The Golden Triangle

We stood on a lookout point looking down at the slow-moving Mekhong River as it joined with the Ruok. A cool breeze blew into our faces, despite the hot sun overhead. We were at the Golden Triangle, the legendary point where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet as the Mekhong turns south, eventually to flow through Cambodia and Vietnam all the way to the sea.

Golden Traingle

From where I was standing (Thailand, of course), I could see Myanmar (the triangle-shaped peninsula in the river) and Laos (the far shore on the right-hand side). Hours of driving had brought us here, way up in remote Chiang Rai Province, far from the city.

map of the region

The Golden Triangle was once infamous as Southeast Asia's poppy-growing region, but thanks to royal projects orchestrated by the late king of Thailand, over time the government has been able to encourage local people to grow crops like pineapples and strawberries instead. Fruit agriculture has become more profitable (and better for the society) than opium production.

 

We climbed a steep set of wooden stairs above the Golden Triangle to a small, crumbling, stone temple. It looked really old. Up here on the hill, we were away from the vendors and giftshops at the viewpoint, and it was quiet and peaceful.

 

 
We couldn't stay too long though; our long day of sightseeing which had begun so long ago at the White Temple, was getting into the late afternoon, and there was still more to see.

Our tour took us next to the very odd House of Opium Museum. It was... kind of weird!

It was obviously anti-opium, but the displays all showed exhibits about the history of opium in the region, and included all sorts of rare opium paraphernalia...

... like these 19th-century opium pipes...

... and these creepy baby-shaped porcelain opium pillows.

Just outside, a massive elephant statue invited visitors to climb to the top for a photo. A smaller sign in Thai explained how you could run between the elephant's legs for luck. We did, and as the sun began to sink lower in the sky, got back on our tour van to head towards our final stop for the day.