Source: CCTV.com

08-24-2006 16:02

For generations, opium has been a vital part of the rural economy in Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle Region. The area is the source of over half the world's illegal heroin.

More than 95 percent of Thais are Buddhists, and Buddhist temples are common sights all over the country.

There lies the Golden Triangle , A small area where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet on the Mekong River. But its notorious name often evokes images of opium poppies, drug trafficking, and smugglers.