trecking in Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chang Mai on Thursday 20th July after 12hours on the bus from Bangkok. It was an interesting ride up inclusive of the obligatory bus breakdown about 2hr after departure. The bus never did sound healthy as the driver constantly crunched through gears rattling the bus in the process. Fortunately we happened to be turning into a petrol station when with a loud thud the right side of the bus dropped about 2 feet. Upon inspection it appeared as if all the suspension on that side of the bus had collapsed and the wheel arches were right down over the wheels.... Not to worry, 1hr later and after a bit of work by some locals with what appeared to be littlke more than a torch and screw driver, we were reaady to hit the road again (i had said to Cath that there was no way that this bus was going any further that night but I obviously underestimated what could be done with the tools available...).

lady boy cooking course...

I should point out that we were lucky to have got on the bus at all (5pm departure) after Cath went to town on the cocktails (came in something the size of your average kitchen tidy bin) and declared in the morning that she was soooo sick that she would be incapable of rolling over in bed, let alone packing or getting on a bus for the night. I packed for her, ordered a late check out and some how we managed but I think Cath would tell anybody interested about the evils of the Koasan cocktails...Thanks to Rachel (who hopefully is with her boyfriend now somewhere on a beach in Southern Thailand), Darren and Charlie for a great night out.

lady boy cooking course 2

Back to chang Mai, we arrived about 6.30 in the morning and went straight to the Nice Place 2 guest house where we were staying and organising our treck. The place was'nt too bad and the pool was most welcome. We were supposed to be trecking the morning that we arrived but were quite thankful to be told that the group was full (they had sold our places on the treck to someone else already..) and that we would leave tomorrow. A bit of a walk around, a swim, some lunch and we were off to bed. We still hav'nt quite managed to get the hang of sleeping on the night busses..the noise from those down the back (you know who you are) certainly didn't help. The next morning we departed Chang Mai for an area to the north east. This is where we started the treck. First stop was a small village where we had luch and hung out with some of the local kids. I went for a bit of a walk down a small lane (past the pigs, chickens, dogs etc) when the kids and I saw each other at the same time. They came charging up the hill chirping something in a race to get to me. It didnt take long to work out they were all yelling "10 Baht, 10 Baht" complete with their grubby little mitts stretched out. Thankfully I didnt have my wallet on me and after they all had a chance to search through my pockets and were satisfied that this was in fact the case, we could all relax a litle knowing no one was going to make or loose money. The kids turned out to be a hoot, very keen on being swung between 2 people walking, hanging of your arms or queing to be lifted up so they could pluck these lychee like things from the tree which they loved (It was quickly pointed out to me that if I wasnt going to give them money then I was expected to jump up and grab the lychees that they couldnt reach, fair trade.) I have included some of the pictures of the kids. From there we walked a couple of hours and made it to the next village for a game of soccer before dinner. ?This was both challenging and hillarious as we were playing on this one small pitch about the size of a basket ball court which was just mud. It would have been easier to stay upright on ice. Needless to say we were all filthy by the end. That night the kids from the village (Lahu Tribe) put on a show of some traditional dance and song and they were all super cute. They taught us one of the dances and one by one we had to demonstrate that we had got the hang of it, everybody had a laugh. The next day involved a bit more trecking in the jungle followed by some elephant riding. This was great, check out the pics. After one more night at a different village we were on our way to some bamboo rafting before heading back to Chang Mai. The rafting was fun and was done by standing up and poling your way down the river. Over all it was a good experience. We had a group of 5 people (less than normal) and everyone was cool (Danny, Susan & Rick). /the only critisism would be that we spent a lot of time hanging around different places (like when you have lunch) for way to long, sometime a couple of hours. There was nothing at these places, except the guide who was a local would just go off and catch up with his mates. The total cost was about 1900 bht each.

village boyz - trekking

For anyone going to Chang Mai, we definately recommend the weekend night markets! Fantastic local food and heaps of stalls with some great stuff, much less tacky and touristy than what we have come accoss in Bangkok or the islands.  Tonight we have booked ourselves in for a thai cooking course which we are really looking forward to. Its an evening course and goes from 4.30 -8.30pm and involves going to the local markets to buy all the produce, choosing 4 dishes, cooking and eating (600 bht each). Have heard some great things about it. After the cooking we will be off to the night bazar to watch the Muay Thai boxing (9 fights for about 300bht).

Have just heard back from the Gibbon Experience...looks like they can fit us in on the 26th :) How ironic.....poor Cath.... I actually think she is now looking forward to it and would be dissapointed if we didnt do it after being a little reserved about the whole idea to begin with.

village kids - trekking

We will leave Chang Mai tommorrow and catch a bus to Chang Kong near where we will cross the border into Laos. Where ever we are (most likely up a tree), im sure it will be a birthday Cath will remember.

We miss you all.

soo cute

waterfall

elephant ride

Best meal in Bangkok