Trekking....

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Being the hardcore travellers that we are we decided to do a one day trek instead of one for 3 to 5 days. We were really up for sleeping in a hut with 6 other people, a hole in the ground as a toilet and washing in river water in the middle of nowhere, however liking our creature comforts we decided one day was enough. We later were VERY thankful, as you will find out!

We got picked up in the morning by a very humorous tour guide and somone from the Karon tribe, our first stop was at an orchid and butterfly farm. After a quick whizz round we clambered back in the truk and headed off the beaten track. After travelling for nearly an hour we started by doing some more elephant trekking! This seemed to be a lot less organised than the previous one we had done as once we had mounted the elephant we were left to wonder off alone.

We then stopped for an early lunch which consisted of a polystyrene tray filled with rice and a clear plastic bag tied with an elestic band, filled with sweet and sour vegetables. It tasted good so we waffed down the lot. After full stomachs we headed off trekking to see a waterfall lead by the guy from the Karon tribe. As we headed further and further into the middle of nowhere we began to realise how dangerous this was, we had to walk across muddy slippy banks which were inches deep, not a good idea to look down. How our guide managed to survive in flip flops was beyond me! The walk was worth it and we saw a beautiful waterfall. After waking up our guide, who had fallen asleep, we headed back down and as it began to torrential rain we took shelter. We began to get concerned about our trek back down the hill on those narrow now very slippy edges!

We eventually made it down and after driving for a bit put on life jackets and crash helmets (which smelt of feet) to do some white water rafting! Just before entering the water we were given clear instructions on how to water raft ride, which gave us the confidence of what to do if we were faced with any situation.

I say paddle forward ............ paddle forward
I say paddle backwards ........... paddle backwards
I say lope (which we quickly realised meant rope) ........ hold onto the lope.

What more do you need to know!?

No one went overboard as we paddled down the river. We then swapped our raft for a bamboo raft and floated down the river until we we were met by an ice cream man... seriously how did he get to be in the middle of nowhere!?

Our last stop was to met the Karon tribe who live very basically in the hills. After spotting the big satelite dishes on their bamboo houses we began wonder whether these people actually did live that basically and whether these tribes had gone a bit too commercial!

We headed back to our guesthouse to get ready to go out and see some Thai boxing, which we had both been looking forward to. Unfortunately we never made it out (both that night or for the next few days) as we spent the night being sick and the next few days in bed with food poisoning. ( I just have to add that the food poisoning hit Mark a bit later than me and while I was being sick he went out to get a burger and chips!) We learnt a good lesson, never eat food that comes in a plastic bag. It will take a long-ime to get back on the sweet and sour!

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Comments

[kimberley]

squits
well trix, as you know i have been on the brink of death myself with food poisoning! glad to hear you perked up to chow down on some greasy food soon after, always does the trick! miss you lots x