Chiang Mai and beyond
I didn’t have Internet access for a while so this is a bit of a long one.
When we arrived in Thailand we had already planned on getting to the northern side of the country pretty quick. We had booked our over night train tickets but that was about it. During our first two days in Bangkok we talked to several Thai people on the streets and they all urged us to book our trip to Chiang Mai. Turns out it was the weekend of the biggest Buddhist holiday all year. Given that we heard the same story from many people we went against our instinct and made it over to a TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) domestic travel agency. The agent was a younger guy, who (by the big diamond earring) was obviously way into American pop culture. He was very nice and booked out every one of our days in Thailand and showed us a nice little package we could buy. He kept using phrases like, “you wont have to worry about anything”, and “this is your holiday leave it to me”. It was really nice, but out of our price range. Time and time again we told him to much, and he lowered the price. After much debating we decided to book the Chiang Mai bit of the trip, figuring there would be no other way to find a room (Buddhist holiday) and skip the rest. The main point that sold us was a three-day jungle trek that we booked along with a few nights accommodation.
The train ride out of Bangkok was an experience in and of itself. Our seats were great, the sleeper bed was way comfortable, and if we ever needed entertainment we needed only look out the window.
While still in the Bangkok metro area the tracks are lined with communities of people living under homemade steel roofs. Huts and shacks are lined up for miles connecting by vast networks of dirt paths. Families sat gathered together cooking dinner over rusted trashcans. Piles of garbage rotted about as high as some of their shanties. The only thing happy about any of these ghettos was the children playing with homemade whiffle balls, and coconut shells.
In the morning the red sun rose over the beautiful landscape of northern Thailand. Banana and palm trees grow like weeds amidst a jungle of plants I didn’t recognize. Every so often I would see a fire in among the forest and make out a small camp set up, which was obviously someone’s home. Getting off the train and to our room was a relief. We relaxed, and gained our energy for the journey to come.
We didn’t really know what we were in for when we signed up for the Three-day jungle trek. We thought it could be really cool, or really lame, but either way we would get to see some of the jungle and nature of the north.
The first day we set out, 13 trekkers and 3 guides, at 9:00am. We drove to the local market where we picked up any last provisions. The warned us to buy a rain poncho.
Afterwards we drove to a spot for some elephant riding. I halfway expected them to put us on an elephant, take us about a clearing, and ask if we enjoyed the ride. It was so much more. Melissa and I mounted our big grey steed and set off. Our elephant followed trails through thick brush and trees. He scaled slopes and crossed creeks. Not without persuasion though. If you don’t have a banana or piece of sugar cane to give him every other minute he can get a bit cranky.
Whenever a bit of difficult walking would arise he would stop, put is snout in our faces, and make a whine saying, “FEED ME!” We also had a couple free loading babies hitting us up for food too. Conveniently, in thatched roof huts along our safari path, locals sell bags of elephant food for 20 baht. Prices definitely rise when on the backs of large mammals!
We eventually made it to a beautiful clearing looking into the mountains, and sunshine.
Our thirsty elephants drank up and the watering troughs and took us back. Our posse of Europeans and Americans were all pretty amazed at the beautiful elephants and took lots of pictures while smiling and joking with each other.
After our ride we stopped in the last of the town area and had a wonderful Thai lunch. It was all trekking from here on out. About 15 minutes into our walk it began to rain. Then it began to rain much harder. Then it began to pour as if the clouds were trying to wash us off the hillside. Our path soon became a mudslide. I was wearing a pair of Teva style knock off sandals I bought at the night market. They broke of course. As the rain came down, and I trekked up and down mudslides, barefoot as the sun came through the clouds. The rain and sunshine thrown over tropical wilderness made a scene more captivating than I could ever describe. Our rain ponchos were Baht well spent. Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we made to our first waterfall. We were already wet but I think the sweat beat out the rainwater.
For the next 2 nights and days we trekked. We all became friends and our guides showed us good times (and let me borrow a pair of knock off crocks). Each day we had least 2 waterfalls we stopped at to swim, bath, and relax at. I have since decided that the best waterfalls are the ones you can swim. At one fall we came to another group of trekkers was already in the pool. A small group of us scaled our way up the side of the hill to the pool above. It was really nice and became our VIP area. We slide down rocks and played in the water until we realized little black worm looking things all over us. They seemed to stay in the rocks and latched onto us when we went sliding about. The guys laughed and the girls screamed and we all made our way down picking ourselves clean.
We slept in huts on the out skirts of small mountain villages. We saw the sun move from hillside to hillside weaving its way through the high and low Thai clouds. Our guides prepared our meals using herbs from the surrounding jungle. Potato curry, and fresh stir fried veggies never tasted better.
On the last day we took ride on bamboo rafts down the Wang River. It was a nice way to end a long journey. Along the way we got to see the eco system of the riverbanks, and the people that live along them. Sam (England) and I took turns manning the rear bamboo control poll. It was loads of fun.
We spent our last two days Chiang Mai city strolling about, drinking beers, and eating Thai food of the north. Chiang Mai is infinitely more fun than Bangkok, and all the travelers we talked to seem to agree. It’s the second largest city in Thailand, but it seems that all of the industry and commerce areas are isolated away from the town center. The bars, guesthouses, and night markets are centered around a square canal that flows with the cities spirit. We explored bookstores, patroned street shops, and hung out with our new trekking friends.
We enjoyed Chiang Mai, but when we got on the overnight bus we knew it would only be about 15 short hours until we were beach side! Koh Chang here we come.
Tags: Thailand, Travel
Zach
Leave a Reply