Picture of a Padaung Woman of the Karen People of Myanmar wearing brass coils around her neck as she sews by the window light.

In this photo an elder Padaung woman wears the traditional neck coils. The neck rings worn by the Padaung tribe of the Karen People of Myanmar are not really rings at all, but coils. Usually there are two coils. There is generally a tribal elder, a man, in each village that is skilled in the placement and removal of the coils. These coils can weigh up to 35 pounds and create the illusion of a long neck by pushing down on the collar bones and ribs. Contrary to popular believe there is little physical danger after removal of the coils, though the neck muscles will generally need a couple of weeks to bring their strength back up to normal. The women also wear coils around their wrists, knees and ankles.

Travel And Adventure Photography in Burma

Burma, or Myanmar, is one of the most exciting destinations for any travel photographer. Even today it seems as though there are more ox carts on the road than cars. Everywhere one turns there is something interesting and beautiful to photograph, from colorful tribal members in traditional clothing to men plowing the rice fields behind water buffalo. Highlights include the thousands of ancient temples in Bagan, to the unique fishing nets used on the Irrawaddy river.

Spending Time With The Karen People of Burma

On this trip we spent almost two weeks with various tribes of the Karen people. Almost every village we visited had just experienced a death from something that would not have been fatal here in the United States. Some of the tribes we visited had not seen westerners before and the entire populations of the villages would gather round us to ask questions through their our guides. A common question for me was what I ate. I am six feet two inches tall, and they all wanted to feed their children the right thing to have them grow up tall. It was an incredible adventure and will stay with me all my years.