Out of the Jungle, Part I "Conversation with a Burmese gem smuggler in a Maesai snooker hall: "Can you get a big chunk of jade into Thailand?" "Sure, not a problem." "But we want a really big chunk ..." "It?s okay, the soldiers will deal with getting it across." We pump the smuggler for more information, but he senses that we?re more interested in who "the soldiers" are than in buying jade. He departs without making an arrangement. But you can be sure that along the porous Burmese-Thai border that night, several large pieces of jade and other goods ranging from the sacred to the profane crossed over rivers and through mountain passes into Thailand, to be distributed to the rest of the world..."...FOR PARTS 2 AND 3, CLICK ON "ARCHIVES" AND NAVIGATE.