Chiang Mai, Thailand (dpa) – For some of us, the worst part of playing
tourist is the uncomfortable feeling of being a cultural intruder, camera in
hand, paying hard cash for the privilege to stick your nose into other
people’s private lives.
In northern Thailand, offering tourists a glimpse of the quaint, certainly
picturesque and supposedly “dignified” lifestyles of one hilltribe people of
a dozen ethnic minorities has been a booming industry for decades.
The commercial exploitation of these generally impoverished, marginalized
cultures has drawn criticism from anthropologists, academics and even a few
tourists.
To allay the criticisms, and offer a new brand of “feel-good” hilltribe
tourism, a trend has recently emerged in and around Chiang Mai of offering
“home-stay” tours which at least assure that more of the monetary benefits
of foreign nosiness go to the hilltribes.
The first such home-stay tour was launched by the East-West Siam Company, a
joint venture between French and Thai partners, about six years ago in a
village just 50 kilometres north of Chiang Mai.
Lisu Lodge, a six-room construction which borders the Lisu village of Ton
Lung, is situated in a lush mountain valley about an hour’s drive from
Chiang Mai.
“The hilltribes of northern Thailand have been used as a tourist resource
for over two decades,” said John Davies, a long time Chiang Mai resident and
part owner of the lodge.
“During that period, we feel that the hilltribes have gained little from
tourism dollar and the experience of being watched is eroding their
self-esteem,” he said
In an effort to spread the tourism dollars a bit more equitably, Lisu Lodge
tries to provide as many money-making opportunities to the neighbouring Lisu
village as possible, and in the process offers visitors an unusual
opportunity to interact on a comfortable level with a hilltribe.
The lodge, for example, was built of land leased from the Lisu village and
most of the staff are Lisu, an ethnic group of Tibetan origin who number
about 58,000 in northern Thailand.
Most of the Lisu at Ton Lung village, settled about 40 years ago, are now
Thai nationals who have abandoned their traditional migratory, opium-growing
lifestyle. Many of them travel to nearby Chiang Mai for work.
“Luckily the Lisu are unique among the hilltribes, in that they haven’t
dropped their culture,” said Lisu Lodge manager Kai Geow, the lodge’s only
Thai staff.
“When they come back home for a celebration or a holiday they go back to
their old ways, and put on their old traditional clothes,” said Kai.
The lodge has managed to blend in with the village by constantly
communicating with Lisu population to find ways of bringing more benefits to
the people, without offending their sensibilities.
“We recently made a survey of what they wanted and one of the responses was
to stop tourists from giving the children candy,” said Kai. “They said their
children weren’t animals at a zoo, that had to be fed.”
In an effort to generate new income, the lodge encourages the Lisu to make
traditional handicrafts to sell to tourists such as traditional musical
instruments, cross bows and colourful shawls.
Lisu Lodge also offers day trips to the neighbouring hills and rivers, some
on elephant back, and a three-day trek back and forth to a new venue called
the Lahu Outpost, 20 kilometres away at a Lahu hilltribe.
With only six clean but simple rooms, at 1,900 baht (50 dollars) per person
per day, the size of the operation assures that there is the minimal
cultural impact on the Lisu village, which like it or not, remains the chief
tourist attraction.
The Lisu Lodge concept has spawned similar “home stay” tours in the North,
said Chalermsak Suranant, assistant director of the Chiang Mai office of the
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
For instance, in neighbouring Mae Hong Son Province the ethnic Karens of
Mueng Sam Mok village have this year opened their simple homes to visiting
tourists in search of a genuine taste of hilltribe living.
Although accommodation is considerably more rustic than what’s offered at
Lisu Lodge, the price is also more down to earth at a modest 150 baht (4.00
dollars) per person per night.
Along the same track of the attempting to offer tourists deeper insights
into local cultures and lifestyles, the Forestry Department’s Lamphang
Elephant Roundup camp now offers simple accommodation to those who wish to
get a better idea of the workday lives of mahouts, or elephant trainers.
“The general concept behind home-stay is to spread the benefits of tourism
to the local community, so this is good,” said TAT’s Chalermsak. “And it is
safe because the communities involved feel more responsible for the
tourists.”
