On my last trip to Thailand, the family had the opportunity of visiting the Long Neck Tribe. True to it's name, the Long Neck Tribe is famous for their female villagers who stretch their necks to astounding heights for the sake of beauty My 1st visit to this tribe was about 5 years ago where I got to experience the tribes' daily life. (Harvesting, Cooking meals, Schooling) Till this day, mom would joke about how she gave the tribe woman money to buy food only to be astonished when they stuck the coins on their clothes as decoration instead. You see, they didn't see any need for the money as they already had everything they wanted.And well, even if they had the cash, it wasn't like there was a nearby shopping mall they could go to. What was once a traditional village has now been turned into a rather commercialized place. As we walked closer in, we realized that we entered a village shopping mall. Literally. uncle Ivan bargaining with a kid :) Anyhow, it was still an honor to be able to witness the Long Neck Tribe before they well.. got extinct. Because not all the ladies believe in this tradition anymore, others opt for other ways to portray beauty. As we headed of to leave, a group of kids started following us. Seeing that we were being followed all the way out of the village; right to the steps of the car , I thought the least I could do was give them some candy I returned with Rocky's (feeling like I was the best example of Mother Teresa) There was this boy ,the last person I gave the packet of Rocky too. He looks at me. Looks at Rocky. Looks back at me. Changes his facial expression. And then pushes it away. HOW CAN ANYONE SAY NO TO ROCKY?!?!?! On a more serious note , here is a boy, from a tribe village, who obviously hasn't been out of the village, who is yet to understand the value of money, but is still trained to beg for it. What has the world became of that a 6 year old tribe kid says no to candy and would rather have a coin instead? The trip to the Long Neck Tribe was definitely an eye opening experience. One that will remain in my prayers. Love,
0 lovely comments ✿ Sabrina |