Chiang Mai: Jungle Trekk with crazy man

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  Chang Mai, Thailand
Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Bangkok to Chaing Mai-->2 hours north to Pai for a hilltribe trekk

Ten strangers in the back of a pick up truck squished in with three Thai hill tribe guides, one 22 year old calling himself Beckam, the second, a quiet older man whose name we had problems pronouncing and the third a middle aged hill tribe resident who called himself Crazy Man.

We introduced ourselves, most were from England except Helma (Dutch) and me Canadian, while speeding through the streets of Chiang Mai, the motorbikes inches from our open tailgate and Beckam making noises at all the local girls riding behind, blushing behind their pollution masks. The truck behind us lost a backpack down a cliff off the very steep hill we crept up.

Our first hill tribe stop, we ate lunch

a little dirt after the football game

. I was ready for some authentic Thai cuisine. Crazy man came out from behind the huts with a plastic bag and 10 foam to-go containers with the typical tourist delight, Pad Thai. Skeptical before of the trek, now very anxious to know what was coming next.

The trek we were on was to be more remote than the other treks, we drove 2 hours north of Chiang Mai to Pai, where the tourists visit less often, they told us. We choked down the packaged lunch and were invited down to see the hill tribes dancing for the Chinese new year.

Down the hill I was shocked to see a western shiny blue roof top of a newly built house they were all dancing around. I asked Beckam what was going on and he replied in his broken English that a man from England had married a Thai woman for a good amount of money. Now they have many things he continues, I asked if he thought this was a good thing or bad, all he had to say was good because now they have more "things." I thought this was sad but kept it to myself and he found it difficult to understand where I was going with the conversation, so I stopped. The other whitey had a video camera, he was from France. We put it together that he was the buddy of the English man who visited regularly. His English was broken as well and he didn't have much to say. Besides the strange western undertone of the village, we put on our happy faces and accepted the invitation and danced with the happily drunk Thai men who were terribly out of rhythm.

On to the next village, more remote, no to-go foam containers and more play. We set up our beds in a modest bamboo hut on the hill and Matt and I went down to join the local boys for a game of soccer

Action shot

. The field was not a field but more the center of the village. The locals were going about their business, kids were playing and the animals were grazing. The field was circular with one side that went up a hill and a decorated tree in the middle. We only played with rules when they felt the urge and they were good and thought it was funny I was playing. I managed to fit in and was eventually accepted as one of the boys. I came out with a few bumps and bruises but mostly just a smile and a feeling that I could relate to them in some way.

The dinner was Thai, cooked in the hut over an open flame and Crazy man played the guitar as we sang along to as many songs as we could understand. A few young girls came from the village all dressed in traditional dresses to sing and dance for us inside the hut while Beckam lying in the corner, cuddled with his soccer buddies smoking Opium. Yes, old and young they all smoke it. After a Muay Thai lesson from Beckam who was high, we hit the bamboo and I slept as well as one could in the jungle, waking a few times to strange sounds and dreams.

Next day was the longest, more up and downs and less clouds. The village that cooked us lunch after a dip in the waterfall was small but had many animals, mainly pigs and chickens

at the end of our two hour rafting trip

. One family and their home sat in the middle of nowhere but seemed cozy and happy. More noodles in our stomachs and we set out for the next camp in the hottest part of the day. A few hours into the trek, sweaty and thirsty, we heard the thunder and along came the rain. We ran for the last 20 minutes and made it to camp only damp.

Thai curry and rice again for dinner and all talked about the other sweets we were craving at this point while I passed my book around and played a drawing game. Each person would add to the last persons drawing. A little elementary, but we needed some form of entertainment and it worked. We were feeling bad because we couldn't seem to find a game we knew that didn't involve drinking or wasn't made for kids. It was a bit of a challenge; we played a few and ended up reverting to pyros and building small fires on the picnic tables. Later the Chang tribe was formed inspired by the local Chang beer and war paint was smeared and handshakes created.

Morning came with the sounds of roosters and gun shots. I thought to myself, isn't that neat, the locals are hunting. Reality check, I got up quickly to see the action, only to find Beckam throwing fire crackers off the hut. Their form of alarm clock I guess. More eggs and instant coffee for breaky and off we went, "abooya" it was pronounced, "thank you" in the Karen tribe

Elephant ride in the jungle

.

They fed us more rice for lunch and we hopped on the bamboo rafts for over two hours. The rafts were smooth and most floated pretty well. The ride down the river was mixed with kelp fights, relaxing sounds of birds when the Thai guys weren't picking chicken fights with the "Farnags" a derogatory term for the tourists. The river was hard to maneuver through, but the Thai guys were experienced and the rafts got beaten up just as bad as did we. They picked us up in the pick up trucks at the side of the river and whisked us away completely exhausted, covered in river muck and happy to have completed the trek with everyone in tack and still smiling.

The Trek was amazing and I am really glad to have done it. But sometimes the bad is always dealt with the good. When I arrived from Bangkok in Chaing Mai, I realized my camera was gone, later to find out my Dutch roomies whom I stayed with in the city had their cell phones stolen from the hotel room as well. It was out of my control and I was an overnight bus ride away. I was really looking forward to finishing my eight months with most of my important belongings still with me. I quickly learned to let it go, tried to be happy that it wasn't something else more important and I am moving swiftly on to Laos on the 12th of February and arriving on the 14th. Taking the slow boat to Laos along the Mekong River, should be interesting.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

first five star hut with a hint of survivor	In the begining of our trekk, the 1st resting spot	Lahu tribes pigs	looking back, Lisu hill tribe
Me and the boys	more soccer action	Pig and the hut	playing with the hill tribe kids.
Thai signs	The Chang tribe	The Lahu locals putting on a show	the last one standing
the trekk

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