A famous author once observed... “The heartland of Southeast Asia has always been on the edges of civilization. The great empires, such as the Pagan in Burma, Sukhothai in Thailand and Angkor in Cambodia, were built in the plains, where rice grows easily and there are trade routes to the sea. For the rulers of the time -- as well as for the governments of today -- the writ of law petered out in the jumble of limestone hills and teak forests of the north. From the Tibetan Plateau, of the Himalayas, several great ranges of mountains flow out in a big curve, first east, then sweeping southward. Lying between them are the upper reaches of three great Asian rivers -- the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween. Where these rivers diverge, the hill country spills out in a disorganized mass, around the borders of Burma (now Myanmar), China, Laos and Thailand.” This is the exotic Golden Triangle, where the poppies grow and my little friend lives...