Adventure (really long entry)
Trip Start
Apr 09, 2008
1
61
115
Trip End
Apr 19, 2009
Chiang Mai,
Thailand
Thursday, November 13, 2008
That night we went to see a muay thai fight. It was great, the same atmosphere as boxing on TV and movies. I lost some money betting, in fact I never picked a winner. We even saw a one hit knock out. It was quite exciting Sergei even half-pulled a bar girl. There was a sign in our hotel warning: no prostitutes, no bar girls and no drunken thai hook-ups. We made this into a huge joke. After the excitement of the muay thai we drunk-walked back to the hotel to sleep, knowing we would have to be up early the next morning.
The bus (I say bus actually it is just a truck with benches in the back) came to pick us up the next morning. We were running a bit late and still eating breakfast when they arrived but this is thailand and they are never in a rush so he let us finish. (Actually compared to england I havent been to many countries that rush I mean countries where it is important to be on time) By the time we left chiang mai to head into the jungle we (Sergei, chris and I) had been joined by three french (two men one woman) and two couples both containing one aussie guy and one english girl. Anyway, the jungle was great we climbed slowly up the road into the hills and at intervals valleys full of rain forest/ jungle/ regular forest stretched away beneath us. I dont know how you can tell which name applies. We had this discussion in the jeep. It was suggested that jungles have vines and rain forests have rain but no definite conclusion was reached. We stopped to meet some villagers, and although they were an ethnic tribe (that means not of the thai people even though they are of thai nationality their ethnicity/ tribe name is Karen) they lived like modern villagers live. Farming but owning motor bikes, living in shacks but under corrugated iron roofs, the children go to school and the parents go into town to buy the things they need. I learnt to say thank you in Karen 'Ta Blu' and I am still waiting for an opportunity to use that.
Next we stopped for lunch and after we were encouraged to buy fireworks. Our guide Luke ("My name is Luke. But you can call me Luke Skywalker. Like... like Luke Skywalker.") immediately started lighting fireworks and throwing them at cars, people and animals. This continued right through the trek until the last night when we finally ran out of explosives. In that time luke had scared herds of buffalo, tried to shoot a spider with a rocket and detonated bangers inside cans. Our excuse was the river festival that was fast approaching and I have to admit that apart from being stupid it was fun with the constant banging. After the lunch break we started trekking through the jungle to the next village were we would spend the night. Spirits were high and banter was rife. We stopped to look at termites, swing on vines and hastily build bridges over streams. Immediately before we arrived in the village we crossed a paddy field, the first one I've ever seen, it was quite cleverly designed with steps and irrigation and even fish kept deliberately in the water to be harvested with the fish to make two crops in one field. The obligatory buffalo was also present posing for photos. The village itself surprisingly contained a JCB but apart from that was quite rural. We spent some time chatting with our Karen guide, Wan "Number one!" and he told us some things about the village. Interesting facts like some meals are just rice, chili and salt or that children walk two hours to school and they are getting a new road built (hence the JCB) that will connect them to town and increase the luxuries they can afford. We played jenga and then slept on bamboo in sleeping bags under mosquito nets and actually I slept very well.
The next morning started a full day hiking (only about 4-5 hours actual walking) with regular breaks until we came to the "waterfall camp". The first highpoint, we could sit under the falls and swim in the river below, which was very cold but actually quite refreshing. Until you got out where luckily a fire and hot curry dinner were waiting. It was really too dangerous to climb down from the fall to the stream and I found it impossible to swim up the river to the fall the current was too strong. Dinner was followed by a game of Uno and then sleep in the same conditions as the night before. This time joined by the camp's dog. Waking up a little sore and late we started a short hike until we stopped and waited to be picked up by a van. The camp's dog had followed us the whole way and when we started of in the van he followed us down the road, we were all happy to see him again at the elephant camp. We were told to buy bananas for the elephants as they would want to eat during the ride. Each elephant had a seat for two and space behind the neck to sit. I started on the seat and chris took the neck. The elephant started into the jungle guided by a trainer sitting on the head. Several climbs and drops made the seat lurch wildly so that I felt I would fall. It was really incredible to be able to touch the skin and feel the movement.
After a while the trainer climbed off and the elephant was left for us to steer. Or not. I was completely aware that the whole thing was arranged for tourist and there were plenty about but still it was great to pretend some connection with the huge animal. Chris and I swapped just as we were about to enter a river to take us back to the camp. The chance to sit on her (I'm guessing lady elephant, I didn't check, she just had that feminine charm) neck allowed me to feel her skin against mine and see her "face". The elephant begged for bananas a lot and that allowed me to stroke her trunk, it was wet and felt more like something that should be attached to a sea creature than a huge mammal. I made the elephant sneeze, which wasn't quite so pleasant. Also unpleasant was the way the animals were treated, our elephant had a nasty cut on his head and the trainer carried a stick with a nasty spike on the end to control the thing. I suppose it is something like the way we treat riding horses but on a larger scale and that it is naive to think that we can just be friends with animals. Some doctor Doolittle dream. But still not nice to know the elephants are there, treated that way just for tourist like me to enjoy a ride. Although many of the elephants when they are not being ridden work in the paddy fields as well. I can only image some sort of tractor-like role.
Following the elephant ride we said goodbye to our friend the dog, it was a sad farewell like losing one member of the group. After a short jeep ride we ate lunch and then walked to the river to ride a bamboo raft. I was apprehensive as I always am before things like this but I am slowing learning to just say yes and go for it because otherwise you don't have any fun. So I got on the designated fast boat for young people and we started down the river. It was so great. I mean really the best bit of the whole hike. We were obliged to help our driver steer the back of the boat. Which didn't go well. First casualty was when the boat went under a low tree at an angle, the people at the front of the boat could go under on their feet, I had to duck quite low, chris behind me had to lie down and the french guy at the back was swept into the water. He managed to stay clinging to the boat and climbed back on. Sergei then took over steering the front of the boat because we thought we could do a better job than the driver. The driver sat down in the middle of the boat and from then on alternated between laughing at us, shouting instruction or just shouting no repeatedly as we veered towards rocks. Sergei was the next one into the water, to be fair he did quite a good job of steering until we passed a log in the water at an angle, think he had steered us round it Sergei was looking ahead at the next obstacle but the back of the boat hit the log, everyone on the boat lurched forward 2 feet, unfortunately for Sergei that meant he was in the water. That left me steering and then next few minutes was a struggle to get Sergei and later his flip-flops into the boat again. After that I crashed us Sergei fell in again and decided to pull chris and I in as well after after the second crash I was relived of command with disparaging comments about my steering abilities. Next excitement was when I put my foot between the sticks of the raft and got it stuck there, Sergei had to pull the sticks apart for me to get out. After that we insisted on going over a waterfall with the driver when all the other rafter got off and walked around. All in all a great day.
We got back into town that evening with enough time to enjoy the fireworks and release of small paper hot air balloons that light the sky like stars and drift slowly across the heavens. The fireworks were great but the whole thing was chaos, anyone who wanted one could buy a firework, even a big one and just let it off in the street or aim it across the river or throw it wherever. Getting across the bridge was both exciting and scary. Watching children holding fireworks close to their eyes so they can see what they are doing as they light and then throw rockets over the heads of the crowd into the river made me appreciate health and safety and the "nanny-state" we live in. Sometimes, some amount of health and safety is essential.
So I just realised I have written some short story or essay instead of a blog entry. I dont know how that happened but instead of deleting some I will just some up the last couple of days. So the next day was taken off for resting and included a thai massage, my two friends enjoyed theirs but mine was quite painful and I couldnt straighten my back at the end. I think my masseuse was a little crazy because at one point she was walking on my back. My last full day in Chiang mai was spent partaking in a cooking course, it wasn't nearly as in depth as the vietnamese course but instead it was more like a guide to thai food and eat-a-thon. We ate a lot that day but still at the end I managed a dinner. There was more firework madness that night and the next morning I left for Sukothai.
