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Published: September 10th 2007
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First impressions of Chiang Mai was thank god that slowboat journey was over and with Daz already settled in after arriving a day earlier it was a day spent swapping stories and eating fine food.
After booking our trek and onward travel it was time to enjoy the northern Thailand sun in an irish beer garden located not far from our guesthouse.
Daz had explained that there was a 'shitty little bar' just around the corner but said it didn't look all that; as it turned out we spent most the weekend in the 'shitty little bar' mainly because it had Pro Evolution 2008 on the playstation and showed footy all weekend long.
It was owned by a swedish fella and was the local watering hole for ex-pats so by the time the weekend was over we felt like we'd been living in Chiang Mai for years. They roped us into a 'Bacardi festival' on the friday eve when we'd planned to go Muay Thai boxing. The lure of free tickets and free transport was too much for us to turn down.
Strangest festival ever; we arrived about 8pm to a packed out marquee but not a single
The Rafting Crew
Getting ready for battle person was dancing. It was mainly locals in attendance so we all stood out like a sore thumb and decided the only way forward was to invest heavily in bacardi buckets and get our groove on. The locals must of thought we'd just escaped from the local zoo but they soon got the hang of it when Daz started flinging them around the arena!! Partying with someone that owns a bar is perfect when the festival shut the music off at midnight so all back to his bar to continue the nights festivities. A huge lie in the next day was much deserved.
Ok, the reason for coming here in the first place was to experience hilltribes whilst trekking through the jungle. Before arriving we pictured having to just walk around the hills sweating our asses off for a couple of days occasionally stumbling across villages but were pleasently suprised when we had an option to combine trekking with white water rafting, bamboo rafting and elephant riding. A few baht later and we were getting picked up on the monday morning for a two day adventure.
The group consisted of a german couple
and an english fella who were all sound.
We also had our personal guide for the duration of the trip named 'Nop', funny little fella, used to be a monk for nine years and is now making up for lost time by getting smashed everyday!!
First day was mainly trekking and passing through a couple of small villages, the highlight of the day was the torrential downpour we had to endure in the afternoon and who was the only one without a raincoat??? yeh me; Daz looked like a total retard in his plastic poncho but as he keeps telling me "it ain't a fashion show u know Jesty". Nop tore me off a leaf to use as a brolly but didn't stop my rucksack and contents getting saturated; a lesson learnt me thinks.
The evening was spent at a 'long neck' tribes village.
The 'long neck' tribe is exactly what it says on the tin, a tribe with long necks. They wrap brass rings around their necks and also their ankles and below the knee from a young age and add more rings as they get older and as the neck extends (wierd!!)
Twas really strange, i
think we were expecting a tribal dance and a huge bucket for us to chuck all our hard earned cash into it but it couldn't have been further from it. Admittedly it did look like a market with all the scarves and souvenirs you could invest in but other than that they just went on with their daily routine whilst we sat and observed.
Dinner was served and then it was over to Nop for the evenings entertainment; a bottle of rice wine to himself and some really bad songs on a guitar!!
The next morning was what it was all about, first thing was to trek for a couple of hours which actually felt like two days and then onto an Elephant to take us across a river and continue through the jungle. Probably the most uncomfortable mode of transport ever but an experience nevertheless. After leaving Dumbo and pals behind we visited a waterfall which was a welcome chance to wash off the sweat salts and then onto the rapids.
Get in, i haven't had a fix of adrenalin since New Zealand. We all had a briefing on how to paddle and when to
paddle and we entered the water with a major hitch. Within the first three meters we'd been smashed against some rocks and the current just kept us there. Good start, our guide (not Nop) performed heroics in the rapids to get us free but it came at a cost with blood dripping from his elbow and a sore knee, quality, if that was the first three meters then what's the rest guna be like. With Daz at the front and me at the back next to the guide he asked me to relay what the guide was shouting cos he couldn't hear it over the rapid rapids. I couldn't hear him either so i just shouted what i thought would be a good thing to do. It's bloody hard to paddle when your cracking up laughing and with daz turning around accusing me of shouting and not paddling i was hoping a rock would come from nowhere and smack him out of the raft. (only joking mate)((ish)).
The bamboo raft was nowhere near as eventful as the rapids but a gentle 'pole' downstream and it was time to get ourselves back to Chiang Mai.
Only one
more day spent here and we went in search of Thai paradise for the last week in Asia. Destination Koh Samet.......
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