Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Not very far away off the Northern side of Chiang Mai, lays villages of hill tribes living peacefully in picturesque hillside regions. These groups of minorities have a very different view on the meaning of ‘beauty’.

Just because of this contradictory perspective of ‘beauty’, they have drawn so many people from all around the world to just either shamelessly stare at them, curiously talk to them, dedicatedly try to understand them, make a human/cultural interest story out of them, or even make some timeless documentary to record this unique group of people.

Of cause, what is beautiful always lies in the eye of the beholder. As pictures are often worth more than a thousand words, let me cut short from being so long winded trying to explain to you in words on their idea of beautiful. So…

Is she beautiful?

These minority tribes of people are actually groups formed from many different tribes who have their very own distinctive language and costumes. The more well known ones are known as the Paduang, a sub-group from the Karen tribe.

They originate from Eastern Burma, near the Thai Border, where conflicts with the military regime in the early 1900s have caused many of these people fled to neighbouring Thailand, living in exile. When asked, they do not really mind, in fact are quite happy with the peaceful simple lifestyle they led there as compared to the chaos back in Burma.

Wearing brass coils as early as 5 years old.

The people from these hill tribes view that women with ‘long neck’ are beautiful. Starting at the age of 5, little girls will start wearing these heavy brass rings around their neck. As they age, more brass rings will be added. These coil rings around their neck gives us the illusion that their neck is really long, but the truth is, it is the collarbone that is crushed and the ribcage get pushed down to create this ‘long neck’ look. The average weight of these brass coils that an adult woman wear can range between 3-4kg and they wear them while they sleep, eat, work, and play. It hardly gets taken off.

Skillful weavers

The village

You can find most girls in the tribe wear these heavy brass coils. When asked why they wear these heavy coils around their neck, they simply explain that it is part of their cultural identity. This determination in them to keep their cultural identity is actually the fact which contributes to their survival, bringing throngs of tourist to see them and created an income source for them in tourism. While the men of the tribes do farming, the women are skillful crafts makers, excellent weavers, and are able to sew you the most intricate design where many would not hesitate to get a piece as a souvenir to bring back home.

A memorable experience with the simple, warm and friendly hill tribes.

A visit to Karon Long Neck Villages is truly a worthwhile trip as you get to walk around the tranquil village sites, watching children at play, men hard at work, while women tend to their stalls. It is a very different life from how we city folks lead our life, and it is definitely a refreshing experience as you explore into a different culture and learn to understand them.

Remember to make this excursion to the Karen Long Neck Villages part of your travel itenerary while you book your trip with PYOtravel.