Karen long-necks stretch tradition

Women of the Karen ethnic hilltribe in northern Thailand are renowned for their unusually long necks, stretched by multiple layers of neck-rings starting from the age of five.

They are a tourist drawcard, but the tradition may be dying out. Young Karen women can now choose whether they want to have the heavy and uncomfortable wire coils around their necks.

In this video, Karen women talk about the tradition and the tourists who visit them. (Video by Jetjaras Na Ranong)

This video was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 27 October 2014.