The Paduang (Karen Long Necks)

[Stinky]

Nice pics Bob, never went up that far but I will next trip up that way

[CaptainNemo]

Not so many smiles on them faces though... I presume they don't take 'em off at bedtime.

[rreexx]

Yeh, I went to the same place a while back. A bit of a contrived zoo.

[Phuketrichard]

smiles in my pics and they do recieve part of the admission fee plus in the hours i have spent i would say 90% of tourists buy something.

IN burma they have nothing and in fact the goverment ordered them to not place the rings on anymore.

[Bobcock]

I wouldn't be a presumptious to say they were very happy, but they certainly laughed, smiled, were happy to chat and asked to have their picture taken with the children, the one lady (the older one) encouraged everyone to have a group shot together. The children were told to be respectful and ask before taking any photographs even though we were told it was fine. we stayed an hour. They just didn't smile when actually being photographed, deliberately stopped smiling.

They didn't seem as responsive to the group of Germans and certainly not so to the group of Chinese who came flying through and stayed 10 minutes buying as little as possible.

I'd certainly imagine it's a better life than being in Burma.

[racefan]

I wonder what it would be like to shag one.

Very noisy if too close to the headboard I imagine!

I am taking my first trip to the Chaing Mai area in November and will definitely pay a visit to see these people.

Can any B M's give me some idea of "must do's" while in the area. The trip will be for about 10 days.

[Nawty]

I think taking photos of these people like you would monkies in a tree is kind of disgusting myself.....

[Phuketrichard]

i love photographing people and they understand that people go there to take pics. dont judge them unless u have visited and spoken with them

Go to Mae Hong Son, Via Pai and see how the backpackers have taken a small place and turned it into shit,

stay at Soppong River inn 70 kms north of MHS
Visit the caves at Tham Lot
Go to Mae Aw 43 kms north of MHS
The Kayans i visited Nai Soi village are 35kms north of MHS

Of course visit doi Suttep and view Chaing mai (if u can see thru the haze)

[Nawty]

Still think it is disgusting.....you should dress up like them like this nob and really make fun of em....

[Nawty]

or you could take a sweet pic like this one.....

[Bobcock]

55555555555................ It deserves showing again......That really had me laughing out loud, I've never seen him look so good.....

[JohnTB]

Those villages are human zoos but are not quite as bad as people think. The Paduang don't normally live there, they live further up the mountains and are bussed in and out of the show villages daily. While there are one or two villages which are definitely exploitative most of them are legitimate, as long as you remember that they are show villages and not the real thing.

For those who want to boycott them, remember that this is those peoples main form of income. Your boycotting them means that they make no money, that means no education and not much in the way of living or food. They are actively hunted down, enslaved, or killed by the Burmese army - that's why they come to Thailand. Boycotting them because you believe they're in a human zoo only makes you feel better, what you're actually doing is depriving them of a major source of income.

Good commentary - Just want to add my 2 cents: Always remember, because of the Burmese governments animosity these are people without a country. Thailand allows thenm to live here and the 'living museum villages' allow them to survive economically, physically and emotionally' ( as they can earn a living while maintaining a degree of dignity and retain their culture outside of the homeland that expelled them

There are many Thai and falang 'helping' the Karen refugees, and there are some ways you can help Karen people. Look up up such opportunities on the internet and then verify they aren't scams... One excellent program: www.bambooschool.com
Catherine (Cat) is a Kiwi who has built a home for Karen orphans near Sai Yok in Kanchanaburi Province: a school; dormitories for girls and boys (separate); a hospital; a guest residence. She has a covered pickup serving as an ambulance and transport... Check it out. Cat has a BIG BIG HEART!!!

[Nawty]

That link did not work....got another ?

[giggs]

A few years back, on my very first visa run t

[giggs]

I wonder what it would be like to shag one.

A few years back, on my very first visa run to Mae Sai the first person to talk to me after I crossed the bridge to Myanmar said "Welcome to my country, you like to fuck Long Neck?" When I said no he then offered to sell me young boys, young girls, ya ba, and emeralds, in that order. As he wasn't able to sell me anything he just stamped my passport in the end, took 5 dollars off me and told me to get the fcuk out of his immigration office.

have been doing the same visa run for the last ten years...and have found the MYANMAR IMMRIGATION OFFICE AT MAE SAI..very polite and obliging..and at no time.. have had the experience. of the poor contents..suggested in the above post...

[WujouMao]

she looks awfully like this woman i met while on a Thana Adventure tour way back in 2005. i didint even know we were going to the village and was pretty naive that time. but i didnt like the look of it either. i knew it wasn't a real village. just a tacky tourist stop.







so is this the same village you went too or another one? i gather they all look alike







would like to go again, get some more differant tribes photos. but i know what you mean about not smiling too. a somewhat fake smile or a stony smile completly ruins the picture. and before you even suggested a photo, they'll be cracking away laughing.

see my flower H'mong photo's from vietnam to see what i mean. got a lovely photo of a girl natural smiling between some sugar cane

[Bobcock]

Not the same village

[WujouMao]

These are the pics of other people from other tribes that I took on the trip.

We arrived in Mae Salong / Santikiri on Mothers Day and there was a procession going through the town, lots of kids and then a group of Akha women which was colourful and not so posed....

when you say Mothers day, do you mean Thai mother's day, Hilltribe mothers day or UK mothers day?

i went to Mae salong in 2007. great place. didnt feel like thailand at all. lots to see, but i was scared to offend people so i just looked instead of taking photo's of hill tribes

i was rather nervous of trespassing on someone's land, like you would expect if you walk down a country lane in uk, you know what private property. i found this homemade gate made out of branches and whatnot , and i though i could climb that, but is that saying no excess? i found out later it was a gate to stop pigs from escaping.

^ this isnt a postcard is it?

[Bobcock]

Mothers day - August 12th No it's not a postcard, I took it.

[Nawty]

She needs help with her lipstick....poor dear.

[kingwilly]

Still think it is disgusting.....you should dress up like them like this nob and really make fun of em....

whose that gimp with the hairy arms?

[Bobcock]

Gimps a bit unfair, he's a mate of Nawty and I and he's a nice guy.

[Nawty]

Yes, he has donated all his time to working in hilltribe communities and he has even adopted their ways, as you can see.

If anyone sees him out there, please take his photo and give him 100b.