Long neck tribes

Hi,

I%26#39;ve read that some people are boycotting the long neck tribes and did a search for it in the forum to find out why. However, I couldn%26#39;t seem to dig out anything bad about it. Or perhaps, I just didn%26#39;t look hard enough. Anyone here care to share their knowledge about this? Are the Long Neck tribes the same as the Karen tribes?

Am planning an itinerary for my trip soon. Really appreciate your help.

Thanks.

Long neck tribes

No, not the same as othe Karen villages, these people are from Burma and my understanding is they exist solely for tourist trade, which, in turn perpetuates the practice. Sort of like a zoo but with people as the exhibits. Only my opinion, I wouldn%26#39;t (didn%26#39;t) go.

Long neck tribes

The Kayan, as they prefer to call themselves or Padaung or Long Neck Karen, as they are often referred to, are a sub group of the Karen people. Most of those in Thailand are refugees from Myanmar.

As with most controversies, there are different sides to the story. Most of the ';do not go there'; is related to incidents in the past of managers exploiting the villagers. But likewise there are also villages were the ladies earn a decent wage from selling their handicrafts.

I am sure both sides will chime in on this thread. So I will leave it at this very simplistic explanation.

They certainly don%26#39;t exist solely for the tourist trade; they%26#39;ve been around a long longer than that.

The problem from what I understand is that the practice of coiling the neck was going out of practice until it was found to have been lucritive in the tourist industry. So, they are deforming their bodies for the sake of tourism. Not all of them I am sure, but certainly some of them.

Good info by Mr.Cycling. The Paduang are a subgroup of the Karen.

Below is an old post with very good comments by Randy and Ning which covers the controversy:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293917-i9325-k123…

Eleven years ago when visiting Mae Hong Son near the Burmese border, there was a carnival in town (with small rides) and quite a few Paduangs from the outlying villages came into town to attend the fair. I would not go on those %26#39;long neck tours%26#39;.

For another perspective, I remember reading this article in 2001 by New York Times Southeast Asia correspondent, Seth Mydans, and his article is linked below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/travel/nai-soi-s-long-necked-women.html?scp=8%26amp;sq=Seth+Mydans%26amp;st=nyt

Many thanks to all you people for sharing. Been very helpful.

Sorry for the error/ oversimplification, there is always 2 sides to any debate, I guess it really just comes down to where you draw the line in the sand and my understanding (possible erroneous) is that tourism may perpeuate this practice. Either way I am sure you will love Northern Thailand