boat trip on Lake Inle

There are some Padaung (long necked women, also known as Red Karens or Kayan Lahwi) tribes living near Lake Inle. These women work in a house along the lake. "Red Karen" also live in Thailand and it used to be considered wrong to visit or photograph the women as it encouraged them to continue what was considered a tradition akin to foot binding. But now, after some of the women have been x-rayed and examined medically, they have established that whilst this practice alters their bodies, it does not cause any physical problems for them. They are also able to remove the coils, if they wish to, without any ongoing problems. And it gives them some economic security through the tourism, so they are pleased to be photographed. And so we did.