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.