A Longneck Karen tribe grandmother washed her long hair in the river with a little girl.

The old woman, wearing dozens of traditional gold-coloured brass rings around her neck, went to the stream to take a bath with the help of her granddaughter in Chiang Rai province.

Footage shows the tribeswoman scrubbing her hair and body with stone and soap while the youngster assisted her with hard-to-reach areas in her back.

She carefully lathered body wash onto the metals around her neck and went home to dress up in a white blouse and purple skirt at home.

She meticulously combed her long black hair, which she tied to a ponytail and topped with colourful ribbons and floral headgear.

The Longneck Karen are a subset of the Karen people, an ethnic minority group native to Myanmar who fled into the Thai border to avoid conflict in their homeland.

They believe that long necks signify beauty and wealth, so little girls wear neck rings at a young age, and more are added as they grow up.

But despite driving tourism in the area with their unique way of life, the Thai government does not recognise the Longneck Karen people as citizens and only has limited access to basic services such as education, healthcare, and employment.