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Published: March 30th 2007
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I've been walking so much lately that my old blisters are getting jealous of the new ones!
I'm currently in Chiang Mai (about 9 hours north of Bangkok) and am hanging out w/ my buddy Nate. It just worked out that as he came into Thailand from China, he flew into Chiang Mai first, then waited around a couple of days to hang out w/ me. I'm having a good time just messing around town w/ Nate yesterday and today.
Maybe I should backtrack a bit. After hanging out in the city of Sukhothai for 2 days, I drove to Chiang Mai via airconditioned bus, which was about a 4-5 hour drive. Chiang Mai, nestled in a valley between several different mountains, is known for its night markets, jungle trekking tours, hill tribes, and my favorite of all - food! This is a very neat city w/ loads of little unique bars, restaurants, shops, and a huge night bazaar.
I arrived here in Chiang Mai 03/24 and was staying at a guesthouse geared to westerners who have booked through travel agencies. In hindsight, I wish I would have just done all of this on my own, w/out
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group photo day 1 the agent. I am basically paying almost double for everything! It's all very convienent though and planned out so I'm sticking to the plan untill I get to Cambodia, where I will do everything on my own.
03/25 I started my 3 day 2 night trek through the jungle mountains of Doi Inthanon National Park. I was joined by an Australian guy (Jamie), a Dutch guy (Ralph), 2 German girls (Jenny & Paulie), and an American couple (Megan & Lucas). We hiked for about 4 hours the first day w/ our trekking guides Robert and Mango, who were both from the Karen hill tribe villages where we were scheduled to stay the night. It was very hot (probably about 90 F) but occasionally a cool breeze would cool us down. We stopped a a beautiful waterfall and then proceded to Roberts' village where we stayed w/ his family. They were all so friendly, helpful, and accomodating. Dinner was delicious and very satisfying after a long uphill hike. Day 2 started out w/ more hiking uphill w/ our destination being a much larger waterfall. I have done a fair amount of hiking, and this was pretty difficult. Hot, steep hills,
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village day 1. our home for the night and it was very dry. At most of our breaking points, they had water and sodas in a cooler waiting for us, so we didn't have to carry very much weight in our rented backpacks. The waterfall was stunning and a great ending to a hard days hike. We stayed in small private bungalows right at the edge of the river where our guide (now only Mango) cooked us an awesome dinner! The next day we only did a little hiking and ended up at the elephant training center for a ride around the park! It was very fun (a bit uncomfortable) and it seemed like the elephants were treated fairly. We then headed to the river for our last event, bamboo rafting! Due to the dry season, the river was a little shallow, but the cool water was very welcome. Our teenage boat "captain" spent the whole time trying to knock over the raft and soak us! Everyone in my group got along fantastically and we all had a great (but very tiring) time.
03/29 I was scheduled for another tour of the Golden Triangle, a point along the mighty Mehkong River where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (formerly
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jungle views day 2 Burma) meet. I really didn't enjoy myself on this tour and considered it a waste of time and money. I did get to visit the Laos and Myanmar borders, but it was uneventful and a tourist trap loaded w/ cheap gifts and souveniers. Our last stop on the tour was at the Karen Longnecked village. The women have for years put gold rings around their neck (starting as small children) and gradually added more as they age, giving them long necks. It sounded interesting and educational, but this turned out to be the biggest tourist trap and was extremely dissapointing. I seemed like a zoo w/ people in it, giving fake smiles and posing for the tourists, all the while begging you to buy something that was "handmade". Not what I expected. The drive back (about 3-4 hours) made up for it as we winded through the mountains. It was a georgous drive! During the summer season, many of the fields and dried underbrush are strategically burned for larger fire prevention and to make way for new growth during the upcoming wet season. It smells like smoke everywhere and makes the sky a little hazy, but you can still see
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waterfall! we stayed the night right next to this! most of the mountains. Our driver was crazy and I'm glad for the handles on the seats!
When I got back to my guest house, Nate had sent several emails saying he was in Chiang Mai and wanted to meet up. It was late and I was very tired, so I decided to try to find him tomorrow, but he showed up at my room @ 2am. We chatted for a while and he ended up staying at my place. The room at his guesthouse is just as nice as mine, but MUCH cheaper. Damn tour agents! Yesterday we just wandered around the city for a bit, stopped in for a cold drink at a restaurant by the river, and met up later for drinks at a roof top bar. He must have gotten the flu in China, because he had to call it an early night and ended up getting sick all night long.
This morning I checked out of the guesthouse and am now avoiding the wicked heat and humidity (don't know but it's at least low 90's F and very humid today) by visiting airconditioned coffeshops and now an internet cafe. I catch an overnight
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bungelow next to the waterfall bus tonight @ 8pm and arrive in Bangkok around 6 AM. I spend one night and then I'm off to Cambodia for and undetermined amount of time.
I'm having such a great time here and have met so many genuine and nice people, both travelers and Thai.
I'll try to update in a few days and I know I'll have gobs of pics of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
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Jermaine
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Hidee Ho!
Good to know all is well, it sounds amazing! Jungles, elephants, waterfalls,a guy named Mango what a hoot! the photographs are great!! Trek on Bro and be safe. You rock!