Karen village loses popular tourist draw
A long-necked Karen woman who had long attracted tourists to her hometown, died of unknown causes early yesterday. Mada, 25, passed away peacefully in her sleep.
She left behind two children, a husband and mother. As of press time, doctors had yet to determine the cause of death. According to her mother, Mada was fluent in Thai, English, French, Spanish and Japanese. She was once crowned a beauty queen at a local pageant and had also represented the long-necked Karen at various events. Recently, her family was filmed for a documentary to be aired in Spain. She was a Christian. Siri-orn Rangsiritanont, manager of Mae Hong Son TN Tour Limited Partnership, said she was saddened to hear of Mada's death. "She was very nice and friendly," Siri-orn said, adding that tourism in Mada's village might suffer given that tour operators had normally arranged tours to the village through Mada. There are still a number of long-necked Karens in the northern part of the Thailand and some are paid to continue wearing brass rings around their necks to attract tourists. The Nation Mae Hong Son
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