Waiting to Enter Legally

For a brief moment in time, I forgot about all the river diseases I was warned about and stepped into the murky red-brown water of the Mae Sai River, towards Burma. I call it Burma for the sake of the Burmese people, who live in fear of the government who has taken it upon itself to change the name to Myanmar. I call it Burma especially for Aung San Suu Kyi.

With Thai military in the hills surrounding, I ventured out into that river, giving in to the wishes of the Burmese children who spotted me eating peacefully at my bungalow on the south bank. I know there is tension between these two countries, and the Thai authorities maintain strict immigration control on buses in the north and have a very strong presence at the border, as noticed by armed patrolmen all along the river. None of it seemed threatening though at that moment, and certainly it had no reason to be for a western tourist... so I kept wading deeper towards the kids and the splash fight I knew would erupt.

The kids never passed the halfway mark of the shallow river, somehow they knew not to cross it. My transition was allowed though, and without passport, without visa, or tourist card, I entered Burma. The kids immediately attacked with water, but especially with bodies. It seemed as if I was a 187cm representation of everything the West was, and if they could climb to the top of me, they could conquer the world.

I only spent 10 minutes or so in this country, before a mother came along to gather the kids away from the white devil. I'm sure those kids have long since forgotten their brief river battle with me, but I will probably see those few minutes just as clearly as if they were happening for the rest of my life.