals and a  handful of rhesus monkeys (used in medical experiiments and whose bodies are very similar to humans.)  All but the Jackals were pets that became too big or too aggressive to handle at home...Thats when the cruelty begins.  The owners attempt to stop the aggressiveness or adolescent behavior by "disciplining", caging, or chaining the gibbons, which in turn, makes things worse...this leads to the animals being sold, killed, or, if their lucky luck holds, they end up in a sanctuary, which there are very few.  The monkeys/apes are human-like...the gibbons are closest to humans as far as their DNA.  They walk upright, are very intelligent, mate for life, and often act like humans.  They are so smart, in fact, that they're not trainable. When they don't want to do someting, they don't....and when they do...it's hard to stop them, which makes them poor medical experiment subjects.  It was our luck day...the owner invited us to have lunch with her, the Oregon student and a 2 month old gibbon in diapers. All you have to do is sit 5 feet away from this baby gibbon or lucky enough to hold her and it's easy to understand how they become pets.  They look like babies, act like babies, and need to be taken care of just like a baby with the same curiosity and playfullness.  It was a highlight for Terry and I. 

All for now.