The boat operators control tourist access to Huay Puu Kaeng, a settlement of thatch-roofed, bamboo shacks along the Pai River. Visitors pay for the boat ride here. It is not comfortable wearing these coils, even while sleeping. With her daughter's fee added in, the family can live in some comfort. Our lives are better here.
Most girls begin to wear their first coils, weighing as much as three kg, at age five.
More rings are later added. We want food, clothes and other necessities. Some girls choose not to follow the tradition. I prefer to be normal. Unlike some of her friends, Lu Si has no financial pressure on her because her mother and an elder sister are the family bread winners as long-necked women.