Quote:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/wo...r.html?_r=1&hp
Northern Myanmar is very much a world apart, both lawless and heavily militarized, a medieval-style patchwork of obscure ethnic armies, borderland casinos, brothels and the walled compounds of drug lords.
The steep hills in northern Myanmar are lined with rubber plantations that feed Chinese factories’ demand for latex. There is extreme poverty — thatch huts and farmers tending fields with buffalo — but also much unexplained wealth: modern, walled compounds and the frequent passage of Mitsubishi Pajeros and Toyota Prado Land Cruisers, vehicles that cost well upward of $100,000 in southern Myanmar because of onerous import duties. (Residents of rebel-held areas in northern Myanmar avoid the taxes because cars are imported through Laos or China and bear license plates issued either by the Wa or Mong La governments.)
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i always wonder where Black Lagoon was located in Asia.