We had a very entertaining group of ten people that kept things interesting at all times. There were two middle aged brothers from Ireland (Michael & Vincent) and their significant others (Emor & Simone), a young nerdy, but very nice couple from Denmark (Jens & Maria), two young sarcastic and funny friends from Holland (Dennis & Michael), another well traveled man from Holland (Ilco), and myself.
The Irish group were not physically fit for the trek nor were they very outdoorsy people, but they did their best. They didn't complain, but it was obvious the trek was a little difficult for them. The two Dutch friends were in the same boat. For example, Dennis started the hike with a can of Pringles sticking out the top of his backpack, so he quickly earned the nickname Pringles for the rest of the trek. Other nicknames were soon to follow.
Day 1: The World Story flat bed truck came to pick me up from my hotel at about 9:30am. The Irish couples were already in the truck. We got acquainted while we made the rounds to pick up others in our group and stopped by the World Story office to drop off excess baggage.
From the office all ten people plus the two local jungle guides packed into the back of the covered flat bed truck; the guides standing on the open tail gate and holding onto the hard top because we were a full load. We drove about an hour outside of Chiang Mai, but I'm not exactly sure which direction we went. We stopped off at a market along the way to buy any last second supplies.
The first event for the day was elephant riding. We arrived at a small elephant camp and were immediately escorted to a make shift bamboo scaffold to board the back of an elephant in groups of two and three. I buddied up with Ilco, who earned the nickname Calvin Kline for his stylish shirts and slicked back hair, but he turned out to be a very interesting person. We talked about his work with an AIDS awareness project called Dance for Life while the ride started.
There was a guide that sat on the elephant's neck and/or head who steered the elephant by giving voice commands and occasionally using a small metal hook in the elephant's ears if we veered off course. We went around a track through the jungle that took about 30min. It was interesting, but nothing I feel I need to do again any time soon.
On an elephant w/ Ilco from Holland
Next we piled back into the truck and drove a little further into the mountainy jungle. After another 20min we all got out, ate a bit of fried rice for lunch, put on our packs, and started hiking a narrow foot path along the side of a small river. We crossed the river many times using logs and bamboo bridges before coming to a large and powerful waterfall where we took a break to go swimming.
The two Irish girls almost got swept away by the rushing current, and one of our guides had to jump in and grab them as they started to panic. It was not as serious as they made it out to be, but for the rest of the trip we called Simone Miss Floating, an appropriate nickname.
After cooling off in the waterfall and a bit of drama we started walking again along the river and climbing steep hills.
Rice paddy in the hills
About 6:30pm we walked into a Hill Tribe village for the night. (The Hill tribes have made some kind of monetary deal with the touring companies to house the tourists, cook dinner, and sell drinks and small handicrafts to make extra money.)
We put all our gear in a bamboo hut, got cleaned up, and prepared for dinner. While everyone in our group sat around a wooden table waiting for the food, I decided to wander around the village and take some pictures. There were cows feeding under the some of the huts, wild chickens running around, and a few pigs tied up under trees for shade.
After exploring a bit I poked my head into the chef's hut to see what was cooking. He and our guide, Sam the King of the Jungle, invited me in to sit down and talk while they prepared the food and drank some homemade rice liquor that was very similar to Japanese dry sake.
I made good friends with them when I explained I was an English teacher in Japan and started giving them simple language lessons. They also spoke a little Japanese because many Japanese tourist come through, so we communicated in a mix of English and Japanese. Very entertaining and totally baffling to everyone else in the group.
Dinner was some kind of tasty potato stew and other mixed vegetables. After eating everyone sat around with our guides by candle light and did different puzzles and riddles made from toothpicks, but I decided to wander back through the dark village with my flashlite.
I was invited into the hut of a small family where I gave a simple English counting lesson (1 through 10) to their very cute and playful five year old boy. Eventually the boy's father, named Mr. Moo, began playing a homemade harp by the firelight and everyone slowly went off to bed.
Day 2: We woke up about 9am to the natural alarm of roosters and ate a simple breakfast of toast and fruit. We then walked about 30min into the jungle to another waterfall for swimming.
Coolin' off
After swimming and taking a rest, we hiked a bit more and came upon another Hill Tribe Village where we stopped for a modest lunch or ramen noodles and more fresh fruit.
It was extremely hot after lunch, so we took a long break in the village and most people played cards in a hut and took naps. I walked around the village and played chase with some of the little boys. Eventually I was invited into another hut with some older tribesmen and they let me try some very potent homemade whiskey called Habu. It was in a bottle stuffed full of leaves and sticks, but it tasted pretty good.
Hill Tribesman
Eventually we started hiking again up some serious terrain. The Irish contingent were not physically prepared for this, but they did the best they could. We arrived at another hill tribe village for the night, and everyone immediately started drinking cold beer sold by the tribe. This made the Irish very happy and they slowly began to loosen up.
I went off to talk with our guide Mr. Sam while he prepared a green curry for our dinner. After dinner everyone continued drinking, eventually pulling out bottles of Thai whiskey, much to the delight of the Irish. We started a interesting drinking game where the losers had to drink, sing a song, or dance.
The wheels came completely off at this point and the conversation turned political. Not a good idea. One of the Irishmen began defending George Bush while our guide, Mr. Sam, tried desperately to break up the argument before it got too serious. That killed the fun for night and everyone stumbled off to bed.
Day 3: We woke up very slowly and ate some pancakes and fruit before hiking down hill to yet another waterfall for swimming and showering. Then onto our lunch spot next to a paved road for some Pad Thai noodles.
After lunch we got back into the flat bed truck and went to the bamboo raft launching place.
Bamboo Rafts
We broke into groups of three and four and boarded very long and narrow rafts. Using a bamboo pole the Danes and I pushed ourselves down a shallow river and through some very cruisey rapids. Nothing too serious, but a nice way to cool down after a few days hiking in the jungle.
Bamboo Rafting w/ the Danish couple
We then got into the truck again and drove an hour back to Chiang Mai to say goodbye and drop everyone off at their hotels. All in all I would recommend it to anyone looking for an introduction to hiking in Thailand, but I'm sure there are more serious hikes to do around here. Anyway...
Memorable quotes from our guide Mr. Sam:
- "No money no honey."
- "No fun no babies."
- "Thank you big as a mountain!"
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