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Published: June 25th 2010
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Chiang Mai was a bit disappointing for us overall. We both had such high expectations and it didn't quite live up to them. It is a charming city and once again the people were very friendly. The Old City is surrounded by a moat and an expansive brick wall. Much of the original wall remains intact and there were a few temples inside but most of the Old City looked like the rest of the city. There were some really great markets we walked through each day. One was a flower market with 40+ stalls selling all sorts of flowers and arrangements.
There was a problem with the original trek that we booked and we had to go a day later than planned. That left us with a free day to explore the city. Our guesthouse arranged for a tuk tuk driver to show us around for the afternoon but unfortunately he didn't speak much English so we rode around and were dropped off at various temples throughout the city. We took it easy the rest of the day and watched the US World Cup match.
We were up early on Saturday ready for our trek. The other 8 trekkers (4
couples) were already on the 'bus' when it arrived. We pactually lucked out by being delayed a day because we all got along so well. After an 1 1/2 hour bus ride we arrived at our starting point. The first day of the trek was all walking and waterfalls. We stopped for lunch at the first waterfall and had a quick swim. Then it was off through the jungle. The rainy season hasn't really started yet so the jungle was rather brown and dry, not the lush green we were expecting. Our guide 'Ray' was terrific. He stopped several times along the trail to collect mushrooms and tell us about many of the sights along the way. He stopped once to show us a tarantula hole. He tried to fish it out but was unsuccessful. We arrived at camp around 4 pm hot, tired and ready for a drink. Amazingly enough, there was a cooler full of cold beer, soft drinks, and water right there in the middle of the jungle. The group had a few drinks and started to share about our travel experiences. A few hours later Ray and some of the hill tribe members cooked up a
delicious meal that included some of the mushrooms he'd gathered along the way. After dinner we sat around the fire for a while sharing stories when we were surprised by another of the guides. He managed to catch a small catfish and a tarantula. He cleaned the fish and put it on a stick and roasted it in the fire. Without hesitation he defanged the spider and let me put it on my arm to crawl around a bit. Then he put it on a stick and roasted it too. Most of the group sampled the spider. It was a little crunchy and charred and the fish was too small to get much from it but it was an experience we probably won't have again.
Day two was more walking that included a visit to a local hill tribe. From there we went to an elephant camp and rode the elephants for about an hour. Then it was on to the river for some bamboo rafting. The water was really low but that didn't stop the Thai people from having a good time. Sunday must be the day to party on the river. The place was full of rafts and
happy rafters. It was quite a sight. The rains came just 5 minutes after we got out of the water so we collected our bags and headed back to town. It all worked out in the end and we were able to make it back in time to shower and get to the airport for our flight back to Bangkok. Next stop, Hanoi.
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