#padaung

 @visitheworld, @travelingpage

If you want to read about Myanmar, this book is good for you. It's not specifically about the whole of Myanmar but the author is a minority of the Padaung tribe (which you might have seen in pictures where women are wearing metal rings in their neck and are called Giraffe women) and this is about him dropping out to join the 1988 students insurrection and then escaping Myanmar to get to England to study at Cambridge University. It's an authentic voice of someone from minority tribe so it's very enlightening in a lot ot ways. I always recommend this to everyone who ever asked me for books of Myanmar.

A Kayan Lahwi (Padaung) woman who has removed her brass neck coils in in Pan Pet region, Kayah, Myanmar. Women of Burma who elongate their necks using brass neck rings to make themselves look like dragons and protect themselves against rape Credit: Eric Baccega/MediaDrum

A Padaung Girl by U Sein Linn  

The Kayan (aka giraffe people) in Thailand are actually not from Thailand, but from Myanmar, fleeing a civil war in their country. In Thailand, it’s apparently better, but they aren’t able to get Thai citizenship and have limited access to basics of modern living, eg. Running water /education etc. There’s been a lot of news reports telling people to boycott visiting them, saying that its nothing but a human zoo- but that’s not the best solution, since they rely on tourism to make a living. Visiting them actually gives them a chance to share their culture with the world, as well as practice their traditions and earn some money. The best solution might still be to visit and learn from them (respectfully), and make sure that the money you give benefits them directly and not just to the tour company.

padaung, myanmar

Burma, also called Myanmar, is a fascinating country. Unfortunately, many parts of the country are off limits to foreigners due to fighting between the government and tribes, fighting between tribes, or just because of illegal trading happening there. In 2008 I was super lucky and I managed to score an official permit to visit the Padaung tribe villages near Koilaw. The Padaung, sometimes also called “longnecks”, are a tribe whose women wear copper rings around their neck, which actually make them look very graceful. There are also some places were you can see women of the tribe in Thailand but unfortunately there the situation resembles a zoo - tourists pay a fee to visit and photograph the women. The place where I visited, after traveling on the roof of a bus and the back seat of my guide’s moped, was very original. When I met the chief of one of the villages he told me that they were very happy because I was the first tourist to visit their villages in 12 years, and that they were willing to throw a party for me that night if I would pay for the gasoline to run the generator for the lights. Since I am always cautious I asked how much would that cost and he told me it that if would be five dollars. I gave him a fifty dollar bill and told him to keep the change for the school. When I arrived that night at the mostly candle-lit room where the party was supposed to take place I could not believe my eyes, They were eight Padaung women that first did a traditional dance for me. Afterwards we all sat on stools on the floor and while sipping rice wine, their local alcoholic drink, they started to sing and play guitars and percussion. They were actually pretty good musicians, and the some of the nicest people that I have met in my travels. That was one an unforgettable night. Photo © Konstantino Hatzisarros