Getting drugs is not complicated in Southeast Asia. Maybe if you try a little, you will find that there is even a drug tourism. All you need to do is show interest in a souvenir in the form of an opium pipe. But before you do so, keep in mind that Thailand has extremely strict penalties. Drug smuggling is even punishable by death.

If you’ve been dazzled by the white and blue temples in Chiang Rai and are wondering where to go next, then I’ll tell you one word: Golden Triangle. The place where Thailand, Laos and Burma (now Myanmar) meet. Once a thriving opium trade, today you’ll find peaceful scenery, the Mekong River and a history that might surprise you. A trip to the Golden Triangle is a one-day adventure that combines the beauty of the landscape, political geography and a bit of mysticism. Come with me on a trip where three countries meet and the smell of opium.

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THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE AND WHY TO GO THERE

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The name was not invented by locals, but by Americans during the Vietnam War. It referred to an area where the borders of three countries overlapped and where opium production and smuggling flourished. In the 1960s, a huge “invisible” economy was created here. Today, this place is a safe tourist area that attracts with its views, the Mekong River, interesting museums and boat trips.

And even though opium cakes are no longer offered on every corner, the feeling of being on the edge of another world remains.

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HOW TO GET TO

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE?

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It is about 65 kilometers north from Chiang Rai, the best way to get there is:

• with an organized tour – the most comfortable option, usually with an English-speaking guide and stops along the way,
• with a rented scooter or car – the roads are in good condition, but be prepared for slightly winding sections,
• with a driver – if you just want to enjoy the views and not waste time getting oriented.

A full-day trip usually starts around 8 am and ends around 4–5 pm.

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THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION:
STOPS ALONG THE WAY

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There are some great stops along the way to the triangle:

• Mae Kachan Hot Springs – small geysers by the roadside where you can boil an egg in boiling water or just soak your feet.
• Wat Phra That Chedi Luang in Chiang Saen – a beautiful historic city that was once the center of the powerful Lanna Kingdom. The temple sits among the trees, smells of incense, and feels like something out of a movie about the old days.

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HUGE GOLDEN BUDDHA STATUE

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When you get to the Golden Triangle itself, the first thing that catches your eye is the HUGE golden Buddha statue looking out over the river.

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WHAT TO SEE IN

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE ITSELF

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VIEW OF THE CONFUCTION OF THE MEKONG AND RUAK RIVER

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This is where you’ll see exactly where three countries meet. The Mekong separates Thailand and Laos, while the Ruak River forms the border with Burma. On one side are rice fields and pagodas, on the other are Lao casinos (yes, really). The view is peaceful, the river flows lazily, and Thai tourists stroll past you with coconut ice cream.

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GOLDEN TRIANGLE SPECIAL

ECONOMIC ZONE

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The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone is located along the Mekong River in Ton Pheung District, Bokeo Province, Laos. The zone covers an area of ​​approximately 3,000 hectares and was created in 2007 by the Lao government in conjunction with the Hong Kong-registered Chinese company Kings Romans Group to generate economic development.

At the center of the zone is the Kings Romans casino, which attracts mainly Chinese visitors, and several hotels. The infrastructure is de facto Chinese. Mandarin is spoken and the accepted currency is the Chinese yuan. It is part of a wider trend of casinos popping up in the Mekong region following the ousting of money laundering from Macau in 2014.

Since its founding, it has gained a reputation as a Chinese city full of illegal activities such as drug, human and animal trafficking. In January 2018, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the casino and its owner Zhao Wei and the “Zhao Wei Transnational Crime Organization”, alleging that the casino was used for money laundering and drug trafficking, among other serious crimes.

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MY TIP:

There is also a big sign “Golden Triangle” where everyone takes a selfie. Take one too! It’s almost obligatory. 🙂

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HALL OF OPIUM

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I think visiting the Hall of Opium should be a must, even though many tourists skip it. And that’s a huge shame. It’s a modern, interactive and surprisingly beautiful museum that tells the story of opium, addiction, colonies and war. It’s a philosophical experience.

The inspiration for many of the works on display was provided by Princess Sangvalje Mahidol, the revered mother of Thailand’s longest-reigning King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 1995. She dedicated many years of her life to helping the hill tribes in northern Thailand and also established a foundation that today manages the museum.

Once you enter the exhibition space, you have to walk through a long tunnel. Its dim lighting, eerie music and depictions of writhing human figures evoke the suffering of drug addicts. They try to convey to you the dangers and mysteries of the Golden Triangle. Here you have the whole story of opium and its products, morphine and heroin.

There’s even a meticulously reconstructed hold of an 18th-century British opium ship, an early 20th-century Thai opium den, and scenes from the Chinese Opium Wars. More contemporary exhibits show smugglers stuffing drugs into teddy bears, dipping shirts in heroin, and swallowing condoms filled with narcotics.

The exhibition presents the drug lords of the Golden Triangle, the local corruption and bloodshed. At the same time, it reminds us that drugs came to the region relatively recently and are not only associated with impoverished hill tribes who grow poppies to produce opium.

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HOW WAS IT ACTUALLY

WITH OPIUM?

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Opium is nicknamed “black gold“. The locals obtained this drug from the unripe pods of the poppy. The first written mention of opium comes from Sumerian texts that are 5,000 years old. The Egyptians indulged in it for pleasure, and some ancient Romans used toxic substances to digest their enemies. The Indian Mughals fed it to war elephants to keep them calm in battle. Before the introduction of anesthetics, opium and morphine relieved patients from physical pain. For example, a 19th-century American advertisement highlights “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup for Teething Babies” with opium as an ingredient. While the manufacturers of the morphine mixture advise women that by mixing it into their coffee, they will keep their restless husbands at home. 🙂

In Thailand’s Golden Triangle hills, opium cultivation is largely a thing of the past. One of the most interesting experiences for visitors to the village of Sop Ruak today is taking photos with pretty Thai women in traditional tribal clothing under the arch of the Golden Triangle tourist gate.

But in neighboring Laos and especially in Burma, large-scale cultivation and production of narcotics persist, partly due to the poverty of these areas. From there, drugs penetrate all levels of Thai society, including schools. Last year, the museum was visited by 100,000 students.

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OPIUM WAR

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The Opium Wars took place in the 1840s and 1850s as a reaction by the Chinese Empire during the Qing Dynasty against the import and sale of opium in China. After England began importing Indian opium, a large number of Chinese became addicted to the drug, and later the number of addicts rose to 20 million. The Emperor Xianfeng tried to ban the sale and consumption.

In 1839, the Chinese government threw 20,283 bushels (1,227,000 kg) of opium imported from India into the sea and banned further trade with England. As a result, the so-called Opium War began in 1839, which ended in a complete victory for England in 1843. This was the first of the wars, but China also lost the Second Opium War in 1856 and 1860. The Qing Dynasty lost both conflicts and as a result lost control of the trade. So the emperor was forced to tolerate the import of opium into the country.

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OPIUM PILLOWS

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I’m sure you’ll be intrigued by the opium cushions in the museum. They are ceramic devices used as headrests when smoking opium. Because opium is a depressant, people who smoke it feel sleepy and prefer a dark place to lie down or rest. These comfortable spaces were usually filled with cloth cushions, blankets, and heavy drapes, but customers sometimes used ceramic or wooden cushions, like the ones in the pictures, to rest their heads.

Chinese artisans first made ceramic pillows thousands of years ago. The beautifully decorated pillows date back to the earliest Chinese dynasties and feature culturally significant symbols, poetry, and intricate designs. Many are hollow and have holes so that people can store personal or valuable items. In opium dens, customers would place their valuables inside the pillow, lean the holed side against the wall, and rest their heads on its surface. This position ensured that their possessions were inside while they took opium. The outside of the pillow was cool to the touch, providing a refreshing sensation in hot, humid climates.

As you have already learned, in the 19th century, opium addiction spread throughout China as more and more people used the drug. As Britain and other European countries, such as France, sold more opium around the world, opium addiction spread widely. So did the use of ceramic opium pillows.

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OPIUM PIPE

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While the rich had pipes with gold-plated mouthpieces, the poor smoked from ordinary, simple clay pipes, and the very poorest inhaled burnt opium from bowls.

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OPIUM SCALE

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One of the strange exhibits that you will come across here and that will knock you to your knees are the opium scales. I admit that until that moment I had no idea that such a thing even existed. I imagined that the traders simply took a handful of poppy seeds, threw them into a bag and took them away to the buyers. But no way! The opium trade was as serious and precise as the sale of gold today. And that is why it needed its own specialized equipment.

These scales were small, usually made of bronze or brass, with carefully balanced bowls and miniature weights. Often decorated with ornaments, sometimes in the shape of animals. For example, you can find scales whose weights are in the form of small lions or birds. Every gram was important. When you consider that opium was more valuable than silver, this makes sense. Even a slight difference in weight could mean big money.

The museum adds captions that could be summed up in the sentence: “Everything was measured and nothing was left to chance.” It’s a strange experience. On the one hand, admiration for the craftsmanship, for the aesthetics of those old scales, which could easily decorate the window of a design boutique. On the other hand, the knowledge that they were used to weigh a drug that brought wealth to only a handful and addiction to many people.