Golden Triangle and the story of Death Prince

• Golden Triangle and the story of Death Prince

My first trip to Chiang Mai, I also went to Golden Triangle. At that time it was curious to know how opium it should hear you go is to go straight away without paying any attention to culture or history so go there to worry about the plantation Opium and then take some pictures and take some pictures ... finished back then. This time to Chiang Mai, after consulting with my friends, I decided to stop at the Golden Triangle.

In this writing, I will divide into two parts, in part one I will tell you my story and experience in Golden Triangle and I will tell the story of Death Princess in the second part.

• Part 1 – Golden Triangle.

Just type these three words on Google and you can see millions of results right now for those who want to learn more about this land, I will summarize a bit for you.

• Golden Triangle - Opium Heaven

The Golden Triangle is a name that people call a land rich and affluent located between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.

The land of rugged terrain has long been a gathering place for opium production.

From Chiang Mai, I rented a car to the Golden Triangle after having eaten up the morning with a Thai fish bowl and a cup of coffee. We paid the rent for the car owner, we finally paid nearly 4,000 baht for our trip from 7am to late night for a distance of over 600km. Money & gasoline we can stop anywhere on the road we like to buy gasoline.

• Thai Roads are good- well-developed

Roads in Thailand are quite good, although this is a high mountain area, but most roads are always four to six lanes of flat cars  around the steep slope but do not feel dangerous because the sign & way of running Thai car. Most drivers are very caring, strict law should sit in the car who is comfortable & can sleep a while throughout the journey ...

• Arrival in Golden Triangle.

After nearly 4 hours of driving, take a rest along the road for lunch, coffee, visit a Temple which I had forgotten the name. and soak in hot water at the rest area, we finally arrived at the Golden Triangle at the beginning of the afternoon. Golden Triangle is now a popular destination for many NorthThai tourists and most of them are Westerners or curious people who are interested in exploring, not a place for health or shopping. This season is not very hot, but the afternoon sun here is enough to sweat me ... However, the gentle breeze of steam from the Mekong has made the air less hot, feel more comfortable.

It must be recognized that Thai people are very good at traveling. As before, I went to the bridge of the Kwaii River, before I came to imagine that there would be something as monumental as watching a movie but coming to see ... nothing. But the important thing is their way to travel, how to promote, how to add extra services ... making the place is just monumental ruins but monotonous visitors come to curiosity & more than They are easily understood here, not as complicated as in other countries.

• Sunrise in the Golden Triangle

From above, I can see the Golden Triangle, which I can see Laos on the right, Burma on the left and the other on the other is China. Here in the 50s and 70s, the area is notorious for growing and trading opium. This place is famous around the world and heard before the collapse of Opium Prince, the place is very dangerous. Shoot each other, kill each other as a meal and know how many lives have died here. Visitors to the Golden Triangle are on the Thai territory. Thai people built a big yellow Buddha statue from afar to see the light and bright yellow highlights in the sun. Around the area are restaurants, opium museum & also nearby is an ancient temple on the hill, high hill that I see is the view point Golden Triangle has the best view!

• The golden triangle from my hotel!!! 

I look to the left is Laos. Most tourists come here to buy tickets to the train running along the river to see the river. Tug of war with the land of Burma will see a casino resort red tile under construction. The Laos side also has many casino resorts are built to welcome guests from the Thai side to play as the Cambodian style resort built on the border attracts the Vietnamese . I along with some friends also boarded the train along that river but did not go to the big boat that goes the small boat for 300 baht per person. Thai boatman speaks good English. He was surprised to find that we are Vietnamese because most people in West or some other countries rarely meet Vietnamese people although they know that they come to Thailand very much ... but most of them go to Bangkok, Pattaya is the main. After learning that we are Vietnamese, the train driver told us that we are brothers and sisters in Asean who impressed me on how to show their ingenuity in communication, With a very simple saying.

The main road in Chiangmai.

He (the driver of canoe) drove like a rocket on the river, making me want to fall out of the sea around me, the bloody Mekong River was definitely deep. Just driving him just showed us the two sides. Walking on the river for more than 15 minutes, he started accelerating towards Laos.

• Brief Visit to Laos

Ashore, so I arrived in Laos. It costs only 20 baht for entry into Laos without having to present a passport. This area is full of shops, mostly ship, Thai goods & silver products, handicrafts of Laos are very few. My impression of this place is not the scenery because this place is not beautiful but want to see the beautiful scene Laos must go up Luang Phrabang or other areas of northern Laos beautiful yet impressive Laos people. They are very gentle. I choose to buy some silver souvenirs, they are dedicated to me to get what is silver, which is a silver fake ... then which is the Chinese ship, which is the Thai ... not sold any Is sold at any cost. Option, pay ... hold up the drop down but do not buy, they also laugh happily. The gentle smile of my face can not be forgotten.

I intend to stay in the homestay here but said that the police did not give because visitors to Laos like we were only back in the day so we have to return to Thailand then to sit in the car 4 hours running on the winding mountain road at night to return to Chiang Mai. The feeling of sitting on a small boat at dusk soaring on the river but really scared ... worrying about the bad luck if the boat is not the only thing he can spend the middle of the Mekong

Golden Triangle is famous for the land of opium, but now the land of the Golden Triangle in Thailand is no longer planted. Maybe in remote places or Burma, Laos ... also planted but perhaps planted in secret.

The opium poppy museum displays only the patterns of opium poppy development from large seed to fruit, opium processing, opium smoking pipes and opium weighing equipment.

I wrote an article about the opium museum I visited in Chiang Mai.

You can find it in my Experience section.

• Golden Triangle and the story of the  death prince !!!

http://www.historytoday.com/david-hutt/opium-king

This is a very good story that I was told by the tour guide in Golden Triangle about the character who made the calendar here.

I could not really remember, but then I was more curious about this character and read more about him, the so-called prince of death or death prince - drug boss Khun Sa .

Khun Sa was born on , 1933, and was named Truong Co Phu in a family with a father who was a member of the KMT and mother of the Shan ethnic group in Myanmar. His father died early, his mother remarried with a Shan in Mong Hpin district, near the border with Myanmar - China. When returning to her father's house, Zhang Chang Phu was renamed Sa - which means rich. Later, when Sa became famous and attempted to establish the Shan kingdom, Sa was called Khun Sa. (Thai and Shan, Khun means him, only respected).

Khun Sa has been famous for producing, supplying and selling opium and heroin in the Golden Triangle since the 1960s, with tens of billions of dollars in revenue each year. In 1967, he became king of opium in the Golden Triangle.

Although a sinner, spread the death white for mankind, but according to him guide said, I first can not believe it.

• Opium Prince never smoke even cigarettes

You know, Khun Sa has never smoked cigarettes. He was also very strict with the people around him about smoking opium. Even with information, Khun Sa used to beat his eldest son, Chang, who was nearly dead because of someone who accused him of smoking opium.

In general he is cruel, I see, he knows the danger level of opium poisoning to humans but he planted it, traded.

I find him obviously inhumane. Furthermore, Khun Sa also applies a one-year forced labor contract to addicts.

The story is this, you slowly but surely surpass how Khun Sa caught the hard-working addicts I'm going to say below.

 At first, in order to "help" the addict, Khun Sa ordered the soldiers to drop the addict into a personal pit about 2 meters deep and he had to eat, sleep, .

Then he will wear the addiction there for 3 days. After 3 days as such, if the addict died, it is considered completed, the family will be subsidized by opium.

• Opium subsidy. Unbelievable??

It was I myself who heard the story did not believe how to kill a drug man and continue using opium to kill their family.

I tell you, Khun Sa, he has done crazy things.

You are wondering, so if the addict is alive after 3 days then why?

If the addicts are alive, they will have to go to hard labor for a year under strict supervision of the soldiers.

It is because of such strong measures that the Khun Sa area, almost no addict.

What he did to have an army loyal to him absolutely, helping him govern the construction of a land of marijuana, opium, drug production as large as the Golden Triangle.

I'm disgusting !!!

To this day, the Golden Triangle is reminiscent of the "death prince" of the time, a sinner of humanity, spreading the death white across the globe.

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