Everyone knows the wonderful photo from "National Geographic", showing women with extremely long necks, decorated with large gold rings. If you are traveling in northern Thailand, you have the opportunity to see it up close.
The long-necked Karen tribe is a tribe of refugees who came from Burma. Those women fled their country due to difficult living conditions and chose to settle in the mountains of northern Thailand. The move to Thailand gave those poor women a prosperous source of income - the tourists who come to see them.
A tour of the village has become a very popular attraction among visitors to Thailand. The colorful sights and welcoming women attract many tourists every year, who come to witness the cultural wonder. It's a bit hard to believe, but the golden giant on the neck of the women of the tribe weighs over 4 kg (in addition to other large jewelry they wear). Historically, it is not entirely clear what the origin of this strange custom is. Anthropologists have put forward various hypotheses such as protection from bites of animals, a symbol of beauty or a marking that would distinguish them from other tribes, but this, as mentioned, is still a mystery.
The pastoral village where the tribe lives is near the city Chiang Rai (an hour's drive away). In that village (and in the neighboring villages in the area) live other tribes, who were also expelled from neighboring countries. This is an incredibly traditional place, with very little trace of the modern world. The members of the tribe do not speak English and you can see that they live in houses made of bamboo or mud, subsist on local agriculture and live without electricity or running water.
During the tour, you can take pictures, enjoy occasional street performances, tour the stalls and purchase original items such as bags, scarves and jewelry made by the women of the tribe. It should be noted that the spaces in the village are not particularly large, so if you want to avoid crowds of visitors, you should come in the morning.
You can combine a visit to the village with a visit to the nearby villages, which are also inhabited by different traditional tribes. Many village tours depart from Chiang Rai. They usually include a 30-60 minute visit to the Longneck tribe, as well as round-trip transportation and lunch. Another option is to get to the village by taxi and travel around the area independently.
Entrance to the village costs 300 baht. It is not possible to pay with credit in the village and there are no ATMs in the area, so you should stock up on cash before you arrive.
