Back to Thailand - Chiang Mai

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We flew from KL to Chiang Mai - back to the 'Land of the Smiles'! Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand and is a lovely city surrounded by a city wall and moat. We spent our first 2 days here relaxing as the previous few weeks had been manic! We then went on a 3 day trek in Doi Inthanon National Park. We booked with a tour that has sole rights to this trekking area so we would have an authentic experience staying with villagers and seeing no other tourists - we weren't disappointed!

Before the trekking began, we went on an hour's elephant ride. It was good fun but our elephant was a little disobedient and we were worried he would run off into the jungle at any point! The elephants used to be used for logging but since this became illegal, they are being used for tourism. This means they are being fed and cared for, rather than left to starve as they are no longer of any use to their owners. An hour was long enough as the seats were really uncomfortable!!

We then went to visit a cave, which was previously used by monks to meditate but now only houses spiders and bats. It was pitch black and a little slippery, so of course I went for a tumble! A few bruises and cuts and scrapes but I would survive!

We then drove to the start of the trek. With backpack and sleeping bag attached we began the 3 hour walk to our camp for the night. The trek wasn't too bad but it was extremely hot which made it a little more difficult! We walked through paddy fields and across rivers, up and down hills, arriving at the village just before sunset. Before climbing up the steep hill to the village, we had a shower/bath in the river with the locals!! This was an interesting experience! You have to remain 'modest' at all times so I was in my sarong and Chris in his trunks! Not sure how clean we got especially as you have to walk back up the muddy bank, but it was nice and refreshing! We spent the evening with a family, drinking green tea around their kitchen fire, before going to sleep on a straw mat on the bamboo floor!

Up early the following day, we had a 25km (6 hour) walk to the next village we would be staying at. There were some particularly grueling hills we had to climb and some precarious paths and river crossings. It was very hot on this day so we had to rest occasionally and we stopped for a 3 hour lunch break to avoid the midday heat! We were walking through lots of dense forest and Chris claimed to see a monkey - but he was the only one! We stopped by a river for a break and the guide did some bare handed fishing - catching 3 fish, which was quite impressive! Again we got to the village just before sunset and had our bath in the river again! We had a nice dinner and then had a not-so-fun sing around the camp fire!!! Off early to bed again to try and get some sleep on the mats!!

The following day, we awoke to the sound of our guide building the bamboo rafts that we would be using today! There were 4 of us on each one and it was a great laugh!! The river was a bit shallow in places as it is the dry season, so a couple of times we hit rocks sending us all flying forward!! There were a few 'rapids' which were good fun! We were on the rafts for about an hour and a half before walking another hour to where our driver would be meeting us. We had lunch and then drove to a waterfall for a swim (and shower!). This was a nice end to the 3 days.

We had an excellent time on the trek, though it was very hard work! It was funny getting back to basics with squat toilets, sleeping on the floor and bathing in the river but the authenticity of this made it even better!

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Comments

[MisterMunkey]

Great little journey -well done!