Burma and Refugee Camp

Yesterday we went to the market at the border of Burma and Thailand. One of the guys in our group had to renew his visa so he was going to cross. The people at the Thai customs said that there really wasn't anything to see and was $12 to cross. We were debating on whether to cross the bridge over the river that separates the two countries. I figured that I probably would regret for the rest of my life if I passed up this opportunity so I went which I am glad that I did. Borders are so crazy: even though we were only a hundred yards from Thailand, the people looked different, they dressed differently, they spoke a different language, they used a different alphabet(if you can call it that), their temples and buddha looked different, and they even had a different attitude than the people in Thailand. They were more out spoken (kind and respectful but more aggresive for business). Some of the women and children had their faces painted white, and the men and women wear surrongs(spelling?) We got over there and saw one of the temples which their buddha looks for feminine than the Thai buddha and has a dot on his forehead(Indian like). I forgot to mention that when we got to the border, the Myanmar border control took our passports and $10, so we were traveling around without our passports which made me feel uneasy. They did this because they only allowed us one day into Myanmar and figured that this is the best way to keep us out of their country. As we were wandering around, I could help from feeling overwhelmed to think that these people had a tyranic government that only took advantage of them and caused fear and I was there as a tourist. It was no wonder that people were crossing the border illegally through innertube taxis on the river below the bridge. I know that with all of the horrible things about the government in Myanmar, I still feel intrigued about the country and wanted to spend more time.After Burma, we went to a national park and say a huge waterfall in the same style as Havasue Pai (limestone and red mud cascade.) It was a blast. It was great to see the country like this. We stopped and took pictures in this guys rice paddies. I think that rice paddies are incredibly beautiful the way that they form different evelated layers of lakes of bright green rice plants. Maybe it is because they are so different than anything that I have ever seen.Today we went and watched how they spray homes for mosquitos. We went to an old woman's house that had walls of criss crossed palm leaves for walls on three sides of the house, an open side facing her crops and a roof made from shingle like arrangements of stacked leaves. They used to use DDT to spray the homes until 1998, but now the use less effective sprays to not hurt the environment. Many people debate whether or not they should use DDT because if they don't spray the crops and only spray the homes, there would be more insect repellant coverage for the humans and less exposure to the environment (less soft shelled song bird eggs) Many people can't understand how the government will protect animals while their children are dying from malaria. It is an interesting debate. After watching the spraying, we went to a muslim neighbor hood in Mae Sod with an entomoligist to look for mosquito larvae in standing water pools. We found tons of larvae in old tires, water pitchers that they catch rainwater for drinking, and pets dishes. The mosquitos that lay eggs in man made containers cause Dengue fever while the mosquitos that cause malaria only lay eggs in mud and the natural environment.After this we went for a drive around the refugee camps. We couldn't go in because there is a huge load of paper work and security that goes involve in order to protect the refugees from the Burmese government spies and possible people trying to hurt them. The camp itself is huge and looks more like a city of thatched roofs. It was very clean and looked like a great place to live from the outside. As we drove passed the barbed wire fences, we waved to waved to the men, women, and children and they enthusiastically waved back. They seemed very happy. We saw groups of kids playing soccer and the camp was bordered by a jungle and steep cliffs so it seemed like the people could use the land to grow food. I thought that the security and the money of the camp along with natural resources were a lot better than the harrassment of the Burmese army, relocating every 3 months, and sicknesses that they had to experience while in Myanmar. This is only an outside perspective and it would be very interesting to hear what the people had to say. This camp has been around for over a decade. With the situation in Myanmar it is interesting that we don't hear about it anymore. I guess Iraq, Iran, and Afganistan have pretty horrible situations too.