Long Neck Karen, Thailand

Recently, I decided to digitize all my old photos. Yes, it is because I wanted to get rid of two huge plastic boxes hidden in the wardrobe for years. There must have been at least 2000 printed photos in over 20 photo albums. The boxes were so heavy when I took them out.

Laboriously, I took every photo out of the photo album and started to throw those boring and blurred photos. It took me nearly 6 hours to sort them out. Then I took another 6 hours to scan all the photos. There must have been at least 500 scans. Then another 2 hours to move them into named folders etc. It was so painful but definitely worth it.

During this clear-out, I found these postcards (By Makmai Art & Photo) and photos I took when I went to Thailand. I don’t even remember I went to visit the Long Neck Karen village and took photos with them.

This opportunity came about as part of our volunteering trip, Operation Rotaract 2000, as part of our cultural exchange. We also visited a few schools around Chiang Rai, North Thailand and donated a lot of items including dental materials. All thanks to money raised by many kind people in Singapore.

To be honest, I don’t remember the history behind this tribe and why they wear the rings. I do know that they said the more rings they wear, the more beautiful they are.

There were also the Aka village and Yao hill tribes.

I think during the trip, we were all involved in teaching the children some of our camping songs and games. We also taught them how to brush their teeth etc. It was a fun trip as we all had to cook our own food using a wood fire.

I think we also went to Laan Tong Village as I have the original itinerary of the show program. I recall we sat on elephant rides. Whilst there, I visited a bamboo-covered toilet where I had to do my business in a huge hole. You can see and smell so badly from the hole. There was no seat and I was hanging onto my life via the walls, trying not to fall into the hole and also not to reveal my bits via the gap of the door. It was truly primitive village life.

In Laan Tong Village set in the hills of Chiang Rai, we went to watch the cultural performances: Thai traditional music, Bai dance, Angel Dance, Peacock dance, Fon-Cheng and Fon-Cheng meed, Wa dance, Myanmar classical dance, Hat dance, Sri-Kot-Ta-Bute dance, Fon Souw Mai and Parade of Ancient Thai’s Buddhist cultural.

Operation Rotaract 2000 was a trip organized by the Rotaract Club of Temasek and Rotaract Club of Nanyang Polytechnic. It was an overseas community service and cultural exchange from 10 to 20 December 1999. It was sponsored by the National Youth Council, Lee Foundation, Rotary Club of Singapore and Rotary Club of Queenstown.