I hadn’t heard about the Golden Triangle prior to researching our trip, but the conspiracies surrounding the area’s illicit history are super juicy. Geographically, the Golden Triangle is the three-country border between Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. From the 1950’s to the early 90’s this area was the primary source of the world’s supply of heroin. The opium poppy was a cash crop for the region’s ethnic minorities, and the porous frontier was a perfect environment for processing and distribution. The opium was used to help finance their civil wars- in Myanmar this meant hill tribes fighting the central government, in Laos it was Hmong rebels and Royal Lao Government vs the Communist Pathet Lao .
As if that wasn’t juicy enough, some historians allege that the CIA was actually involved in opium drug trafficking here. Opium trade was legal in Laos until 1971; the name “the Golden Triangle” actually comes from a US State Department memo on the practice. Throughout 60’s and 70’s the CIA was sponsoring The Secret War in Laos, and several historians and veterans allege that US forces either participated in or turned a blind eye to Laotian forces using the drug to fund their operations. Some pop culture references: If you’ve seen the movie American Gangster, (an Hollywood version of real-life events), this is the region Frank Lucas got his pure heroin from. Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now is said to be inspired by real-life whacko Tony Poe, who was based in northern Laos during that time.
The Golden Triangle’s golden years have come and gone, but I did allow my imagination to search for any remaining clues of the once ubiquitous drug trade. The only evidence I found that might’ve stuck was this super haggard British guy that awkwardly joined our table at a cafe in Huay Xai. He was very thin and slurring his words, moving in slow motion. He mentioned that he’d spent the last 10 years cycling all over northern Laos. It’s a beautiful country, but I really don’t understand why one would do something like that – alone, for 10 years – unless something you were relentlessly addicted to was keeping you there. He was totally out of it and didn’t remember any of us the next morning (8 hours later re-introduced himself and started the same conversations). To be fair, he never mentioned anything, but in my gut I felt like this guy was on something.
I didn’t mean for this to be a sad or scary post; it is what it is. So much of traveling is taking the good with the bad, and it’s important to learn as much as you can about areas you’re traveling to. If you shelter yourself from the bad, the sad, or the hard to stomach, you’ll never get the whole story, you’ll fail to recognize suffering, and you could miss an opportunity to help. If you are aware of the problem it makes it so much easier to find people who are doing good things and support them; become a part of the solution, inspire hope, and help along the healing process.
We left Chiang Mai just after 8:30AM on a bus bound for the Chiang Khong–Huay Xai border crossing. The crossing is about 200 miles northeast of Chiang Mai, and should take around 5 hours to reach by land. The goal was to get thru to Laos before the crossing closed at 6PM, and I wanted to allow for plenty of delays, which are apparently to be expected when traveling by bus through Northern Thailand. We bought tickets for an 8AM departure, but the clerk told us that we should probably just arrive at the station at 8 because the bus never leaves on time.
The trip started out pretty lush and green and hilly. We went through a couple of national parks and a lot of farmland. The overhead entertainment screened Oblivion but it was dubbed over in Thai, so I mostly just slept and let my imagination run wild across the surrounding countryside, which at one time in the not-so-distant past was the world’s primary source of heroin (more on this later). An ALLEGED US opium processing plant was ALLEGEDLY based at our destination (Huay Xai) during the Secret War… but have no fear, I’ve been assured that these days the only things moving through the area are tourists on their way into Laos.
Once we got to Chiang Khong we had to hire a tuk-tuk to take us to the border crossing. It was rather amusing to see an entire busload of people alight just to be immediately swarmed by tuk-tuk drivers. People rushed to grab their bags from beneath bus and raced to the nearest tuk-tuk – no one wanted to be the last in line at the border. (The same thing happens when you deplane into immigration at the airport, people attempt to casually speed walk past each other to avoid long lines at passport processing.) The proceeding 15-minute ride to the border was a passive-aggressive parade of tuk-tuks hauling tourists ready to rocket themselves out of the tuk-tuks and onto the passport processing windows at the first sign of slowing.
The building at the border crossing was comically empty – we had all rushed for nothing. There was a man lounging on a bench, smoking with his friend that jumped up and ran over to an unmarked folding table upon our arrival. We went over to him after getting our exit forms processed (seemed like the natural progression) and he tried to charge us a RIDICULOUS rate to change our Thai baht to US dollars, because “a Laotian Visa On Arrival is only available for purchase in USD.” He did a great job of making it seem like this exchange was compulsory, and the immigration officials nearby did nothing to dissuade us. We decided to roll the dice with that one and continued on past him.
At the VOA counter the clerk clarified that you could actually purchase a VOA with baht, BUT it was cheaper to pay in USD. We ended up changing money with her at a better rate and purchasing the VOAs with USD. Backwards as hell, c’est la vie. We were then told to wait for a bus that would take us across the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge #4, and drop us just outside Huay Xai.
The bus took so long to arrive that we were eventually joined by the entirety of our comrades from the previous bus, and then some. We made friends with an Indonesian gal, Indira, and her French husband, Kenny. Once outside Huay Xai we shared a tuk-tuk with them into town, and teamed up to pick out a niceish hotel and place to eat. After a long day of traveling, it was really nice to decompress with such a friendly and funny couple. I wished we had more time with them, but alas, we had to catch the 2-day slow boat down the Mekong the next morning. ONWARD HO!
Considering the fact I’m traveling with a chef, this blog has been shamefully short on the culinary adventures we’ve enjoyed during our trip. I hope to rectify that moving forward, and there’s no better place to start than the Saichon Seafood Buffet, where we dined on our last night in Chiang Mai.
We ended up here on a recommendation from Ice, our tour guide at Elephant Nature Park. Ice is a chef in Copenhagen when he’s not at ENP (nice life, right?) so we were really excited to try his description of a local gem. He promised that it would be cheap, delicious, and plentiful. Can’t go wrong with that combo, right?
Well, plentiful it was. I was so overwhelmed I had to take a video.
We walked into this large open-air pavilion and sat down at a wooden booth -for sure the only tourists there. The first thing I noticed was our fellow diners’ tables covered in small and medium-sized plates and bowls of marinated raw meats, sauces, seafoods, veggies, condiments, and in the center a tabletop BBQ. The BBQ burned charcoal and had a moat of broth around it. Diners would grill their selected proteins on the tabletop BBQ and add vegetables, noodles and sometimes seafoods into the broth. When the meat was finished they’d transfer it into a medium personal bowl, add as much broth as they liked, whatever garnishes and condiments they wanted, and chow down.
Unidentified Moat Broth. Included here for posterity but mostly brought to you by Aleksiy’s chopstick face
We kinda stared at everybody else for awhile before a server (more of a BBQ facilitator than a server) came over and pointed out that we could just go to the buffet at the back of the restaurant and start selecting our dishes – everything here is one price, all you can eat, just go for it.
Dessert: Eight different flavors of cubes with questionable viscosity – you grow to love it, promise
Aside from the salad bar, there were no less than 10 stations of different types of food, and a WHOLE TABLE devoted to condiments. I think we both appeared hesitant, so one of the facilitators kindly walked us thru the stations, although I didn’t understand 1/3 of what she said. None of the offerings were labeled (and remember, I’m allergic to sesame), so I was really lucky to be with Aleksiy who either recognized what things were, volunteered to try stuff, or unabashedly asked someone standing nearby. We filled up a tray each, and headed back to our table where the BBQ facilitator had the charcoal rolling.
Turns out Aleksiy’s pretty good at grilling, and I’m REALLY good at dunking veggies and noodles in broth, so we made a pretty great duo for this lil outing.
Our facilitator took a cube of something greasy (lard?) and rubbed it all over the surface of our BBQ, leaving the melty remnants at the very top/center. She then took a pitcher of broth (veggie stock?) and poured it into the moat. She grabbed some of our meats and arranged them on top of the grill, then a chopstick full of veggies and noodles for the broth. A couple of broad smiles and deep nods from us convinced her that we weren’t going to burn the place down and she left us to our devices. Aleksiy was in heaven.
The juices of whatever was grilling on top would runoff into the moat- a literal flavor saver
We went back to the buffet a couple (OK 3) more times, once we figured out what we really liked. Our BBQ facilitator would come back over and make sure our charcoal was hot enough, that we had enough broth, and occasionally clear away the embarrassing collection of plates that were piling up. It ended up being SUPER CHEAP – if I remember correctly it was only $5/person. Ice FTW.
I love elephants. Always have, since back in the late 80’s when they had a pair tucked away on the backside of the Henry Doorly Zoo. Emotionally intelligent and capable of rich social lives, elephants organize themselves into familial structures (led by a matriarch, woo!) to which they stay loyal their whole lives. They team up to protect newborns; they mourn their dead; they recognize old friends. Mothers designate a godmother to help care for her offspring and take over should she die before her baby is mature enough to take care of itself. I could nerd out on elephants all day, the more I learn – I can’t help it.
Two of my favorite things
It breaks my heart to see elephants exploited for human entertainment. Sadly, much of this mistreatment is a direct product of the fascination people have with the animals. Most of the elephants you see performing at the circus, giving rides, or marching in a parade were separated from their mother at a young age and forced to endure a tortuous domestication training specifically designed to crush their spirit (google: Phajaan). This is why places like the Elephant Nature Park are so special. The park allows animal lovers the opportunity to get up close using an ethical, kind approach, and teaches us how to contribute positively to the welfare of this endangered species.
ENP rescues abused, traumatized, sick, old, or otherwise exploited elephants by basically buying them out of their current situation. Every elephant has a story, some are absolutely heartbreaking (check out Jokia’s story – gahh), others are more, eh, bureaucratic. The park is supported by the income it makes from daily visitors, tours, and week-long volunteer opportunities, plus direct donations from Save Elephant Foundation and the Serengeti Foundation (a 501(c)(3) for US donors), and, most importantly, by getting the word out (more on this below).
Watermelon, Little Bush & Big Bush – my babies for the day
Aleksiy and I hit the jackpot the day we visited; not only did we have a great guide (Ice), but miraculously we were the only 2 people signed up for our tour. We got to spend all day with 3 elephants: Maateaw (Little Bush), an 18 month old male, Pumnoiu (Big Bush), his 30-year old mom, and Teangmo (Watermelon), his pregnant godmother.
Ice & Little Bush
Arriving at the park had me feeling like I was in Jurassic Park. The bumpy back road opened up to a river valley dotted by small herds of elephants, free ranging all over the valley. I was awestruck and could not wait to get closer. When we got out of the van and I realized we’d be spending the day with a baby elephant, I nearly had to put my head between my knees. We changed into loaner clothes and set off to meet our crew.
Just a tad excited
Our introduction to Big Bush, Little Bush, & Watermelon began by feeding them large laundry baskets full of fruit (positive conditioning). Ice warned us that Little Bush could be naughty, and to be a bit careful around him. This worried me, but I quickly saw what he meant – rather than waiting for Aleksiy and I to offer him fruit, he started diving face first into the basket, totally unaware of his size/strength and our personal space/balance. We quickly gave up and offered him the whole thing, it was funny to watch him dump it out and sloppily go for it, almost like a human toddler would’ve. The older girls were much more patient and gentle, the dexterity with which they accepted the fruit and curled it into their mouths was impressive. When the baskets were empty they gently searched our hands and pockets, confirming with their trunks that all the fruit was gone.
No manners, this guy
After their snack we took them on a hike up the side of the valley. The herd rolled around in some mud to cool themselves off in preparation for the walk. Our hike lasted about 2 hours with a stop for lunch, and the elephants kept their mahouts busy by wandering off and making their own path. I quickly understood why Little Bush had a cowbell on. The gentle giants were so sweet and Little Bush continued to demonstrate his playful spirit and carefree lack of boundaries.
When we returned to the valley it was time to give the herd a rinse –giving us all a much-needed break from the heat. They loved the water – Watermelon laid down and rolled over, allowing us to wash chunks of mud off her back. Little Bush would disappear completely, using his trunk as a snorkel, swing it around like a helicopter, and slap the water it with it, splashing us. They reminded me of big happy dogs, so playful and good-natured.
After the rinse we changed back into our normal clothes and got to feed them one more time. Little Bush allowed himself to be handfed this time, but insisted that we peel his bananas or he’d throw them on the ground. If we weren’t moving fast enough he’d go straight to the source. Goofball!
The more time we spent with our elephants, the more their personalities shone through. I fell in love with their big eyes and long eyelashes, the happy wagging of their ears and the friendly touch of their trunks.
After the feeding we said our goodbyes and Ice gave us a tour of the rest of the facility. We met several other groups of elephants, scars of their past abuse clearly visible. We met an elephant that was blinded on purpose by an angry mahout. We met one elephant that was crippled by an illegal logging accident, another that had part of it’s leg blown off by a landmine. Several had scars and holes in their ears from the hooks their previous mahouts used. It was sad, but I just kept reminding myself that these elephants got their happy ending.
This elephant was injured by a landmine while working in the illegal logging tradeThis is Lucky, she was blinded by a spotlight during her years as a circus elephant. Still sweet though.
There are only about 30,000 Asian elephants left on the planet, and of those, approximately 20% are in captivity. Without our help, they will be extinct within our lifetime. Here are some ways you can help the Elephant Nature Park on their mission, taken from their website:
Visit the park, or tell your family and friends that they are welcome to visit our website and park., or sign up as a volunteer.
Follow us,Tweet and share our activities on our social network community.
Serengeti Foundation has helped Elephant Nature Park since our inception. US residents may click to donate here and claim 501(c) tax relief.
Let people at home know that there are only 30,000 Asian Elephants left on the planet. (Imagine this in human terms, as under a third of a sports stadium crowd)
Do not support elephant poachers by buying ivory or skin products whether allegedly legally obtained or not . Demand causes death to these innocent creatures.
Write a story for your local newspapers describing the plight of the elephant and how we can all assist in their survival
We arrived in Chiang Mai around 7PM after a delightful Bangkok Airways experience (they had a lounge at the Mandalay airport with FREE SUSHI – I can’t tell you how life changing that is after 2 weeks of Burmese food). Took a cab directly to Rosa Place, our guesthouse a couple blocks outside the ancient city walls of Chiang Mai’s old town area. Rosa Place was recommended by our friends Matt and Brooke, and I could not wait to meet Rosa, who had been described as nothing short of really, really fun.
Well, the rumors were true. The first night we arrived Rosa threw a party for some of her friends who had just won a motocross championship. One minute it was just Aleksiy, Rosa & I, the next, we were joined by a dozen excited local kids and about 20 platters of food Rosa whipped up out of nowhere. After decimating the food, we moved on to meet some of Rosa’s other friends at an expat bar down the street. I was absolutely delighted to discover that Rosa’s crew at this bar was a pack of gorgeous, outgoing and witty lady boys. They were in 4 inch heels and miniskirts, kicking everyone’s asses at pool and talking smack. I sincerely regret having no photographic evidence of this evening, but I do remember we finally got sent home when our friend/fellow Rosa Place inhabitant Dylan attracted a cop’s attention for playing his guitar outside the bar.
The next morning we woke up and went on a self-guided (aka aimless wandering) tour of the Old Town, which is filled with restaurants, shops, bars, hotels, and other tourist attractions and activities.
Inadvertent ‘surprise face’ upon trying the SOUREST home-brewed kombucha I have ever tasted. We drank the whole thing, because I love sour and I love kombucha, but this stuff seriously gave me heartburn.
When we got back, Dylan was gearing up to meet some friends at Huay Tung Tao, a lake about 20 minutes north of the city. With some encouragement from Rosa, Aleksiy and I decided to join. We borrowed a moto & some helmets from a friend of Rosa’s, and after Aleksiy took a few practice laps, we were off.
I was initially very hesitant to rent a moto for street driving – I had read some horror stories – but once you start traveling you realize that those stories are exceptions to the norm. Renting a bike is inexpensive, they’re relatively easy to drive, and once you have your own means of transportation your possibilities for exploration are endless. All it takes is a little homework to find a reputable rental company (or just get one from your hotel/homestay). I am grateful to Rosa & Dylan for calming my fears because the rest of our trip has benefitted immensely (not to mention we’ve saved a TON of time, money and irritation by avoiding all-day, all-inclusive tours).
The lake (once we found it) was awesome. Little bamboo huts hovered just over the waterfront – you could help yourself to one and lounge there all day, ordering food & drink from nearby BBQ stands. There were people hanging out everywhere, playing guitar, flirting, eating BBQ, playing with friendly stray dogs and drinking cold beers. The lake looked kinda dirty so we didn’t swim, but we stayed until the sun started to set and headed back to the city before it got too dark.
Met this cutie at Huay Tung Tao
The next day we went about 45 minutes outside of Chiang Mai to hike Mae Sa Waterfall, which is actually 10 layers of waterfall with pools that you can chill in at the base of each one. It was great fun for a hot day, albeit a little bit crowded – being a popular picnic spot for large families.
Where’s Waldo? Traversing a bridge at base of the first level of the falls. This is the only photo we have of Mae Sa because we decided to leave the camera safely locked away.
We returned to the city and went to bed early in order to be up bright and early for an excursion I had been eagerly looking forward to for months: ELEPHANT DAY!! (which deserves it’s own post, so stay tuned…)
So here are my 2 cents on the Venice of Southeast Asia.
Largest city in the area and among the largest in the world. 14 million people living on top of each other, some in extreme poverty, some in decent conditions and few in great luxury. Everyone I saw looked content and happy to be where they are. Whether they were selling, teaching, learning, praying or doing whatever.
Runners HELL…..polluted and overcrowded, but doable. Had to wake up early and carefully pick a route. It was totally worth.
Top tourist destination in the world. If we weren’t amongst tourists in Bangkok it was most likely a bad area. Different story in the suburbs. We went to Siam boxing stadium for an authentic mui thai event and were the only tourists.
In the touristy areas of the city, there was a scam for us on every corner. Cab drivers wouldn’t take us because we would ask them to run their meters. Super friendly people sending us to “the most secret temples” were actually sending us to shady retailers. It felt like the locals figured out the tourist business and their main objective was getting the most cash for the least time.
THE FOOD is what made Bangkok so cool. There is awesome food everywhere. I got one of the best plates of food in my life in an alley from a thai lady that didn’t speak any English. I sat at a single table and raised a finger meaning one. Rice noodles, chicken feet, pigs blood, crispy skin pork belly, spare rib, egg and watercress all in a pho like broth from a pot simmering on an open pit next to me….I can still taste it, it was perfect!
All in all, I can’t wait for us to go back in May.
Now, off to Myanmar, where men wear skirts, honking is a must and women don’t drive…
We arranged for a trip out to the floating market through our hostel, all in all I would give it a 6/10 stars. I didn’t realize that there were several floating markets– and that the Damnoen Sadauk is the one geared toward tourists.
The tour included a paddleboat trip around the market, and then a fastboat trip around the neighboring community and farms. During the paddleboat trip you sit in a boat with about 8 other tourists and the boatman in the back steers you toward anything anyone is vaguely interested in purchasing from the vendors lined up along the banks.
There are also vendors perched precariously in their own boats, most selling food (coconut ice cream, fruit etc) and they paddle up alongside your boat and try to get you to buy a snack.
The fastboat trip was more interesting. The motors for these boats were a creative blend of all types of motors – some were pimped out in chrome, others looked like they were procured from an old from a weed whacker. The steering mechanism was a 12 foot rod with a propeller at the end of it, submerged in the water and maneuvered left or right as needed. They sounded like the diesel engine of an 18 wheeler. We called these “Mad Max” boats (If you haven’t seen that movie yet, go do it).
We took the Mad Max boats through the canals to the villages neighboring the floating market. We sped by fishermen untangling their nets, sweet little grandmas washing their clothes in the river, and an old man with a wide toothless grin taking a bath on his dock/porch.
Do as the locals do: whiskey shots disguised as an energy drink
After the Muay Thai match, we had a wonderful afternoon with Brooke & Matt, friends from Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition to being super fun, adventurous and incredibly good-looking, they are two of the most noble-minded people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Brooke and Matt came to Thailand to pursue master’s degrees in human rights – Matt now works at a university teaching human rights and Brooke founded a company (support Saphan) that gives rural artisans access to a sustainable market and fair wages (more on that here). It was fascinating to hear what life is like teaching Human Rights in a country ruled by a military junta, and how Brooke has used her education and business savvy to improve the lives of families all over Thailand’s countryside. Simply put, they are inspiring people.
My wonderful friends Brooke and Matt live just outside Bangkok, so as I was preparing for this trip I emailed Brooke for some tips and guidance. One of her many great recommendations was a weekly Muay Thai match that is broadcast live throughout Thailand. It sounded great because it’s definitely off the tourist track and we were excited to see what life outside the city was like.
Getting a ride to the stadium was a bit of a challenge, after 3 taxi fails and a disappointing Uber attempt we found success by agreeing to what we thought was a decent flat rate. (Maybe it was, there was a lot of traffic and it took 2x as long as the metered taxi Brooke & Matt got us for the ride home–which was half the price)
Fight Club
We arrived at Siam Boxing Stadium (aka Omnoi Stadium) an hour late but happy to be there. Bought a plastic ticket at the window (which you then give to the man at the door who then gives it right back to the woman at the window) and stepped inside. There are two main rooms, the first room is set with picnic tables full of bagged unidentifiable snacks for purchase and a second room only partially visible from the front entrance. From my initial vantage point, the second room held 300 locals (95% male) standing on bleacher-like steps yelling and waving their hands at something just out of view.
Find Aleksiy
We walked passed the divide into the second room, and right there in front of us was the ring. Two of the fittest young men I’ve ever seen (like 10 sets of abs) were circling each other, bouncing and tapping their feet, mostly trying to fake each other out before landing a hit with a different body part than they started to strike with. The whole room smelled strongly of Tiger Balm. We watched in awe, trying to make sense of what was happening around us.
It was loud. On the other side of the ring, opposite the yelling wall of men there was a “rhythm section” featuring a couple of people on bongos/drums, a woman ringing finger cymbals, and a man playing some sort of kazoo. The rhythm section was cool because they got louder and increased their tempo as the time wore on. The timer on the wall was ancient, there was a 3, 2, and 1 that lit up at their respective minute marks, and a :30 when there was 30 seconds left. I’m guessing the fighters really rely (perhaps subconsciously) on the rhythm section, it seemed like the fight itself got more intense and scrappy as the tempo increased.
Rhythm nation
The yelling wall of men were all betting. It reminded me of the floor of the stock exchange. A lot of people had earbuds in and were yelling into their phones – I saw one guy that had 3 phones clipped to a clipboard and he was talking into all 3 of them at once. They were all waving their hands in the air and throwing up different numbers… and that’s about all I could make of it. The only way I could tell who was winning/losing money was by their facial expressions at the end of the match. To be honest, I think I watched the wall of men just as much as the fight itself.
The kind stranger who introduced us to our tuk-tuk driver told of us an amazing secret factory sale – bespoke suits made of imported Italian cashmere for around $300USD – or less! The sale was one week only, today was the last day – we should stop by on our tuk-tuk tour. He circled it on our map, we thanked him, and went on our way.
Bangkok’s tallest Buddha at Wat Intharawihan
Our tuk-tuk driver was a sweet younger gentleman that knew very little English. He took us all over the Banglamphu region, stopping at every formidable building and temple we passed. When we wanted to stop and explore, he would sit and wait in a parking spot until we returned.
I have no idea where we were for this one
At our first stop, a beautiful monastery, I found Aleksiy talking to another kind stranger. He wanted to know where we were from, how long we were in town, etc… He gave us a few recommendations and also mentioned the last day of the amazing sale. We figured it was something to check out, so we added it to our itinerary and off we went.
Once we got around to the “Bangkok Factory” and went inside to see it for our own eyes, we realized we’d been had. It was a normal menswear store. The associates (ours was named Rahm, just like another snake oil salesman I know) didn’t even have the same “last day, one week only” story as the 2 men that had sent us there. We sat and listened to the Rahm’s spiel, when prompted touched a fabric labeled finest cashmere, mumbled a few “ooh very nice,” nodded politely, drank our complimentary waters, and GTFO to find our tuk-tuk driver.
Our driver smiled at our return, confirmed “no like, no buy!” and showed us the coupon for 5 liters of gas they gave him for taking us there. Would’ve appreciated the heads up on the way in, but at least we got out with our wallets. As our day continued, (and my animosity softened) we agreed to visit another suit store in a different neighborhood so he could get another coupon. He got his coupon, we got bottled water – not such a bad deal after all.
My wonderful friends Brooke and Matt live just outside Bangkok, so as I was preparing for this trip I emailed Brooke for some tips and guidance. One of her many great recommendations was a weekly Muay Thai match that is broadcast live throughout Thailand. It sounded great because it’s definitely off the tourist track and we were excited to see what life outside the city was like.
Tales of a Southeast Asian Invasion 