Visiting Hill-Tribes in South East Asia

While in South East Asia, many people want to visit ethnic minority hill-tribe villages. This is understandable as I think many travelers want a taste of the exotic and the hint of adventure that visiting remote villages can have. On the other hand, if you aren’t careful about how you choose your tour you could end up like the thousands of people who end up jaded by the experience, both tourists and villagers alike.

One of the most important things is to choose a tour group that is reputable and ethical. Any sort of contact with tourists changes a village, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Tribes are allowed to develop and change, just like our societies do. This also means some people may have romantic notions of people living in huts and wearing traditional outfits all the time, the reality is, like the many other groups of people, jeans and t-shirts are more comfortable, and easier to acquire.

There’s good development and bad development. Some tour groups basically just dump a busload of tourists into a village. The village gets no money from these tours, so they basically have to beg or sell junk to the tourists who come. You know you’re on a tour like this if you come in on a bus and then have a thousand people try and sell you trinkets. There are a few companies, especially in Laos, where the actual tribes either run the village visits or get money or community development assistance. These are probably the most “authentic” experiences you can have, though no experience is really going to be authentic on a tour group. That’s just how it is, but not everything can be “authentic” anyways. What does that word even mean?

Tourism dollars can be a great help to tribes, but can also be exploitative. Take for example, the case of the Long-Necked Karen women in northern Thailand. Historically speaking, these tribes did not exist in Thailand. They’re actually refugees from Burma who basically live in a village built solely for tourism purposes. They are not considered Thai citizens and have few real options to leave. If they don’t wear the neck rings, they don’t get money. Their village is basically a human zoo for people who’re curious about them. There’s nothing wrong with this curiousity, but people should know the situation. If you really want to see them, go to Myanmar. More details about this group can be read about it here and all over the internet.

Before you trek or board a tour bus, try and make an effort to learn a bit about the culture you want to visit. There’s excellent museums in Chiang Rai, Thailand and in Luang Prabang, Laos. At least that way, authentic or not, you did more than just snap a photo at someone.