A little something I forgot to mention

Posted by Brian

Posted on August 11, 2007

With all that was going on there are a few things that I never posted that I'd like to add. I'll start with the White Karin tribe who we stayed with trekking.

These guys came originally from Burma and settled in the mountains in North Thailand. They used to grow opium and marijuana but the police came and told them to stop it. So now there are rice fields everywhere. Most of their huts don't have electricity but the government had given them some solar panels for the villages which makes life a little easier.

The people go to school at around 12 years of age I think, both boys and girls. They are thought in their own schools, where they learn Thai and English, more too I'd imagine but thats all I was told about.

Girls usually marry then by 19 and guys by 25. I don't know what happens after that. One of our guides had been asked twice but said no.... playa. If your younger sisters marries before her older brother, she has to make him a tshirt to say sorry. Also, if you sleep with a girl before marraige you have to go to everybody in the village and apologise and plow their fields for them, when I think they stand around and throw abuse at you or mock you or something. Not really sure about that either

The thing that surprised me most about the tribe was that about half of them are Catholic. I wasn't expecting to see our guide with rosary beads around his neck! The other half then are Budhist. I assume the Catholic Church was introduced to them by the French but I don't know.

These people are extremely self sufficient and live off the land very well. They get money then from tourists coming through and buying some of their handicrafts. They also supplied us with beer and water which again we paid for but it was pittance. Some of their crafts were amazing. I'm sure they have other sources of income too though. For example our guides were obviously getting paid to bring us trekking.