Trekking in Chiang Mai
In the past two days, Jim and I did what everyone does in Chiang Mai– go on a trek and take Thai cooking classes. I decided to break this into 2 posts since they will be long.
So. The trek. First we get on a little truck with a guy from Quebec, a Japanese dude, and a Slovakian family. Our guide was a hyper Thai guy named “Boom.” First we stopped at a market to buy lots of water and also flashlights. Not sure why we were supposed to get them but we did.
Then we took another one of those crazy long windy rides up a mountain (sort of) that makes me feel like I’m gonna ralph. Then we stop for out elephant ride.
The view from our elephant.
I hated every single second of it. Those poor elephants gave ride after ride and they were NOT happy. The drivers sat on the elephants’ heads and when they didn’t go, they pinched their ears and once in a while, hit them with a stick that had a hook at the end. Oh man, that was awful, these poor elephants are like slaves. Later someone said they have really thick skin, so I supposed it didn’t hurt so much. The other terrible part was that the elephant would shoot dirt or snot on us whenever he wanted. One time he lifted his truck and shot tons of dirt right into the driver’s face. It was terrible and uncomfortable. Ugh. And I swear they must have made the steepest, rockiest path for them ever. The whole time I thought our elephant was going to roar and go up on his hind legs and throw us off.
Then we went to lunch and then drove again and started walking. The walk was nice, we walked on thin little paths next to water and past a cow field. The guide stopped sometimes to tell us about plants. There was one that if you touched it, it closed, sort of like a venus flytrap. We also saw a pineapple tree, fig tree, rubber tree, papaya tree and more. That was neat. The whole forest was practically bamboo trees, which was really neat to see. They even used bamboo to fuel the campfire later.
Finally we got to a waterfall and some people swam in it. That was nice.
Then, the last half hour of the walk was TOTALLY UPHILL. And I mean, steep uphill. I was not happy, since the lady at the hotel told me it wasn’t uphill and that it was easy. We got to the camp, which was supposed to be a native “hill tribe,” but you could tell they did some of it for tourists. They were called “Karen” people. There were mangy dogs, pigs, and chickens and roosters everywhere. I mean, EVERYWHERE. Jim and I were pretty annoyed that they didn’t even mention to us that there would be so many chickens that they walked under our table as we ate. It seemed like NO one else cared though. This chicken tried to roost in a basket of bracelets that the hill people were selling.
For some reason, it was hard to appreciate the fact that we we pretty high up in the mountains and they these people did live up there. Maybe it was because we were dirty and tired. Our guide and a village woman made up dinner and it was very good.
Part of the village. Ghet-to
The sleeping arrangements were thin mats on a raised bamboo floor. It was extremely uncomfortable. If I laid on my back, it hurt my tailbone. If I laid on my side, it hurt my hip bones. You had to find a way to balance half on your back and side so you could rest on your butt cheek, where it is padded more.
Me not happy with the “bed.” That’s a mosquito net overhead.
Soon it was pitch dark outside and the stars were so bright. I had to pee so I brought the flashlight and Jim came for protection as we walked down the hill to the nasty squat toilets. We flashed the light in and found a gigantic spider hanging out in BOTH. So I decided maybe I could hold it. This turned out to be a bad idea later.
So we went to bed and I swear I didn’t sleep ALL night. It got cold. I tossed and turned and I noticed Jim getting up several hours into the night. I asked where he was going and he said to the bathroom. I was so thankful because by then I was about to burst.
So we crept down the hill again, quiet except for the animals and…. well, maybe I shouldn’t go into details since it is about peeing and you may not want to hear that. Let’s just say I sullied the land of the hill tribe. You know, it must be nice to be a guy in times like that since it is so easy for them.
So FINALLY morning came and we mad a good breakfast of pancakes with bananas and sweet milk. We started to trek back and it was STILL UPHILL! Can you believe it? I was about dying. We walked and walked and walked and got to another waterfall, ate lunch, and then drove to a place where we went on bamboos rafts. I am so sorry we didn’t get any photos since it was my favorite part. The rafts were very very long pices of bamboo tied together. When you sit on it, the water is just about level with the raft so your feet and butt get wet. It was so nice outside and the water was awesome. Very peaceful.
Finally after that we drove back to the hotel (Libra Guesthouse) and took a MUCH needed shower. I was covered with day-old and new sweat, sunblock and DEET. However, we weren’t too happy to find the room was full of mosquitos, but they gave us this awesome contraption that was shaped like a small tennis racket that you swing around and it zaps bugs. We had a great time with it and killed like a dozen. So that was the trek. All-in-all, I hated it. I hated how difficult and long the walk was, I hated the chickens, I hated that we went so fas that it was hard to appreciate the scenery.
The End.
Tags: Thailand
Kelly
I’m really surprised that you didn’t enjoy the trek. Did you take the 2 day or the 3 day? I guess it depends on the guide, because where you go and what you do depends on the relationship the guide has to each of the villages. I went with “Pumpkin” on a day trek and we stayed at a Lahu village and a Lisou village and I was so comfortable on the bamboo platforms and mats. We also had loads and loads of wool blankets to keep us toasty and warm. But I know what you mean when you complain about the traveling uphill. Man when they say trekking, they really aren’t kidding.
I meant to say, I went on a 3 day trek rather than a day trek 🙂 and the guide was “Pumpkin” also from Libra House.
It was the 2-day. I didn’t even want to go from the start but the lady at Libra house made it sound so easy…