Across the Freedom Bridge to Burma

It's the weekend already and we have planned to visit Dr Cynthias clinic as we have heard so many inspiring stories about the dedicated help and treatment that all Burmese people receive here. Patients come from all over, including Mae Sot and many risk coming across from Burma to benefit from the free medical care and much needed medicine. We were humbled to see this great work in action and as it was vaccination day we saw lots of mums and new born babies waiting for innoculations.

World renowned Dr Cynthias clinic

We witnessed a number of disturbing sights from the bus as we headed to the Freedom Bridge and we have spent time talking about this and trying to make sense of it all. Clutching our passports we passed through the Tak immigration checkpoint and walked over into Burma or the union of Myanmar as it is now called.

Passing through immigration into Myanmar

We moved on to the next checkpoint and paid for a days visa and the officials took our passports to ensure our return. To say that we were a little disconcerted to hand over our passports is an understatement. However as we had no choice we forced ourselves out of the office still not convinced! We then had our temperatures taken to detect if we had swine flu! As I had a Thai phone with me I then quickly phoned an American resident I had made a connection with last year and was reassured to hear this was normal practice. Feeling relieved we walked for miles in the scorching heat to absorb this new experience...we were actually in Burma!

We spotted a Bhuddist temple and went in to enjoy some peace and calm from the bustling streets. We were soon surrounded by lots of lovely children in smart uniforms obviously on a lunch break from the local school.

Relaxing at lunchtime in the temple.

We followed the trail of children back to The Basic Education High School in the hope of meeting some teachers and introducing ourselves and talking about Say Ta Nar. The children were mesmerised by us and we caused real excitement on the campus. Children were waving to us and giggling around us and pointing fingers as we tried to find their teachers. We did eventually find three teachers but they were unable to speak English and had no idea what we were trying to say and looked bemused. Disappointed at this we realised we should leave and with a smile and our best 'Mingla Ba' we continued on our journey.

The Basic Education High School

We moved further into town hoping to get a better sense of the every day communities and we were not disappointed. We saw lots of the market stalls and streets where families were living and again we were a source of amazement for many people who smiled and shouted to us on our travels.

Some sights from our travels

We heard the lovely singing voices of children and we were soon standing outside a Bhuddist school. We were so pleased to have discovered two schools in the three hours we stayed across the border.

The local Buddist school

After collecting our precious passports we had our temperatures taken again and we were informed by the clerk that we were 'normal'. Little did he know! We wondered if we would have been sent back if we had had a temperature.

Under the bridge

We struggled across the bridge flagging in the heat and saw a family in a tyre making their way towards the Thai border. This is a sight I witnessed last year as families try to find a better life for their children. There are so many harrowing sights around the area of the Friendship Bridge and we found ourselves feeling quite emotional and reflective about everything we had experienced. A Saturday we will not forget.