The team shops in Ruili, China.

[Photo by Todd Borgie]

Journal by Colin McAuliffe

Adam, Neil, Chanda and I inadvertently entered Burma the other night without even knowing it. We had read in the Lonely Planet that there were casinos everywhere here, so we went hunting for some cheap blackjack tables. We ended up at what we thought was a big casino, but turned out to be just a big hotel. So we ask at the front desk where the casino is at, and they say they'll send a car to take us there. So we figured we'd be riding in style to some swanky Chinese joint. Wrong; what ended up happening was pretty interesting, though.

A rinky minivan pulled up and we all piled in. We started down the main drag of Ruili, but took a dark turn and headed down a back street. We all kind of looked at each other like we wanted to know what the heck was going on, but since no one except us speaks any English here, it was pretty pointless to ask. Anyway, we continued on that road for a while and then made another turn onto a bumpy dirt road lined with palm trees. We bounced down that road for about ten minutes, the whole time wondering what was going to happen. There was a lot of traffic going both ways, so we didn't really think we were being set up for a robbery or anything, but still, it was a little strange. Eventually, the van turned down a dusty street and we pulled up into a dirty, rubbage-strewn Chinese village. Another quick turn and we were parked in front of a small square building.

We were ushered inside by our driver, and lo and behold, there was the casino; well, sort of. Actually, it was just five tables of the same game, a game which I have never seen before, and I don't think I will ever understand. I'm pretty sure white people have never been in there before, because when we walked in, the whole place shut up and basically dropped their jaws. I felt like I was in a zoo. We were ushered to a table; however, having no idea how to play this crazy game, we kind of just lingered around trying to watch. But everyone at the table got up and left. We kind of took that as a hint and got out of there.

It wasn't until the next day, when I met Efe, a nigerian, and the only foriegner that actually lives in this town, that I discovered that that was really Burma we were in. Turns out there's tons of places around here where you can cross the border with no problems.

So yeah, this place is weird, and really, I can't wait to move on. Every day we are held up is more time until I can get home and start relaxing.

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