The Golden Triangle

In the morning, we crossed the border into Burma or Myanmar. When Britain colonized the country, they removed the king, the historic leader. Japan conquered the country for its oil and rubber in World War II. After the war, General Aung San had laid the groundwork for independence. The country has mostly been a military dictatorship, but over 48 factions with their militia vie for control. In 1988, under world pressure, an election was held. Aung Sna Auukyi, the daughter of General Aung San won the election, but the military put her under house arrest rather than lose control. She remains under house arrest today.




Upon crossing the border, we saw a change from lost of cars and scooters, to primarily scooters and bikes. Along the border you could buy pirated Cd's and DVDs, cartons or cigarettes and Viagra. The market place is very orderly and clean.



Most of the ladies and some of the men are wearing sarongs. We also immediately noted that the Buddhist monks are dressed in burgundy rather than saffron. Buddhism is the primary religion, but Buddha now wears in hair in a bun. We visited a number of temples and listened as the young monks recited their religious lessons.

Young monks reciting their lessons

In the afternoon, we took an Eten to lunch. This is a truck which uses an iron buffalo engine, which the driver had to hand crank to start. We then took a short boat trip across the Mekong river to a small community of Done Xao for some shopping. The Mekong's source is in China, but it passes through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Historically, it has been an important trade route for the region.

Our brief stop in Laos

We fished up at an opium museum providing some of the history of the Opium trade here in the Golden Triangle. At one time, 70% of the world's opium came from this region. The hill tribes were the major producers. The museum has quite a collection of opium scales, weights, pipes, and pillows.