Venturing into the wilds of the Chin State in Western Myanmar to meet tribes of face-tattooed ladies is a sublime adventure after the relative normality of Bagan. The temperature dropped dramatically as we jostled with the bumpy roads through the dark, mystical pine forests to our base overlooking Mount Victoria. I arrived to the wooden lodge stilted down the steep hillside and took a moment to breath in the crisp, cold air. After a six-hour journey, watching the mist curl around the dense mountainous forest was hypnotising but my bed was calling me. Thankfully, the hotel gifted us with thick blankets and hot water bottles as the temperature was strangely colder inside than out. Morning was a new day bringing sunshine and warmth, we were heading to Kantharyone Village. To reach the heart of the settlement, we meandered down the hill and, in true spirit of the mountains, the heavens opened. After passing a new church under construction and the old dilapidated place of worship, I entered a large wooden shack on short stilts owned by Daw Hmumana, an 80 year old woman from the Ngrah tribe, immediately recognisable by her facial tattoos. The custom of facial inking was to make their desirable girls look ugly warding off Burmese Kings snatching them for a life in their harem. Distinct tribal markings were considered by fathers a great protection mechanism for their daughters but the tradition was outlawed in the 1960’s by the Burmese government hence the old ladies are the only ones to tell you the tale. Historically, the Chin State has been discriminated against politically, socially and economically by the government and has remained isolated from the other states of Myanmar. For this reason, electricity only came to the region one year ago and this village had only been connected for 5 months. Having seen many photos of the wild tribes of the Chin State, I knew visually what to expect. In my head, I wondered if we would be intruding, would they be friendly or nervous of our presence? Quite the opposite, the dark room was filled with villagers glued to the TV not giving us a second glance. Families huddled up together on the floor, a young woman fed her baby, kids played quietly together and one girl with green nail varnish matching her dress gave us a huge beaming smile. Daw Hmumana did not speak Myanmar language so we conversed through a local guide in their tribal speak. She met her husband at 18 after having her face tattooed with their intricate tribal pattern. Hmumana has 4 sons and 2 daughters but her husband sadly passed away last year. It is customary for women of the tribes to play the flute by blowing the tune with their nose on the death of their loved one, quite an unusual performance. Hmumana was a compact lady, she sat cross-legged and hunched over. She soon straightened up with a proud sparkle in her eyes as she recounted how her son is the Preacher at the village Christian Church. Her benevolent interest was heart-warming as she asked about my faith and was delighted to discover I was Christian. I didn’t divulge that I was non-practising, she seemed too happy at this news. Animism was the original religion of faraway Chin Tribes but were converted by Christian missionaries in the late 1800’s when Britain colonised Myanmar. Christianity is now the predominant religion across the Chin State but they remain a minority in Buddhist Burma. There was no stopping Hmumana’s curiosity about ‘my world’ as she asked my nationality. She nodded knowingly as United Kingdom was a country she had seen on her television. As the noise of the rain bucketed down and the tribal villagers still entranced by their show blaring out the box, Hmumana’s final question was whether I have paddy fields in my country. When I shook my head, she looked rather bemused and asked how we get our rice. For generations, these remote indigenous tribes have been closed to the outside world until missionaries, electricity and TV came into their lives. How long can they remain the wild tribes of the Chin State untouched by the modern world?