3 day trek. Where in the world to start. After deciding to sign up for a 2 night 3 day trek into the jungle with a homestay in a hilltop village, a visit to an elephant training center and a white water rafting trip I was none the less excited as could be to start my trip. Seeing as how the people you are with help dictate the type of trip that you are going to have I got a great feeling when I left my hostel that the two people sitting in the back of the pick up truck would be great partners for the next few days. Leaving the hostel for 3 days I was able to leave my bag in a corner of the room and keep my fingers crossed that nothing would happen to it and it would still be sitting there when I got back. I said goodbye to Meow, ___, and her boyfriend Andrew and left the hostel feeling a little bit rusty after my first night drinking in a few weeks but rejuvenated with a ham and cheese toastie before hopping in the back fo the truck. Now I have some hindsight so its not that fair but from the get go I had a good feeling about the people sitting in the back of the truck with me. Mustafa was from Turkey and had been traveling around the world for the last month and a half. Elisa had fairly recently started her travels but had grand aspirations and was planning on doing a medical school internship at a hospital working as a surgeons assistant. Not bad for not even taking a med class yet. I am sure my step brother would be jealous of her (and surely attracted to her) had he been sitting next to me. Anyway, After picking me up from the hostel we rode slightly out of town to pick up the rest of the crew members. Having a hunch that we might be picking up some retired ex pats I was excited to have some peppered travelers along for the ride with us and to hear some of their stories and see what they had to offer and bring to the table. Sure enough after getting slightly lost picking them up (a little nerve racking before heading into the jungle) it was 2 retired Dutch people who had moved to Chiang Mai for their retirement and had two friends visiting them. Jaap and Mika, and Ellen and Albert would turn out to be great company and a great addition to our family for the weekend. We were led by Dui, a small thai man full of positive energy who learned his English working in a hostel and used the words words “uh-huh” and “no problem” as often as one could possibly fit into conversation.
Our first stop we went to was a orchid farm and a butterfly exhibit. The orchids on display and growing were incredible. Hanging from a tree and requiring no soil but excessive water the colors were beautiful and it was a neat place to visit. The butterfly farm was less than stellar but after seeing the butterfly's in Callaway it is hard to compare. After wandering around the area for a bit it became relevant that this was a massive tourist spot. Hundreds of seats around tables and a large buffet in back made it seem like this place could get crowded in an instant. With that being said as we began walking out, no lie about 200 people from multiple vans, trucks, and buses hailed upon the entrance. We had gotten their just in time but hadnt quite left soon enough.
Our stop for lunch was at the beginning of the hike that would take us about 3 hours to later complete. Right from the get go it was superb. We were in the middle of no where, surrounded by green and large plants I had never seen. Our guide quickly began spewing out facts and I don't think that a half mile went by for the rest of our time that he wasnt sharing something neat or interesting with us. Making walking sticks and shade hats with his machete he did a pretty good job or wowing us right from the start.
We had lunch at a small hut by a creek where an older man kept everything tidy for hikers and trekkers coming through and the area had a truly rustic and independent vibe to it that made it a great place to start. Fried rice in bamboo sheets and fresh cocnut for desert started us off right for the day.
After departing our hike took us though fields and fields of rice patties where we learned how they all grew and what it took to harvest them etc etc. The first half of our hike was awe inspiring and seemed to realistic and amazing to actually be true but hence we were in the jungle and it was pretty darn awesome. Hot buggy and moist.
The hiking on the first day was somewhat difficult as it was mainly uphill but wasn't awful by any means. As much as I want to say that it was the most challenging this I have ever done and tested my fortitude and blah blah the fact of the matter is that the 4 dutch people hiked up it with us and they were about 65 years old. Extremely active, but none the less not your typical trekkers. When we finally arrived to where we needed to be it was nearly perfect. no. perfect. Slowly walking into our campsite for the night we were greeted by elephants grazing all around us, a large homemade swimming pool, impromptu cooler bar, endless fields, and a hillside view that words cant do justice. That would be our home for the night and we made no haste in jumping right on the elephants and going for a ride. While getting ready to ride the elephants we met two British guys who would be staying at the elephant camp with us that night too. From london they had great stories and more to share. Sitting on a seat on their back with a “mahout” balancing on their forehead we traversed a major uphill and went all around the facilities with the massive creatures leading the way. Elephants are awesome. I mean sitting on top of one you feel so small its unreal. Their gritty, rough, and tough skin makes leather look like silk and its just a beautiful thing to watch and feel move. After riding the elephants Mustafa and I were anxious to jump into the mane made lake. When I say man made I literally mean a 30 meter by 15 meter hole filled up with river water and slowly circulated by a single small pipe at one end. Hardly the archetype for cleanliness but nonetheless an awesome place to dive into and cool off before taking a cold shower and cleaning up for dinner.
Dinner that night was served by our guide dui and a few of the elephant trainers. They cooked a massive amount of green curry, rice, and mixed vegetables. ^thats the view right at dusk from the top of our hut that night.
After dinner we were able to all go and sit and relax by the firepit. Is there anything more universally awesome than a firpit? Really. Great. That night we all hung out and had a great time with each other , especially listening to our guide Dui tell us some awful cheesy jokes in broken english after a few beers. See it even sounds funny to read on screen. The British guys were great and generous company and between the two of them, mustafa, Elisa, myself, and dui we had a great time. Our rest that night was atop a massive hill with one of the most epic views you can imagine when waking up in the morning. Simply stunning. It got a little bit cold but wasnt too bad.
The next morning we had a few hours to kill as the 3 of the 4 dutch people on our trek decided that the hike would be too difficult for them and that they would meet us at the hilltop camp by dinnertime. That gave us extra time to play with the elephants, give them a bath, and ride them bare back. Riding an elephant with nothing on him except a bell and no guide is a pretty intimidating thing. If you havent seen one in person keep in mind the massiveness of it. I could kick and elephant as hard as I possibly can ( just an example...i didnt do that) and he might still barely register that I want him to do something. Sitting on top of one of those while he huffs and nays and sprays dirt everywhere takes awesome to a whole other level.
The hike for the day wasn't the most awful thing by any means and I think the first or the third day might even have been a little bit more difficult. We stopped for lunch at an awesome waterfall that although didn't look like we should be able to jump into was in fact more than deep enough to jump into (or if your are mustafa dive into) and even more fun, slide down and into.
Everybody in the group did it and it was great fun. The hiking was pretty challenging if for nothing else but that the weather seemed to be much hotter. Our camp for the night was a hilltop village with about 25 homes and about 200 people. Our hut was at the top of the hill and provided us with the most optimal opputunity to watch the sun rise. The sunset was best viewed behind our house where we all sat on a hill and watched it go down as one big group. the group picture i have here is a result of a homemade tripod with hay, 3 pieces of bamboo and a used juice box.
We had also picked up two koreans that joined us midway thoggh the day and they were great additions to our little mini family. For dinner Dui and his friend ___ numnok?___ made some potato and leech, some rice, and some mixed vegetables. The night was spent with people getting thai massages all around our awesome abode on top of the hill and getting a really nice experience hanging out with some locals all around the area. I really go to hang out with Elisa and Dui most of the night and we had a great time. Seeing how there was a small fire pit on our bamboo porch we made right in front of it our place to hang out for most of the night after hanging out with the locals. Minutes seemed to melt into hours and before we knew it it was the middle of the night. Mustafa had came and left but Elisa and I made it the entire night. The stars were unreal. Some of the brightest and most visible that I have ever seen by far and they seemed to move all over the night sky. Amidst stray dogs barking, roosters clucking, crickets chirping, pigs grunting, insects flying, water pipes chugging along, people snoring,and elderly gentlemen waking up to use the restroom every few hours the night was full of distractions and additions and will undoubtedly be one that I dont soon forget. Sitting outside with a friend I have just met I couldnt help but smile the entire time. IT was just one of the moments you dont even really think is real because it is just so overwhelmingly perfect in every way that its easier to just smile and think how lucky you are than to fathom every awesome detail going on around you. Staying awake for the sunrise that rose right over our porch, Elisa and I felt the pain of zero sleep almost immediately once the sun peaked. while some people had joined us around before the sun rose and a few people hung out with us we were the only nes to have stayed awake the entire time. We dove back into our hut for a quick extra two hours which were probably the best two hours of sleep I have gotten in the last two weeks. I only remember waking up to Dui's breakfast and plans for the day. Sadly or luckilly my camera wouldn't take pictures of the stars and it died after one picture of the sunrise. Although I am sure my imagination is and will be a much better memory.
When we left the camp that morning we left as one large group. Our day consisted of hiking to another, much larger waterfall and climbing down the massive hill that we had slept on top the night before. The hiking was slow going but was completed none the less and enjoyed by everyone. When we got to the end we were able to whitewater raft down the mai tang river. The river wasnt too high due to it in the dry season but was fun and relatively fast none the less. TI was crazy to think about and bear witness to what it must be like during the rainy season from I think September to december? Maybe that's wrong. Anyway our boat with the two koreans, mustafa and elisa and I was definitely the best guide and we had a pretty good time. We got to relax on a bamboo raft afterwords which was pretty fantastic because its essentially a bunch of bamboo tied together with some tire tubes and you just float really slowly down the slow parts of the river. Very huck finn-esque.
I kind of went through the last day fast but when we dropped everyone off back into the city at the end of the day there was a certain sadness amongst everyone. The koreans were heading to bangkok and the dutch were going home. The two people I was closest with though, mustafa, and elisa had other plans. While mustafa had 2 more days in Chaing Mai, Elisa was pretty certain she was going to be getting on a bus that night to go to Laos with one of her girlfriends. She and I had gotten pretty close in our three days and when we talked about our travels we had a lot of similarities and things in common that we wanted to do but she was just leaving a little bit too soon for me to tag along with. I was not and am not ready to leave thailand yet and as difficult as it was for me to watch a great partner bid goodbye for a a undetermined, potentially ever amount of time, was pretty tough. I usually don't have that hard of a time saying goodbyes because deep down I believe that I will see that person again and it is always more of a see you later. But for some reason this one was more difficult than most and I wonder if we will meet up in our travels in the future. She was a pretty awesome person and I hope she reappears in my story someday.
While I said goodbye to Elisa, I was welcomed into Mustafas hotel, where he had an extra bed I could crash on. Saving on a hostel is always awesome and continuing with a new friend was a great way to end the trek. the entire trek Mustafa was always a breath of fresh air doing wacky things and being the designated "snack man" always buying treats at the market and busting them out halfway up a mountain or as dinners desert. Mustafa is a great person and I look forward to spending a relatively laid back day in Chaing Mai with him tomorrow. For dinner he took me to a Thai-cook-it-yourself-buffet when we got back to the city. Yup. Everything's raw, they give you a big fryer and charcoal pit at your table. sou you cook your food and eat to much because is a buffet. My aunt Reen would love it. (not) We had a massive meal and ate far to much before our tour guide Dui met us outside the buffet place. He and Mustafa were going to get some kind of massage (mustafa is actually a certified masseuse in Turkey, where he works in a spa) so he was interested in getting some kind of one that I wasnt interested in. Instead the idea of hanging out in a internet cafe and trying to get down as many stories as I can was a better option. I am loving listening to music on 22tracks.ne and the new dada life february mix. Interestingly enough the song that I am feeling most is by a group called TAI and is called big bass drum.
Anyway although I typed this up at night I am going to try and jazz it up with some pictures tomorrow. Im meeting up with Dui and Mustafa for drinks in about a half hour. Tonight I stay in the Plaza inn and hotel in chaing mai. No sort of backpacker atmosphere but a cool place none the less. I am sure I will have a funny story about this unique hole in the wall place by tomorrow.
Until then.
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