It turned out that this was a friend's house in Kaohsiung, a Thai local, two brothers and six people lived in the same place, and the three of them lived in one room, which was relatively crowded, and the furnishings in the house were also very simple, and they looked like ordinary poor people. This kind of living conditions can be regarded as very tense in most cities and villages in China, but I did not see from their faces how dissatisfied they were with life, but they were all smiling, and they were smiling from the heart. I don't understand, the standard of living is so low, and the living is cramped, how can I still laugh?

According to the habits of Chinese, when you go to a certain city to meet friends, you usually go to the restaurant, but the living standard of ordinary people in Thailand is much lower than that of China, although it is also delicious and delicious, but there is not so much spare money always "killing restaurants", at most it is just to eat a fast food, and the hospitality is basically in their own homes. A friend in Kaohsiung asked my wife to go out to buy groceries, and in order to show my sincerity, I took out 500 baht and handed it to my eldest brother's wife.

At dinner in the evening, eight people gathered around a table, and the meal was still very rich, and it seemed that this 100 yuan could have a home-cooked meal in Thailand. During the dinner, Kaohsiung asked the two brothers to help find a guide who knew the border well and preferably often went to Burma. When the brothers asked us where we were going in Burma, Kaohsiung took out a map and showed them it.

"Oh, it's on the Legu side," said the brother, "and from here to the northwest, the crossing is not far, but fortunately it is far from the Golden Triangle, otherwise it will be difficult to find anyone willing to go, unless a high price is paid." "When I asked if there was a dense forest there, my brothers laughed and said that Myanmar was already full of dense forests, but it was not as developed as China, and there were cities everywhere.

The brothers recommended two candidates to Kaohsiung, both indigenous to Thailand, who live in a border town north of Chiang Mai and are familiar with the area north of the Thai-Burmese border by selling herbs and animal skins for money. He'll call us first, and then just go to them.

Settled at a nearby hotel, drove off the next day, the two brothers led the way, and the car drove from Qing to the north, to this place called Fang Xian. Kaohsiung called the two separately and visited them at home, and after chatting, Kaohsiung still decided to find the previous person. The man's name was Ah Peng, he was in his forties, and he knew that he was a little cunning in his speech and demeanor, but it was also evident that he was very familiar with the Thai-Burmese border, and he made at least a dozen trips a year, and his mission was not only to take us out of the country, but also to the Burmese village called Loikaw where Azanda Rinkang's assistant was.

"Is it safe on the border recently?" Kaohsiung asked.

Ah Peng replied: "Fortunately, the last time there was a conflict was half a year ago, it was the Burmese government army and the two local armed forces on the border exchanged fire, the market was disrupted, no one dared to trade for nearly two months, and now it is gradually getting better, it is said that the Lao army is involved, and those local armed forces will not show up again for nearly a year, and they are afraid of fighting." Kaohsiung smiled and said That's good, we just took the opportunity to cross the border.

I don't know much about what they chatted about, but I can guess that it has something to do with the turbulent political situation in Southeast Asia, after all, the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos are too sensitive, and the political situation in Myanmar is much more chaotic than that of Thailand and Laos, and I heard that several places have been occupied by private people for many years, such as the famous Kokang king. I was a little worried about the safety of this trip, so I asked if Kaohsiung would be in danger.

Kaohsiung said: "I just remember to ask now? It's okay, it's not to go to the Golden Triangle, it's safe!"

Let the two brothers go back to Chiang Mai on their own, and we are ready to go. Southeast Asia is rich in water resources, and it is inevitable that you will encounter rivers, so you can't rely on cars, but only motorcycles. After paying the deposit, Ah Peng soon got two motorcycles, which looked very old, and he couldn't even tell what the original paint was, the back half of the car was obviously specially modified, with a very wide shelf, one for luggage, Ah Peng also found two thicker long-sleeved clothes, and the other was filled with several barrels of gasoline. Seeing that I was bending down and staring at the shelves, Ah Peng said to me with a smile while putting oil drums on it: "This kind of car is used here, it can't be modified without modification, and there is no gasoline to sell in the woods." ”

The two motorcycles were placed in the rear body of the Toyota in Kaohsiung, secured with ropes, and driven north by Ah Peng, while Kaohsiung held a compass and marked the map with a red pen. When I arrived at the border, I realized that not all the borders in the world have boundary markers as I saw on TV, and many borders are full of dense forests, so how can I have the energy to place boundary markers, and even if there are, I can't see them at all. And I didn't see any border guards or police patrolling, and when Kaohsiung told me that I had just crossed the Thai border, I realized that I was already Burmese.

After driving for nearly two hours, I felt that this guide was really necessary to find, the terrain is very complicated, that is, walking around in the woods, sometimes I feel that there is no road at all, Apon said that I can see it soon, and after ten minutes I really arrived on the path. Then there was a river in front of us, so we had to stop the car and build a ramp with a wooden plank on the rear board, and the three of us struggled to slide the two motorcycles down. I asked if I could walk around the river, and Ah Peng pointed to the other side of the river: "There is a small road here, which is the only way for us traffickers to go back and forth, it is relatively easy to walk, if you don't go around the river, maybe it is all dense forest, there is no road to walk at all, it is very difficult to walk on two legs, and you can only walk to the place one day!"

Only then did I realize that Ah Peng was on the phone by the river and told us that a fishing boat would come and take us in two hours, so that we would rest in place. Less than half an hour later, I heard the sudden sound of a steamboat engine in the distance, and I said that these people had arrived quite early. "It's not a fishing boat, it's a border guard's boat," Abang said. ”

"Huh, what then?" I was a little scared. Kaohsiung said that Ah Peng is here, so you don't need to use your brains. As the steamboat approached, we saw several soldiers in old military uniforms shouting at us with guns in their hands. I had never seen such a formation, and my legs were weak with fright, and Ah Peng beckoned to the soldiers on the boat, went over to say hello, and took out a pack of cigarettes and waved them. The two soldiers jumped out of the boat and talked to Ah Peng for a moment, and Ah Peng turned back to us as he spoke, especially me. Finally, he handed the pack of cigarettes to the soldier and handed over a few more bills.

The soldier nodded, turned around and jumped onto the boat, and the steamboat gradually sailed away. I breathed a sigh of relief and found that my palms were covered in cold sweat. Ah Pong told us that it was okay, sat down and continued to rest, it was a border guard boat of the Burmese government army, patrolling back and forth on the river near the border from time to time, which is rare to meet in normal times, and it is a coincidence today. I thought to myself, how can all kinds of luck let me catch up, if it weren't for Ah Peng, I wouldn't know how to pass this level alone.