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Published: July 13th 2007
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well i know i said it a few times about Bangkok but Chiang Mai really is amazing and i mean amazing.
Anyway after deciding we had had enough of smelly Bangkok Jos n i went in search of a train station, we figured ticket would be cheaper from station rather than from a TAT (tourist and travel) shop (aka conman), the bit we didnt figure was finding the train station in Bangkok. (we tried to find the small one for some reason!)! ha ha it took us a whole day and we ended up at dead ends, a military road block, on the wrong side of a river and eventually in a very dodgy Tuk Tuk (trike) but in the end we got there and managed to save about 300 baht which is two nights in a hostel- BONUS!
So we finally end up on the night train, i decided that this way we saved a bit on a hostel at the same time.( good work Jack!) The train journey is 15 hours to Chiang Mai and obviously the scenere for the first half is a bit limited due to the total darkness, so what do you do- well we
chose to have a deep and meaningful discussion with a Dutch Hindu who was next to us, one slight problem being i dont speak Dutch!, it was actually really good and then at 2 in the mornig we all fell asleep. i was on the bottom bunk so then at about 6 i was awoken by the britest sun light evere shining straight into my window( i managed to get the window bed so i got my very own fan!!) but after wipping my eyes i suddenly realised we were right in the heart of the jungle, nothing but jungle and the odd water buffalo, it was absolutely beautiful so for the next 7 hours i sat half out of my window just admiring the view.
When we arrived in Chiang Mai we fought off all the taxi drivers and started walking into the city centre but after about 20 minutes we decided to give a taxi a go as it was so so hot.
The taxi took us to our hostel and we booked in our bags and went adventuring. ended up having some mexican food and then met up with Victoria and Seth who i met on the
Night Train
whatta view train, unfortunately i cant tell you a lot more about the night as was all a bit of a blur- dont worry mum i am spending v wisely- if i drink one night then dont eat for 2 days!! lol!!
when we saw them the next day they told us that they were going treking for 3 days into the hills so we decided to book it as well and go along, so we did.
Wednesday morning at 9 o'clock our driver turned up, as promised, and took us to meet the rest of the group. Our group consisted of 2 irish girls, 2 irish guys Vicky, Seth, Me and Jos so it was a good size and ment there was a little bit extra leg room in 4X4.( not a lot extra but more than if we had had 12!!)
After about an hour and a half we stopped to change vehicle and all climbed into the back of a beaten up old pickup which then took us up the bumpiest, steepest, uneven track ever and finally stopped at a tea pickers hut where we got out and had our lunch of rice. After lunch we started walking thorugh
Night Train
whatta view the jungle tracks with our leader, Jackie!, and a little guy who was carrying all the food for the evening- proper style in two baskets over the shoulders!
the track was pretty tough going and we climbed a lot of v steep hills winding in and out of the jungle, i was v observant and manged to spot a tunnel torantula of some kind (apparently it can kill you!) and a skorpion. (the girls in the group didnt like me very much and apparently i kept showing them things that they would rather not see!)
That night we had our chicken curry and then we were just sitting round with nothing to do so i decided to go and mix with the locals- possiblty the biggest turning point of the whole trip! my first encounter was a man smoking some kind of banana skin cigarette so naturally we startd talking to him (well at him really considering his lack of English) and ended up with a banana skin joint of some description (just for photo sake of course mum!) then things really went funny when i went into the tea rolling hut and started talking to some kind of village
Chiang Mai
really nice hostel elders (i had Jackie as a translator this time) this was when the drug taking son appeared and with him came a bamboo bong! (again any pictures that i may or may not put up were just for the sake of the photo!) any way as the night went on a lot of villagers came into this hut and so did the others in our group, and then before you know it we are having a 'farang' (foreigners) against the hill people dance/ sing off! it was absolutely wicked, soo soo soo much fun!
The next day we walked for about half the day and then got to our next tribal village which was where we were staying for the second night, we unloaded everything and headed off to the waterfalls- really refreshing and nice. On the way back to camp i managed to spot a snake in the river ( up stream from where we had been swimming!) and obviously i stop to get photos, and call Jos over and the guide runs off- apparently v deadly! (again the girls are now moaning about the snake!! is all my fault!)
That night we had a camp fire and some
Treking
Jos and Seth more singing but no where near as good as local experience! o yeah and i managed to get a praying mantis land on me- left it on my shoulder for a while so again the girls were moaning- not sure they were made for the jungle!!
On our third and final day we walked a bit more to meet with the 4X4 again and we drove to the elephant park- those things are bloody huge!! you climb on from the scaffolding and away you go- only thing is my elephant had a bit of a mind of its own and the guy sitting on its head didnt really seem to have a whole lot of control over the beast! we crossed a river and everyone else got out at the other side but we walked round the corner in the river- think it was because it was the bull of the group so trying to prove a point! The trek was really good fun and towards the end we all got to swap round and be in the driving seat- so very hard to stay on but my guide let me stay on whole way, even for the climb out
Ellie
this elephant ruled- did nearly drown though due to tusks trapping its trunk under water!!! of the river( v step and not a whole lot to hold onto when you on an elephantas head!)
From the elephants we went onto do some white water rafting but because there hadnt been any rain some of the river was fairly slow, but the quick bits were a good laugh.
I am intending on heading into Laos tomo morning so i wont have a comp for a few days but when i get back i will stick the photos on!! Jk
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Mumsy
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alternatives to amazing!!!
Jack - it sounds unreal -and truly amazing!! Wish I could have seen you negotiating the river on the elephant- bet you were a bit scared tho! like being on Fingal or ...? at cavalry? (the little grey mare) Not too happy about the dodgy substances but guess not much i can do about it really- just hope you keep your wits about you!!! Okay then some alternatives for amazing -astonishing, extraordinary,astounding, fantastic, wonderful, magnificent, incredible, unbelievable, phenomenal, impressive,bewildering,remarkable, staggering, breathtaking, stunning, startling, beautiful, bizarre, and your rugby favourite - awesome!! Can't wait to see the photos, take care, speak soon, love always, Mumsy xxxxx