We headed to Htilominlo Pagoda a buddhist temple. There was the temple and around it were stalls selling various items including hand-woven longyis, paintings, Buddha statues, and T-shirts. It was in the temple that we encountered the Ring Neck women. The two women were sitting on the ground, one was weaving and the other was rolling balls of thread. Both had elongated necks supported with rings.
Alma who was in our group had been busy getting the story on the women by the time I arrived. She told me that the owner of the shop was the son of one of the women and the other woman was his aunt. The guide explained that not all women did this, women were chosen for it and it was considered a great honor.
Burma borders on Thailand and the tribes these women came from spans the borders between the countries.
I wondered how this could not hurt. I had braces and that hurt. What were the long-term effects? Was this like the women in China binding their feet? At any rate, the woven products they were making were beautiful.
The pagoda was stunning and filled with a lot of Buddha statues with many people making offerings.
Wow. What a really good blog about the trip. You images are good and the text content works well. Thanks for giving us a tangible keepsake about the trip we were on with y’all….
Yes, Jim. Thanks for the summaries of the various “ports”. Great history of all that we saw. ( and thanks for being the ship’s IT guru!!)
Beautiful photos! I feel like I’m back there.