We are speeding northbound on the Mekong river, bound for the famous (and notorious!) GoldenTriangle, which is the common juncture of Thailand with Laos and Myanmar (formerly called Burma).  We put in below the enormous golden Buddha you see off to the right.  I say "notorious" in regard to the Golden Triangle because, decades ago, a sandbar at the common border was considered No Man's Land by all three governments.  Drug dealers did a brisk, profitable business here, and the universal currency was gold.  While one might indeed call the sandbar a "lawless" place, I'd guess there also was honor among thieves. (This in the time of the Vietnam Conflict, when heads of state bartered souls to profit from an ideological war.) Today the huge golden Buddha is only a tourist attraction, as is the Golden Triangle.  Even so, it was a thrilling experience to be skimming the waters of the Mekong in a fast boat with the wind in our faces, in pursuit of a nefarious legend.