Tea plantations have replaced the opium fields in northern Thailand, but dense jungle still covers much of the area where Thailand borders Burma and Laos. Rudy visits an Akha hill tribe village trying to maintain its traditions in the face of tourism. He meets elephants rescued from life in Bangkok at an elephant orphanage; takes mahout lessons, and gets soaked steering his elephant into the river that separates Thailand from Burma. He also explores the small villages; meets a Buddhist monk who uses horses, martial arts, and religion to steer young men away from the temptations of drugs being produced across the border in Burma; and discovers why the Golden Triangle is a magical corner of the world. (6 of 13)