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There is a place in northern Thailand where foreigners like to visit. They are drawn by the exotic and interesting tribes that inhabit the hills near the northern borders of Thailand. The Karen tribe is one that is originally from Myanmar, but also has a few villages in Thailand. This is a story about the chain of patron-client relationships between the foreign tourists and the Karen of Thailand. The foreign tourist industry in Thailand has been highly developed for many years, and the Chiang Mai area is no exception. In fact, a standard visit to Thailand generally includes a few days in Bangkok followed by a trip to a beach in the south and Chiang Mai in the north. Most foreign visitors to Chiang Mai embark on a standard Jungle Trek that will allow them to see the backwoods of the dynamic country of Thailand. This makes for a rather loyal group of patrons who show daily and pay about $20 per day for various treks in the woods. Their immediate client is one of many tour guide companies, for instance Johnnie Boy Treks. Despite the name Johnnie Boy is not run by a foreigner, but by a rather wise Chiang Mai resident with a knack for business. Judging from the facilities at the Johnnie Boy Guest House the owner most likely takes about half of the income for himself. This owner is the patron to a group of former tribespeople, for instance, Mai. Mai grew up in a Karen village and came to the city when he heard about the opportunity of being a tour guide for rich foreign tourists. Mai is the real worker in this relationship of patrons and clients. He is the one who has learned not only traditional Karen language and Thai but also English, the language of the Thai foreign tourist industry, and the languages of the neighboring tribes. Of course Mai makes more money than his parents did, but he is not as well off as his immediate patron, Johnnie Boy. Furthermore, he is definitely not as affluent as the foreign tourists that he serves. He often complains about the three and four day tours that he has to lead into the hills. He would rather have two-day tours with more time in the city, but "Johnny is the boss." Mai has a number of contacts in the villages that he visits. There are people who help him prepare food for his tired trekkers. There are friends who help carry equipment for one or two days. These go-betweens stay in the villages with their families and probably don't receive any monetary reward for their services. They get an occasional Coca Cola or bottle of cooking oil from the city. They have to work in the fields like the other villagers, but they seem to be a little bit happier as clients of Mai. Finally, at the bottom of the chain of clients are the villagers. They are not directly connected with the tourist industry in any way, so they receive no benefit whatsoever. However, they are influenced by the industry whether they like it or not. Many of the children in the villages have learned to speak some English and even sing songs in many languages. The villagers observe the odd behaviors of the foreigners and have taken up the trade of selling drugs and Cokes to keep the visitors happy. At no point in this chain of relationships is there any sign of intentional harm or deceit. The tourists at the top of the list are happy with the things that they can see or do in Thailand for very little money. Johnnie Boy and Mai each get a little of this money although Mai's share is the significantly smaller. The go-betweens and villages also play a part too. In general everyone is happy with the set of relationships that has developed over the years to satisfy the growing number of tourists. This story is yet another example of the complexity of patron-client relationships in modern Thailand. Asian people are known for their emphasis on long-term relationship. In Southeast Asia, these relationships are often between people of different social levels, for instance a city dweller and a villager. Many would argue that this inequality leads to an exploitative relationship, but as long as both sides are satisfied with the outcome, the patron-client relationships continue and even grow. |