We visited the long neck tribe in Chiang Mai. We actually intended to visit one in Chiang Rai but the distance from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai is too far. It takes seven hours to travel to and fro and we felt that it would be a waste of time to spend so much time traveling on the road.
This is the life of a woman in the long neck tribe. The set of rings around their neck weighs 4kg. They start to wear it at the age of 6 or 7. The initial reason for wearing the rings on their neck was to protect tigers from biting their necks.
Besides such information, I have also learnt from our tour guide that these long neck tribe came from Burma (Myanmar). They are refugees and they are not allowed to work in Thailand. Their main source of survival is through donations and selling handicraft.
Although they are not allowed to find jobs, I feel that the government of Chiang Mai is kind enough to keep them. Electricity is provided at the villages we visited. Water was kept in a tank for them to use. I asked the tour guide about the children. Since the children are born in Thailand, aren’t they allowed to work in Thailand too? I am glad to hear that children are allowed to attend school. Well, at least there is hope for the children to get out of the village to seek their path.
Look at how adorable and innocent the children are. The picture on the right shows a little girl who was putting on make-up and she did so herself beautifully.
The people led a simple life. They used wood to cook and lived in huts that are made of wood or bamboo. They had to depend a lot on donations for health care.
I hope they all can lead a fruitful and good life when they grow up.
I wish them health and happiness…
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