evidence: Leaving these strife-torn zones behind, we climbed the treacherous terrain to reach the international border. The jungle near Phaikoh opened up into the Kabaw valley, an open area of relatively flat land surrounded by tall whispering trees. Tiny leeches stuck to my feet and, as I tried to remove them, I saw droplets of blood. The burly voice of an Assam Rifles guard asked, "Do you even know where you are standing?" [...] It is foolish to think that international boundaries run in straight lines. This fenceless, formally un-demarcated border is fraught with complications. Locals believe Kabaw valley was given away to the Burmese under a faulty strategy after independence and at least some 2,000m actually belongs to the Indian side. There are no records to prove this and the Treaty of Yandabo, signed in 1826 between the British and the Burmese, crops up in conversations with locals every now and then. They feel the 22,210sqkm Kabaw valley will make the fencing of the India-Myanmar border an emotive issue for Manipur.