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Padong Tribe (Long necks)
This is a fascinating tradition, and it has a number of possible roots. The bottom line is the women wear these amazingly heavy brass coils around their necks. It does NOT stretch their necks, but instead pushes their shoulders way down and forces their jaws up, causing their faces to become squared.Today, my guide (Mr. Sam) and I went three hours up into the hills of Thailand - about 2 miles from the Burmese border. The scenery here is some of the most beautiful I have ever seen (rivals Alaska, believe it or not). The jungle is so dense, I don't see how animals move through it. Of course, I kept thinking about how many snakes were out there lurking :-)
The purpose for our trip was to visit some of the hilltribe people from Burma. It is a very sad situation for these people. They have fled Burma for personal safety reasons, and the government of Thailand has allowed them to set up villages (two I believe). The government offers them financial support, but they are not at leave to travel around without permission. They support themselves with handicrafts and the men work on farms.
When we arrived I was somewhat horrified that I had to hike down into a very deep valley (again, thinking about snakes!) My good luck holds, and I didn't see any. There are three tribes with very distinct characteristics. I am going to download pictures now, and hope I can edit the captions later
Kim with Padong Child
This little girl was not too sure about me at all, having a short neck and all! However, her curiousity won out - she wanted to see a picture of herself. because I can only think of the name of one of them. Of course, worse than hiking down, was coming back UP! I was sweating like a pig by the top - but I did it!
After we left there, we went to visit the local school where 600 children of all ages attend. I got to visit the kindergarten. It was an amazing experience and the children were so well behaved. They (and their teacher) spoke no English and they were very shy with me at first. I brought them gifts of crayons, pencils, and frisbees for the teacher. One of the kids finally got brave enough to touch me and then it was on! I got to play and laugh with them and I think I shook every childs hand at least twice! They were so much fun! The older kids came out of their classrooms across the field area and were very jealous - they smiled and waved and shouted "hello lady". It was a really humbling experience to see how they teach with so little available. I am going to go buy a whole bunch more supplies and my guide, Mr. Sam, is going to
Kim with Lahu (Muzur) couple
This couple was so great! He made these interesting wooden musical instruments with reeds and gourds (I bought one of course!) He made it sound pure and beautiful - I just squawk on it, oh well take them to the school the next time he is up that way.
I leave tomorrow to go to Bangkok. My plans are changing about Cambodia, but I still haven't finalized anything. I met some Aussies last night who had to leave Siem Reap in a hurry because of some violence that had broken out there. They strongly encouraged me not to go. I know I don't want to spend 6-7 days in Bangkok, so I am either going to find somewhere else in Thailand to visit, or see if I can change my flight home. I am so sorry to be missing Cambodia, but I think this is just not the time.
Well, love to all, will keep you updated on my plans.
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