LONG NECK KAREN- Thailand's forgotten tribe

Most people know of the Karen people from television and magazine documentaries. Have you ever seen a long neck Karen woman?? The Karen are often referred to as the " long neck " or "giraffe " tribes. It is only the women who wear the brass rings. This tribe serves as a tourist attraction for visitors around the globe. They are refugees that fled from Burma in the late 80's and 90's. According to our tour guide, there are seven different hill tribes in Thailand; Karen, Lahu, Hmong, Lisu, Akha and Mien. Today we are visiting the Karen Hill Tribe. They usually occupy lowland areas, engaging in agriculture and planting rice. Most of the Karen women are skilled weavers. In this village where I visited --- there were only 10 families here.

The Karen wear woven v-neck tunics of various natural colors and turbans. Unmarried women wear distinctive long white v-neck tunics.

A wonderful weekend in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, after Bangkok. After rediscovering Chiang Mai in my previous visits to Thailand ... Many tourists have already discovered Chiang Mai, and many of them come back several times as there is always more to see and do in Thailand's " Rose of the North ".  I prefer to always stay longer in Chiang Mai rather than Bangkok. Things are cheaper there, the people are friendlier, the pace of life is less hectic than Bangkok and there are a lot of photo opportunities in Chiang Mai.... and lastly.... the traffic situation in Chiang Mai is a hundred times better than Bangkok.

Chiang Mai is a very walkable city for those willing and able. But there are many transportation options as well. Public transportations include tuk tuks and taxis. Tuk tuks are very noisy, and the passengers are breathing exhaust fumes from the tuk tuk itself and the traffic the whole time... These tuk tuks are fun for short trips around Chiang Mai. Their taxis are also cute. They look like little trucks and the passenger sits at the back. The tuk tuk and taxis do not have meters, therefore you should agree on the amount to be paid beforehand. A typical tuk tuk ride is about 60 Baht for in town transportation, and the taxis charge around 120 Baht.

Among the many attractions in Chiang Mai, one can't ignore the decorative temples that adorn the city. There are 350 temples in Chiang Mai, some of them are as old as the city. I enjoy visiting many  temples every time I am in Chiang Mai. Even though there are many similarities, each one of them is unique in many ways.

Flight of the Gibbon - my latest adventure

The Flight of the Gibbon is a unique zip-line adventure through a pristine, 1500 year old rainforest in MAE KOMPONG... a 1 1/2 hour away from Chiang Mai. There are 18 special viewing platforms,  3 skybridges and 3 vertical drop stations ( which they call rappel drops ) that connect over 2 kilometers of zip-lines that takes you through different layers of the rainforest. The adventure is around 2 hours up on the treetops, lunch and a one-hour river or waterfall trek. 

The participants wear a secured full-body harness, and are suspended from a steel cable strung between the trees. The participants are then clipped onto the cable with double carabiners. The trees  are absolutely magnificent and even high in the canopy many of the trees are sufficiently large that 2 people could not hug the trunk and touch hands. Many of these giant trees are over 100 feet high and standing on the platform in the canopy was like being perched on the window ledge of a very tall building.