Northern Thailand 2017 - Chiang Rai Part 8

After our visit to the White Temple in my last post, we continued on to Karen Long Neck Village for a visit. To be honest, I had mixed feelings about this place and I left the place with more negative feelings.

It was a wet day and even though the rain already stopped when we arrived, the soil in the village was still muddy. We walked from the parking spot through several stalls selling handicrafts towards a ticket booth where we had to pay a few hundred Bahts to enter the village.

Inside the village were two rows of sheds, each shed being a simple stall selling scarves and other handicrafts. Some were handmade by the villagers, some were bought elsewhere to be sold there. Every stall would have a female wearing brass neck coils that they are famous for. Girls in the village would start wearing the coils at 3 years young, and of course they are not given an option at that age. The number of coils will be added as they grow older. I understand that this is part of their culture, and I can respect if they want to follow it. If it is forced on them though,,,,,, hm.....

Our tour guide told us that the females of the tribe are not allowed to leave the village without a special permit, and when they do leave the village they have to cover their neck. It was because they are not 'normal people'. That sentence bothered me somehow...

On the other hand, the male members of the village are free to go in and out the village, although they do that to do work outside. 

Our tour guide gave us most of the explanations in the village, and he was also our translator. We gathered from the guide that the children are not allowed to go to the same school as Thai citizens, as the Karen people are refugees from Myanmar and are not given Thai citizenship. They ar.e allowed to go to school in the village, however it was difficult to find teachers to teach them.

Anyhow, my friend who went to this same village were told that they do go to school and they are free to go in and out the village. So... I'm not sure which is correct.

Scarves handmade in the village

We left the Long Neck Village and headed to the northern tip of Thailand. It was their border with Myanmar.

The Myanmar and Thailand border is separated by a river and is connected by a bridge. If I remember correctly, anyone visiting the other country through this border has to be back by 6 pm.  Jack our tour guide explained that many Burmese people like to work and shop in Thailand because prices are lower and wages are much higher.

Jack also told us that it is not uncommon to find people trying to cross the river from Myanmar to Thailand illegally so they can find work in Thailand. The moment he spoke, I was watching a man in a green shirt on the other side of the river carrying a big plastic bag. Sure enough, he went in the river and crossed. See the tiny green spot in the river in the picture below? That's him.

This day's trip so far had been a great reminder of how fortunate we were, to be free, to be able to travel, to have access to education, and many other privileges that were often taken for granted. I am glad that I was able to take Miss Kiki to see this first hand...

Near the border is a large market selling cheap goods. Many products are locally produced but most cheap item came from of course, ... China. We walked through the market and hopped back into our car.

Our next stop was the Golden Triangle, the place where the borders of three countries meet. Not much to see there but it was still good to see once. At this spot, you can see where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. The area itself is most famous for opium production, only second to the Golden Crescent in Afghanistan.

From the Golden Triangle we were dropped off at our hotel in Chiang Rai. I booked Hi Chiang Rai Hotel for our one night stay. It was a brand new hotel with an indoor pool right by the lobby at the centre of the ground floor :D The hotel itself was clean, with elevators, and located VERY close to the Chiang Rai Night Bazaar.

The Chiang Rai Night Bazaar was quite nice, as in it was smaller and more manageable. Not too crowded, and the sellers were not aggressive. Right in the middle of the Bazaar there was an open air restaurant with prime seats for the Night Bazaar Stage. There they have performances every night, ranging from traditional dances to modern singing. We ate there and everything we ordered was good.

To add a nice touch to the day, we went for a massage at a parlour near our hotel.

That was the end of our day in Chiang Rai! Stay tuned for my next post... Bangkok!