Day 10 – Long Neck Tribe and Laos

Wow, what a day in Chiang Rai.  We started our day with an hour drive to visit a native hill tribe called Padaung aka Long Neck Tribe.  I never would have dreamed after watching the National Geographic Special on the Long Neck Tribe that I would actually get to visit with the tribal women and young girls.  We had to hike a short distance to get there, but it was well worth it.  The first person we saw in the tribe is a precious young girl.  She couldn’t have been over 6 years of age, she was beautiful.  As we walked in their camp, it was evident that they had learned how to make a few dollars off of tourism.  The young girls and old alike made scarfs.  Each scarf would take them 3 days to make by hand on a loom, right there where they sold them.  There were hundreds of scarfs several designs and dozens of color combinations.  It was an incredible experience.  One of the elders of the  Long Neck Tribe pulled out a hand made guitar and sang for us.  Nat then asked if he could play it and she gladly handed the guitar to him.  It was fantastic.  Wonderful and gentle people, we fell in love with them and an experience I will never forget.  You have to visit the Long Neck Tribe in Chiang Rai it was priceless.

Once we left there, we decided to get some Pad Thai and giant river fish at a local restaurant, Tawan Rimkhong before catching a boat to go up the Mekong River to The Golden Triangle.  The Golden Triangle is where Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos come together.  The river is very wide and cold with a swift current.  Opium is a problem throughout this region.  We decided to stop at Laos, which is in China, to do some shopping.  It was a bit strange stepping onto Chinese soil, but the shopping in a small outdoor market was great.  We didn’t stay more than an hour and decided to be on our way.  The ‘all feet in’ picture is in Laos.  We headed back to shore and then stopped to check out the House of Opium Museum.  The history, of the plant, how it was originally used for medication, then into the black market was very interesting.  The pipes and measuring tools were handmade and sometimes crude.  It was a great history lesson.  We then visited Wat Chedi Luang Temple where some of the largest Teak trees are.  The grounds are under renovation but a beautiful place to visit.  We headed back into town to have dinner at where live instrumental performances and dancers take place outdoors on a small stage.  It was very nice.  We had to go back to the night market, to more shopping,  For those of you wondering, we can’t find any bugs for Susan to try in any of the markets, apparently it’s not the right time of year, go figure!!