Greetings! Thanks to the kindness of Michael I have been invited to join the forum. I now have and I am sending you my first message as an introduction. I am Keith Syers, an Englishman by birthday but now living and working in Thailand. I work in the Northern part of Chiang Rai province, some 45 km from the border with Myanmar (Burma) and 50 km from Laos. This is the Golden Triangle, famouus for opium and, oh yes!----opium weights. I first became addicted (to opium weights, that is) in 1992 and since then I have tried to control my obsession. I have been restrained of late but fairly regular visits to Laos and to Chiang Mai (good outlets but many fakes) more than test my resolve. After briefly checking the web site I have decided to visit Mae Sai (on the Thai side of the border with Myanmar). This where it all started some 18 years ago. At that time opium weights were bought according to bulk weight, regardless of form, age, and quality, and they were very cheap. As my fairly busy schedule permits, I will try to contribute to the forum. I am interested in the history/age of weights, the composition of weights, and fakes (and how one might detecyt them). I will write a few lines about this in due course. In Chiang Mai, in particular, we have some good 'copiers' and one shop rather proudly states 'Original Antiques, Visit our Factory.' On that happy note I will sign off.
Keith (The New Boy)