An Akha woman stood in a street corner of Muang Sing

Akha woman standing in a street corner — Shot in the town of Muang Sing, Laos

An Akha woman was standing on the side of the road of Muang Sing. She was looking somewhere in the distance and didn't give me a second glance. She doesn't seem to be interested in the camera at all. There are many ethnic minorities living near Muang Sing. And some of them come to Muang Sing, the biggest town around, to do small business with tourists. This woman might be one of them.

People who are doing business with tourists do not like to have their photos taken. Nevertheless, they will approach me with a whispered offer of business.

I've got something good for you, would you like to buy it?

They would whisper and ask me if I wanted to buy some opium. It's not unusual to see marijuana for sale in Southeast Asian countries. But opium is rare. Of course, opium is illegal in Laos, too. But some ethnic minorities seem to grow it secretly in their villages, and they come to the town with the harvested opium and try to sell it to the tourists.

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