We left on Friday evening and headed to the train station with the intention of buying ticket for an overnight train to Chiang Mai, where our tour guide would pick us up at the station. Since we are intelligent Americans, we forget about the whole holiday weekend aspect and the station was sold out completely for the next two days. How would I ever ride my elephant??? Luckily for us, the station expected stupid farongs to do this and they had pricey bus tickets on standby. Without any other options and because we were NOT staying in Bangkok any longer than necessary, we booked it. Climbed & squeezed our way to the back of the bus where two of the seats could not recline and mentally prepared ourselves for a 12+ hour bus ride. Couldn't get worse right? Wrong. The bus company was "nice" enough to blast the AC throughout the ride. But halfway through the journey, we were the recipients of the glitch in that nice gesture. Whenever the bus stopped then immediately went forward, the condensation from the AC gathered and streamed to the back of the bus. This wouldn't have been a problem if there wasn't a hole in the ceiling, thus pouring out in waterfall fashion onto our already freezing bodies. Two of my friends were completely soaked and with no where to go, were forced to sit on the floor and in the aisle in order to avoid the constant flooding.
Tired, cranky, sleep deprived, we arrive in Chiang Mai and take a tuk tuk to the train station to meet our guide, Jungle Joe, a older man native to the city, maybe 45-50 years of age. We were also introduced to his sidekick & food/materials carrier Boom (or F*cking Boom! to Joe). Both a little lost and confused, we finally found eachother and pile into the songtheaw. What is basically a taxi-pick up truck drives us 2 hours up a mountain (literally) on what is they call a road, but in actuality mud, rocks, and pieces of random cement. Let's just say it was a rocky ride, pun intended. Joining us on the trek was a Dutch family; Leo (father), Maret (mother), and 3 boys between the ages of 10-15 (couldn't pronounce their names if I tried). The parents were fluent in English and the oldest son could get by. They were good company, very nice people, a little strange but then again they were European so I wasn't that surprised.
Joe, our tour guide for the trip
After a quick lunch, we began our trek through the jungle. I guess for some reason we had all expected some sort of path leading us to the first village but that was not the case. The sungtheaw dropped us off on the dirt road and we headed directly into the long brush towards the mountain. For someone who works out seldom to never, the climb was tough and long. Sweat poured within the first 10 minutes of the uphill hike and it was extremely easy to lose your footing. A girl maybe around 17-18 years old, came with us as well. She lived in a village nearby so it made sense to walk with us. I could tell by the rubber flip flips she was wearing that this strenuous hike (to us) was a piece of cake to her, maybe even part of her daily routine. In America, if you need to go to the supermarket for a few things like bread, eggs, milk, you hop in the car and you could be back in 20 minutes. For this girl, she hikes down a mountain for 2 hours, buys what she needs from the closest "town", then hikes back up the mountain for 2 hours. God, Americans can be spoiled sometimes.
The first village we arrived to consisted of several bamboo huts resting on the River Tang. The villagers were refugees from Burma, living off the income of tourists passing through, so they were constantly trying to sell us things, like jewelry, belts, or purses. They were relentless, especially when the children became the sales agent. Who can say no to a 4 year old refugee child with dirty clothes? Not me since I am a proud owner of a silver elephant anklet that is currently turning my skin a nice shade of green.
Our living quarters were... cozy. And by cozy I mean, it was one big room in a house. And by house I mean a bamboo hut. And by hut I mean literally the floor/roof/walls could collapse at any moment and we would be washed away in the poop filled river (more on that later..). But luckily for us, that didn't happen. The room had 8 mattresses, about an inch in thickness and a pillow with the texture of a brick. Each nest was equipped with its own mosquito net (an essential component over any shacked up bed) which dangled above.
The next morning we rose to the sound of the roosters, naturally. We ate our breakfast (instant coffe & 5 pieces of bread) and waited for our ride to arrive. Our ride being the elephants of course, who were slowly but surely picking us up right on the site of our "hotel". Prior to this trip, the only encounter I had with elephants had been at the zoo where we were separated by a fence or a cage. That's the difference between America and Asia. Interactions with elephants are just plain casual here, there was nothing weird about it -- a similar encounter in America to that of a horse at a farm, except bigger, fatter, & slower. The seat on top of the elephant is basically a piece of wood which handles, which were definitely used throughout the journey. We rode the elephants through the jungle for about an hour, ending the ride trudging in the river -- where we learned is their favorite place to relieve themselves. A fun surprise for the Dutch family who spent about an hour swimming in the river the previous evening...little did they know that wasn't mud exfoliating their skin.
We waved goodbye to our new round & surprisingly prickly friends and headed to the river for our second means of transportation of the day: bamboo rafting. The villagers literally woke up that morning, cut down the bamboo from the surrounding jungle, and constructed our rafts. With my lack of coordination and strength, I decided to take a seat near the front of the raft, leaving a few of my friends to do the steering. Joe's instructions were basically: avoid the rocks... and for the most part, we did. The ride was great, lasting about 2 hours, surrounded by deep greenery & banana trees, no signs of civilization for miles.
We arrived to eat lunch then hike to the next camp. We said goodbye to our Dutch friends and began the 45 degree angle climb up the mountain. Did I mention it poured down rain during lunch? Correction, we slip-slide and stumbled up a muddy, clay colored hill. But I will say, I would do it again right this second. Because although it took all my energy and strength and endurance to make it up there, I did make it and it's easy to say that the view from up there was quite possibly the most breathtakingly gorgeous spectacle thing I've ever witnessed. I couldn't look away. The pictures don't capture its beauty or serenity. Even my own eyes had a hard time understanding that this was real. I had heard that Thailand's beaches were unlike any other and I'm sure they are, but please don't overlook the mountains.
Aside from the amazing experiences I had elephant riding, hiking, and bamboo rafting, my time is Chiang Mai blessed me with some of the most delicious meals I've ever eaten. One of many careers, Joe had worked as a chef in Saudi Arabia and cooked for us for almost all our meals. Probably my best dinner yet in Thailand, he cooked up a sweet and sour stir fry with chicken, pineapples and peppers, along with a green bean dish with something tasting like pork (one of the elephant drivers tried to convince us it was dog but Joe denied this). Once the tour was over and we had some time to explore the city of Chiang Mai, we sought to find a burger place that Beth had been to when abroad and raved about their milkshakes. We found the place, which was named Mike's, so clearly anything but Thai. Now for those of you who know me well, I'm a pretty good eater and I don't like things to go to waste. I'm not sure if it was hunger or a longing feeling of American food but that burger and those fries and that god-sent oreo milkshake disappeared down my esophagus in a matter of 6 minutes, approximately. I think my friends were surprised, intimidated, disgusted, but hopefully a little impressed by this consumption.The idea that a piece of that meal could potentially end up in the trashcan was not something I could live with.
Delicious Thai dinner
I realized during & after this trip that I'm definitely a mountain person. As I sat on top of that beautiful mountain among a village of poor Thai refugees, I had no desire to be on a beach. This was equally if not more relaxing, despite the commute. I also never once craved or felt any need for technology.. no facebook, cellphone, computer, nothing. My ipod died on the ride up so really it was me, a few friends, my book & nature. Sometimes the simpler life is, the more you appreciate the things that exist around you.
i can totally relate to what you mean about the mountains...there is just something about standing on the top of a peak and taking in the view that is more personal than standing on a (usually crowded) beach...but aren't we glad God thought to give us both? ;) thanks again! i love reading your thoughts on your adventures as much as the story of the adventure itself! :)
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