Advertisement
Published: November 6th 2007
Hill Tribe Trek, Chiang Mai
Day two we continued trekking through rainforest canopies, up and down muddy paths Chiang Mai exuded charm and culture, instead of tack. Like the night market stalls selling artwork, jewellery, lanterns and fisherman pants, instead of ugly shopping complexes. Many fellow backpackers were in Chiang Mai to do courses in massage, meditation and cooking. Others were there for the delightfully slow pace, exceptional food, Buddhist influence (more than 300 temples within the old city) and hippy lifestyle.
Becs, a friend I’d met doing TEFL in Melbourne, was staying in Chiang Mai - so I went to join her at Spicy Thai Backpackers. A two-storey house, turned boutique backpackers, in a modest Chiang Mai neighbourhood - this place had it all. Reliable free internet, great breakfast, chill-out rooftop area, limited beds and all run by down-to-earth, friendly and tourist-savvy staff. One big happy family really! It’s probably no surprise that it was here I met a great bunch of travellers - now brilliant friends - who I journeyed with into other countries - like Germaine from the UK and Trev and Jen from Ireland/UK.
Everyone knows that Thai food is the tastiest in Asia and Chiang Mai has it by the plateful. There’s your textbook Thai fare - melt in your mouth curries,
BBQ Buffet - Chiang Mai Style
Mark & Eddy try their hand at the BBQ spicy salads and banana pancakes served with sweet and condensed milk or Nutella. Then there’s the more obscure. I even tried grasshopper - despite some contention as to whether it should be eaten wings on or off - I opted for off and it was very tasty! Similar to the taste of prawn shells they cook up at tepanyaki restaurants. One night we went to a Thai BBQ - which was a massive shed filled with an enormous buffet of raw meat and vegetables, at least a thousand people and little BBQs with coals they brought to your table for DIY BBQing. You would think a recipe for salmonella, but as it turns out, very tasty!
Chiang Mai’s old town is surrounded by a moat and remnants of city walls. Given the backpackers was a little out of town, the best way to get around was by tuk tuk or songhaew - a type pick up truck with seats in the covered tray. Whilst allegedly easy to navigate, this is the one city I struggled to get my bearings in. On my second night in town - three of us got lost in a tuk tuk, when the driver
The trek group
Everyone was short of breath and the afternoon climb was a killer. The slippery path and rain didn’t help and we were soon delirious ... failed to understand the address of our hostel. None of us could direct him there and we only made it back when we were able to recall some of the nearby landmarks. Our lack of direction, quite possibly a side effect of a late night at the infamous Rasta bar?!
The best part of my stay in Chiang Mai was definitely the Akha hill tribe trek. I signed up for an overnight trek with Becs, Germaine, Trev and Jen, which included an elephant ride, trekking, swimming in waterfalls and rafting. The adventure that unfolded was beyond our every expectation! In the end, there were ten of us doing the trek, led by a crazy local guide Bon, who we nicknamed monkey boy. After a couple of hours drive from Chiang Mai sitting in the back of a truck bonding with our new trek mates, we arrived in a village for lunch and an hour long elephant trek. So far, so good. Then the rain set in. Kitted out in raincoats we navigated out way through rice paddies and the village to the beginning of the jungle track. Initially the walk was flat, though orchids and foothills. It was stinking
hot - everyone was drenched with sweat - the raincoats were pointless. Then swarms of mozzies appeared as we began an uphill climb and deet was applied liberally. Everyone was short of breath and the afternoon climb was a killer. The slippery path and rain didn’t help and we were soon delirious - discussing the food and cold beer that might await us at our evening campsite. Toward the end of the day, we came across a bat cave which some of us explored - completely blind. Finally the track flattened out and in the valley below we could see the campsite - huts, toilets (!) and a camp kitchen where cold beers awaited. A thundering waterfall nearby provided the background noise. Dinner was brilliant and the beer supply was depleted and then completed by 9pm. After a few games of beer can jenga, there was nothing else to do than admire the stars and then climb under our mozzie nets for a good nights sleep.
Day two we continued trekking through rainforest canopies, up and down muddy paths and finally, as the heat became unbearable, to a stunning waterfall with deep swimming hole. We had a great time
First glimpse of our trek camp
Finally the track flattened out and in the valley below we could see the campsite huts, toilets (!) and a camp kitchen where cold beers awaited. jumping into the water off a massive rock, swimming in the cool water under the waterfall and then I slipped! Climbing up the waterfall for the second or third time on all fours, I slipped on the mossy rocks - losing both hands and feet and whacking my chin hard on the rocks. Monkey Boy grabbed my hand and hauled me up the waterfall - but with my mouth completely numb I was sure I’d lost some teeth. (Apparently Thai dentists are some of the best going around - but I’d rather not have to find out). All teeth accounted for, a massive purple graze/bruise soon came up on my chin and I looked like a victim of a rough bout of Thai boxing! The trekking continued, with only a few more injuries (a tree fell on top of monkey boy and a few people fell on the slippery path) and finally we arrived in another village for lunch. We ate at a rundown shack that featured a high tech karaoke machine on its dirt floor. Monkey boy commandeered the microphone - all the songs were in Thai!
Then it was time for white water rafting. Four to a
Jumping off rocks into the waterfall
We had a great time jumping into the water off a massive rock, swimming in the cool water under the waterfall and then I slipped! boat - Becs, Rob, Germaine and I quickly realized our rafting guides couldn’t speak a word of English to direct our paddling over the rapids. To make things worse, the recent rain had made some of the rapids quite full on. It all went pear shaped when our raft hurtled backwards toward a rock and a sizeable rapid. The raft tipped and suddenly, only my feet remained in the raft - the rest of me was in the water as we were washed (completely out of control), toward a rocky overhang at head height. Just before I smashed my head against the rock, Rob managed to haul me back into the raft, still clutching my paddle. Relieved, I turned and realized Germaine (who was on the same side of the raft as me) was missing. Looking back, we could see her stranded on a rock on the other side of the river. She’d fallen out, managed to climb up onto a rock, but unable to climb through the dense jungle to meet our raft downstream - we couldn’t help her. In the end, we had to leave her there and the guides arranged for the next rafting group to pick
The after shot
We survived the trek her up! After a spot of bamboo rafting - pieces of bamboo roped together as a makeshift boat, we arrived back at the truck and end of the tour. I’d expected to meet and interact with local hill tribes - but this was limited only to the tribes people that cooked us meals and some ladies who sold jewellery by the side of the road. So it turned out to be more of a physical challenge, than a cultural experience - but brilliant all the same.
To celebrate the end of our trek - seven of us hit Chiang Mai town for a night out. The memorable evening took us to many local venues - none more entertaining that a mobile cocktail van - Kim’s cocktails. A moveable bar on the side of the street, with a handful of stools and pumping music - we soon collected quite a crowd - which we profiteered from owing to a liquid commission agreement I’d struck up with Kim himself! The night degenerated with a visit to a he-she bar, followed by dancing at the notoriously sleazy nightclub ‘Spicy’.
After Chang Mai and an exceptionally good Thai massage at the blind
institute, my next destination was Laos. Trev and Jen were headed the same direction, so we opted to catch a mini van to the border town of Chiang Khong, then take the slow boat into Laos. Our van booking was a mini debacle and I found myself on a different van to Trev and Jen, which got a flat tyre on the way to the border. Arriving at dinnertime, I was relieved to find them waiting for me at our hotel, a rustic affair, with dodgy chicken bone curry for dinner. Our last night in Thailand we sought out perhaps the only bar in Chiang Kong whose patrons were all there to take the boat into Laos the next day. At the end of the night, the laid back publican, who’d handed out beer like candy for no payment - asked us to pay him whatever we thought we owed. Not surprisingly there were a few sore heads the next morning as we rose early for the border crossing!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.048s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0248s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
