Leaving Chiang Rai by minibus we took a short ride into the are known as the Golden Triangle. The meeting of 2 rivers and the borders of Thailand, Laos, Burma with China visible in the distance. This area was also famed for the mass production of Opium in previous years but thanks to an eradication programme and alternative crops such as coffee, the hill tribe villages and farmers no longer cultivate the poppy crop. After a hot journey, lunch was on the banks of the river watching the long tail boats ferry tourists along the river. Afterwards we visited an Opium museum to learn about how the crop was grown, how the villagers lived with the habit of Opium smoking, and it’s consequences. The exhibits were fascinating and well put together for a small place, and having visited the Akha hill tribe it was more poignant to see them in their previous occupation. Avoiding the midday sun, at 4pm I joined fellow travellers on a small boat to take us at top speed along the river to Laos where for 20 baht (about 30p) we entered the country via a wooden shack and browsed the market on the river bank before returning to Thailand the same way and back to Chiang Rai in the darkness. Busy traffic into the city made the journey longer and by 8pm back at the hotel we all gathered for a dinner in the night bazarre before bed and much needed sleep.
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