Pubdate: Sat, 13 Dec 2003 Source: Nation, The (Thailand) Copyright: 2003 Nation Multimedia Group Contact: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1963 Author: Elizabeth Wright TESTAMENT TO THE POPPY'S TURBULENT PAST The Hall of Opium is a sleekly elegant structure of concrete and glass that looks more like Bill Gates' house than a monument to narcotics. There's no hint, at least from the outside, of narco terrorism, addiction, degradation or, indeed, crime. Standing on a hillside overlooking the epicentre of the Golden Triangle with views of Burma and Laos across the Mekong River, the museum is more concerned with education than titillation. Of course, even today the area is rife with drugs. Opium poppies are well suited for cultivation in the hills and mountains of the three Triangle nations and the area is a major transit zone for many narcotics, with all the related strife. But this dignified new museum takes a step back and presents a well-curated overview of the history of opium and, in many cases, an unflinching history of how governments - including this one - profited from and encouraged production of a drug now vilified, but once valued. That wonderful lady the late Princess Mother set up the Doi Tung Development Project in this area to give local villagers other ways to make a living, and this begat the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which exists to research the topic. The foundation now boasts this opium museum, built with a loan from the Japanese government. Visitors ease into the hallucitory world of opiates as they follow a long, winding corridor dramatically walled with dreamlike images and lit in atmospheric red. From the dream tunnel, you emerge into a floral section with - alas - fake opium poppies, along with their botanical cousins. The tour guide explains that the altitude of the museum site is too close to sea level for opium poppy cultivation. Next, a film show tells you all about the early days of opium production and methods of cultivation. Onwards through various dioramas, tableaux and displays, each with a commentary in Thai, English or Japanese, and you are beginning to understand a lot more about the trade. What emerges is that opium wasn't seen as much different from tobacco by 19th-century traders. When the Chinese would sell to (but not buy from) British merchants, to redress the trade imbalance, the merchants started smuggling in opium from India. They were not out to destroy China; their interest was to establish a market in high-demand merchandise with assured repeat sales. Of course, in the nakedly aggressive climate of the 18th and 19th centuries, the term "trade war" often meant just that; but the idea that opium - today so demonised - was viewed as little different from quinine or belladonna is a fresh one. To its everlasting credit, the Hall of Opium does not flinch from the fact that the Thai government had no problem with the trade in the then-legal poppies and in fact made opium a government monopoly. Then, when World War II interrupted supplies from India, the government went to the hilltribes people, who already grew poppies for their own use, and encouraged them to cultivate more as a cash crop. It was only when opium was outlawed that it became a big problem. The museum then traces the problem with equal candour. Films of people whose lives have been blighted by opium addiction tear at the heartstrings. And the final area soothes the spirit with inspirational quotations from inspiring people. Definitely not your usual museum. Details The Hall of Opium is a 20-minute drive from Chiang Saen on the road to Mai Sai. Opening hours: Tours are conducted Thursday to Sunday starting at 10am and half-hourly until 3.30pm. Admission prices: Bt50 for Thais; an outrageously inflated Bt300 for foreigners (which must really annoy the Japanese whose tax money financed the facility). Open now, with a formal opening scheduled for January. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin