POTD: The Golden Triangle

From 2025 03 22 Chiang Rai

Today's photo-of-the-day was taken at the Golden Triangle of southeast Asia. According to Wikpedia, "The Golden Triangle is a large, mountainous region in northeastern Myanmar, Northern Thailand and northern Laos, centered on the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name "Golden Triangle" was coined by Marshall Green, a U.S. State Department official, in 1971 in a press conference on the opium trade. The Golden Triangle has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s. Most of the world's heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when opium production in Afghanistan increased. Myanmar was the world's second-largest source of opium after Afghanistan up to 2022, producing some 25% of the world's opium, forming part of the Golden Triangle. Today, the Thai side of the river confluence, Sop Ruak, has become a tourist attraction, with the House of Opium Museum, a Hall of Opium, a Golden Triangle Park, and no opium cultivation."

Bonus photos are after the jump.

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From 2025 03 22 Chiang Rai

From 2025 03 22 Chiang Rai

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"Golden Triangle—
a name earned by opium,
softened by the years."
— h/t ChatGPT