Where’s That Music Coming From? Chiang Mai Jungle Trek, Thailand
After cooking up Thai delights, Erika and I were excited to get out of town and see some jungle. We met our flirty tour leaders, Jen and Chew, the night before at a group meeting where they started joking around in broken English and making eyes at the females in the group. The next day after a breakfast of eggs, toast, and some strange sticky sausage we piled into the back of a truck and went a-bouncing up into the hills.
Rice fields and banana trees whizzed by as we wound up the left side of the road. We saw some elephants milling about and, with a wince of the brakes, we pulled over to the side and hopped out.
They raised their trunks up to us, ever the banana-hungry beasts, and we happily fed them, trying to avoid the wet end of their enormous nostrils, blowing banana breath up into our faces and curling back into their mouths.
I think we were all a bit giddy when we got to step up onto their backs. Erika and I couldn’t stop laughing at the touristy-ness of it all. These poor elephants do this all day, it’s hard not to have mixed feelings about their simple lives, taking tourists up into the trees and back. But I can’t deny that it was a lot of fun rocking back and forth on the muddy trails and feeding our elephant banana after banana while her baby followed along beside us.
Then it was into the trees, our own feet carrying us up damp trails. Jen and Chew started throwing seeds and things at the girls and showing off by breaking off leaves and blowing bubbles with the sticky stems, falling litchis and giving them to us. I now have a new love for litchis as a mid-trail snack.
Slipping around on a thin layer of mud and leaves I walked through the jungle trees following my guides and a group of 14 other young, adventurous travelers. I retreated into my thoughts as I walked on through the heat and listened to the insects singing above. It felt good to work my muscles, to sweat, to let the jungle absorb the frenzy still in me after exploring Bangkok streets.
Strange sounds surrounded me. Sometimes I heard far-off rock music coming over a staticky radio but the noise, like some sort of ghost never faded, followed me through the trail. Bugs. Ever present and singing, they sound like a number of things from singing pipes in an old building to table saws, rattles, old broken radios, sprinklers. The crickets back home make for a nice subtle soundtrack. These Thai bugs take center stage. When we got to our bamboo hut we ate some – all of us hesitating at first – and then went for seconds. Turns out grasshoppers are kind of salty and good!
By nightfall we were singing songs around the fire and telling stories. Jen called me a monkey because I have hair on my arms and kept pulling it and giggling. This was some sort of come on, I think. Then Chew said “Do you have a boyfriend? Sometimes it’s good to have two just for fun.” They moved from one girl to the next in the group, trying to wow us with magic tricks and telling us we’re cute. Chew gave his attentions to Erika, ever the blushing beauty, but went home pouting. Such attentive guides!
The next few days were full of waterfalls where Jen and Chew showed us the best places to slide down the rocks and pretended to push the girls in the water. We jumped from little cliffs and dried off in the sun, ending each day with a new curry dish and fresh pineapple.
After days of orchids and rice patties, elephants and flirts, we regretted leaving the jungle but were happy to have a shower again. The group got together for a last drink and our guides said goodbye with hugs and pouts.
We have another day to spend in the North and then it’s back down to Bangkok to meet cousin Joe and head to the beach.
For Erika’s version, check out her blog through the link on the side of this page —>
Tags: elephant, guide, jungle, Thailand, Travel, trek
bonniecaton
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I wish I could dive back into a waterfall right now.
Lets go get some lunch, I’m hungry after all this blog updating we’ve done.
May 24th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Yes, hair pulling is definitely a come on.
OK, here is a real blog reply….I think what you are doing is the definition of a tourist. And that’s OK. You are on tour. But, you are not a casual tourist, watching only from a distance, tasting predigested bits of a three-page fold-out culture that exists only in the pages of national geographic. Riding an elephant is not perhaps as touristy as riding a camel in Arabia. Many Thais still use elephants in their daily lives as I understand it. Is that true? You may see water buffaloes still at work in other parts of Asia too. It is authentic. Maybe not in high-rise Bangkok but authentic none the less. And, of course, you wear better clothes – not the standard khaki uniform. 🙂 Thank you for that!
But maybe you are too concerned about NOT being a stereotypical tourist. Let it go. We know you. We know you don’t live there and yet we know that you are also respectful while looking for a fun adventure. I mean, you know the names of your guides, are totally authentic with them, and are willing to ride in the back of their truck.
I wish I was with you – I would be happy to follow along on any adventure/tour you and Erika cook up.
Love you – miss you,
-momma
May 24th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
You’re right, sometimes it feels good to let go and be a tourist. It’s impossible to compare this experience to the one I had in South America but it does feel less authentic, in a way. That doesn’t mean that I’m not enjoying myself, though.
I know that elephants are used in logging and on an orchid farm around Chiang Mai, so yes, they still take part in the Thai daily life.
Miss you back, momma!