Everyone is excited to talk with me and share stories about their tribe and its culture. Over the course of this meeting, I make 14 portraits and hear stories from each and every one of the ladies. This is quite a shock, as I had expected from my previous visit to find perhaps 50 ladies in total as we traverse the villages. However, that number would end up being over 100.
About half way through this second trip, I meet Loo Phoe in the hilltop village of Kon Chaung. She and two of her friends are sitting in the shade under her house chewing betel nuts when we arrive. As the conversation unfolds, we learn that Loo Phoe is 101 years old. The women we have been interviewing have been old, especially considering the scarcity of medical care and clean water in the area. However, Loo Phoe says she is the oldest living tattooed woman of the Lai Tu people.