Mrauk U is the city on my wish list for a long time. In December 2017, I decided to join a tour group to visit Sittwe and Mrauk U. Of course, the tour leader took us to visit various historic sites in Mrauk U, but the highlight of this trip is to visit Chin village, to see women who have tattoo on their face.
We took a boat from Mruak U along Lemro river, it took us almost 3 hours before we arrived the Chin Village. Along the way, we could see way of life of local people. There were some vegetable farms on the banks, and certainly fishery village. We saw some boats loading with bamboo and firewood to sell at the market. We saw people washing clothes and taking bath in the river. I tried to look for people carrying metal water containers in gourd (butee) shape, which seem to be the symbol of Mrauk U. I could see some of them but they were too far from our boat. Even my telephoto lens could not catch a good picture of them.
When we arrived at the Chin Village, a whole coconut was served as a welcome drink. Then we needed to use the toilet and found that there was no suitable toilet at the local restaurant. Men could go to plantation to “water” but for women, we had no choice. We had to walk along the muddy river bank to use a very small, temporary open-air toilet made of canvas, with no lock. I did not take picture of the toilet because I had no hand available, one hand grabbed the canvas, the other hand grabbed my trousers.

After a picnic lunch, we proceeded to the village. I was very excited to see tattooed women and their woven products. I wish to buy colorful scarfs, longyi and shoulder bags as I have seen in tourist guide books.
The first Chin women who came to welcome us brought bananas in her hands and gave us one fruit each. She told us to eat bananas and drink water, and take a rest in her house. How nice! Before I could finish eating my banana, she brought many handmade bags and scarfs to show us and asked us to buy. Though I intended to buy local products, her price was far too expensive, so I did not buy anything from her. She seemed very disappointed. I wanted to go further into the village to see more shops so I moved on.

We passed a small old bamboo house that accommodated 12-13 children but we did not see any adult. The children’s clothes are dirty and they look malnutrition. We brought some snacks from the boat port so we gave to them. They were very happy to get free gift. Unfortunately, some of them did not even know how to open a plastic bag or candy, so we had to open the snack bags and candy for them. They ate up very quickly and scattered empty plastic bags around. I looked for a trash bin but did not see any. It made me feel bad that we made the virgin place filthy with gifts from our civilized world. I brought some pencils and wanted to give to the children but the local guide told me not to do so because these children do not know how to write. It made me feel sad.

We continued exploring the village and met tattooed women. Even though I have desired to see them in person, when I actually met them, I was not keen to take photo with them. I feel that we were disturbing their way of life. They have to welcome us and take photo with tourists in order to get money. Something at the back of my head was telling me that “This is not a zoo”. I took only one photo with a tattooed lady as evidence that I really visited this village. Although our guide said that we should not give money to these women, some of us give small money to them as a tip. When I came back from the trip, I asked myself “How can they use the money?” Their village is very far from market or town, or civilization.

Some young Chin women came to look at us, as if they have never seen tourists. When they come closer, we notice that 2-3 of them are pregnant. These young mother were shy when we asked about their age, which was only 14-15. Some of them carried a crying baby in their hands. The only gifts we could give them were candies. It was my stupid to bring razors to give to villagers as I thought they will like them. However, we could meet only a few men. Most people we met were women. When I gave a razor to a woman and told her to keep it for her husband, she handed it to her baby who immediately put it in his mouth. We had to explain to her that this tool is dangerous and she should not give it to children. I realized it was my fault, I should not bring it.

We walked into the village until the last house. Before we turned back, a small thin tattooed woman grabbed my arm and asked in Chin language which I guessed it means

“Do you bring any medicine?”

My heart sank. How come nobody told me what they really want? I felt bad that I did not try hard enough to get information about the villagers before we came to visit them. We should bring what they really need. I asked the woman what medicine she wanted. She said she wanted simple medicine such as pain or fever relieve, balm, or inhaler. She looked sad when I told her that I did not bring any. I was sorry. Until now, I can still remember her sad eyes.

On the way back from the village to our boat, I noticed that plastic bags and candy covers were scattered around along the path. These litter will not be degradable for years. How come I never think about this before? It was me who destroyed the clean environment of the village. It’s not the villagers’ fault at all.