Actually, I planned to visit one of those real villages, but the journey was like an hour or more away from our hotel, so we couldn’t make it. We had to get back in time to visit a few places at night, thus we could only have a brief visit at the tree tribe village near Mae Sa Elephant Camp. It’s not a real village, but something like a cultural village where a few tribes were gathered here for tourism.
I would say the living condition is not really good, but it should be better than the villages in the mountain area. You can forget about seeing the tree tribe villages wearing any Swiss Army watches, a tour to their houses showed how simple their lives are.
You can get some handicrafts here, but I’m not sure if they are pricey as comparing to other places. I only bought a few items, and to me, they were rather cheap.
Most tourists are here to see the long neck Karen Pedaung tribe, where the girls wear brass rings on their necks, wrists, below the knees and ankles. It’s their tradition to avoid being beaten by tigers, but I think the custom is carried out just for tourists these days.
Here’s a photo of how the brass ring is put on…
I wonder if the girls do so voluntarily, but somehow, I don’t think this little girl is happy with cameras flashing at her.
If you are interested to know more about Chiangmai tree tirbes, check out the link.