It seems they like to put their immigration offices on unpaved back roads. The now familiar routine of turning in our papers, returning in the morning for new papers. The immigration guys sleep and eat here as well as we had to wake them up in the morning.  "You MUST report to immigration at Kyaing Tong. " Note: until now there were no photos of  immigration and checkpoints.  I was advised many times "No Photos!!"

This Tai Yai girl was able to take us to immigration and act as our interpreter.

The next issue was to find something to eat.  Plenty of Chinese restaurants but I am not at all fluent in Chinese foods.  Menus did not have pictures and there were no customers to point to and say "I'll have that".  We finally found one young boy who understood a few words.  He understood noodles and took Thim with him to the kitchen to point what she wanted with them. We were afraid we may get what was proudly displayed outside.

Click on photos for a better view!

A row of restaurants with caged wildlife displayed.	Cobras and other snakes jammed into the cages.	A pair of beautiful turtles waiting for a customer.	Hard to believe someone could kill, let alone eat, such a beautiful hawk.

 

In the evening we went for a walk and found many shops open selling boutique and name brand clothing, gold shops and telephone shops.  All were Chinese operated.  We found a night market with food stalls similar to Thailand.  He we pointed and chose what we would eat.  But where are the Casinos?  The are still closed as are the large hotels.  We found a row what look like karaoke bars minus the karaoke.  Many ladies with "something" to sell.  Two discos were open but where are the people?  Few cars and fewer customers. Mongla Under Double Heat

As we walked back to the hotel we found another Tai Lai women operating a small barbeque stand.  She said people use to come but now they don't.  The casino's have been closed for a couple years but she doesn't understand why.  She says some Thai came before on tours but she has never seen one travel alone and she has never seen a non-asian before.  There are some small gambling shops outside of town but she is not sure where. 

We saw a couple places that looked like car repair facilities but they had probably 20-30 cars each sitting around.  She says these are all for sale.  She says she doesn't know why people don't come anymore.  She sells here bbq until 2 or 3 A.M sometimes to get money.

I was fascinated by all this but had no answers.  We left the next morning.

Answers from the Internet:

It seems things changed so fast, and continue to do so that even the internet cannot keep up.

Mong La was one of the largest poppy growing/heroin producing areas in the world.  Run by a druglord called Lin Mingxian. Lin had been a field commander in the Communist Party of Burma, or CPB, a formidable insurgent group that once occupied a large swath of northeastern Shan state. When the CPB collapsed in 1989, Lin led a breakaway faction of over 3,500 soldiers, taking control of an opium-rich wilderness bordering China, Laos and Thailand. Rather than take on Lin, the Burmese government gave him autonomous control of the Shan Special Area 4 in exchange for cease fire agreements.

Later Lin, who still lives in a large guarded complex that one passes entering town, worked deals with the Chinese.  Mong La was transformed into a mega palace for every possible vice.  Huge gambling casinos were built financed by Chinese from Hong Kong and other major centers.  Sex shows, transvestites, and illicit goods were everywhere. Burmese Daze-Time Magazine

Within the last 5 years this activity continued drawing thousands of wealthy Chinese and Thai tourists.  That is until the Chinese government officials and families began loosing millions of Yuan in the casinos.

The Chinese moved in soldiers and closed their borders.  Travel to Mong La was forbidden.  Mong La economy collapsed to what I saw today.  Recent "Online" gambling sites brag of Lin's success at countering this by establishing "online" internet gambling sites broadcast live over the internet from Mong La.  As I saw no sign of anything resembling "success" going on, further digging found that the Chinese have recently cut the internet connections and have threatened to shut off electricity to the area which apparently flows from China.

Now people are deep into the trade of exotic wild animals.  This is a major concern to world organizations and is now under attack by many governments. Endangered Species: Poppies to Songbirds

Many are afraid the area will return to it's illicit drug trade and it seems the people are left in a lose/lose situation.  Do a google search and you will be amazed at the rapid rise and decline in the articles of the area published over just the last 5 years. Check the date of what you reading, they describe everything from  a war lord's area under siege, to a boom town vice seekers paradise, to an endangered species haven. Some glamorous tours are still being advertised by organizers. Changing Faces of the Golden Triangle