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Published: October 17th 2008
In our last update, we were about to board a bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
On Tuesday, 7 October, we checked out of the guesthouse in Bangkok and headed to the train station. Our original plan was to take an overnight train in a first class sleeper to Chiang Mai. As it turns out all of the 1st class sleeper cabins were booked solid through the 12th and we did not desire to stay in Bangkok waiting on a cabin. There were plenty of second class sleepers, but we were concerned about the security of our possessions. After all, we are carrying all of our worldly goods in our packs and wanted to reduce the grief of having to replace anything due to theft. Instead, we opted for an overnight VIP bus to Chiang Mai. Sure we could have caught an overnight bus from Khao San Road, but we have read too many reports of thefts on these buses. We opted for a bus booked by SK Tours. We waited in the train station until 7:00PM and were shuttled to the location to catch the bus. We arrived in Chiang Mai at about 5:30AM on Wednesday, 8 October.
The bus was a nice double-decker bus and they provided neck pillows and blankets. Although the bus wasn’t as nice as a sleeper cabin on the train, it suited our needs. The bus ride was about 10 hours with one stop for a meal. The meal was a simple meal of rice soup and fish. Upon arrival at the bus stop in Chiang Mai, we had to push our way through the aggressive tuk tuk drivers to find our guy from the SK Guesthouse. He helped us with our bags and we headed straight to the guesthouse. We checked into the room and got some sleep. It was nice to be able to check into the SK House in the early morning hours instead of waiting until regular check in time.
Chiang Mia is a really remarkable city. Some consider it Thailand’s Northern Capital. Chiang Mai is much smaller than Bangkok, but has nearly as many temples (WATS) as Bangkok. There are nearly 300 WATS, some new and most ancient. The city has so much to offer tourists. Here you will find an abundance of travel agencies that offer a wide variety of local trips—the most popular being the
multi-day trekking trips. You also find numerous cooking schools which specialize in Thai and vegetarian cookery. Cheap massage parlors are everywhere, you find a 7-11 on nearly every corner, and inexpensive dental clinics are all over town. I might add that there is a huge western ex-pat community in Chiang Mai because of the affordable cost of living. The city is rich with history to include a period of Burmese invasion and rule. The center of the current city features the remnants of the old wall and gates with the moat surrounding this old part of town. This is where the high concentration of backpacker guesthouses are located.
I’ll share more about Chiang Mai in our next update, but for now, let’s get on with the most exciting adventure we have been on since we began this journey.
We booked our bus to Chiang Mai, accommodations and trekking trip while at the train station in Bangkok. Naung sold us a package and explained the details of the trip. We were concerned about the trekking and she said only the first day would be difficult. We would soon learn otherwise. She also provided some information that was not
completely accurate. She did tell us that we would have a pre-trekking meeting on Wednesday night. We were scheduled to go on a 3-day trek beginning on Thursday morning.
After getting some rest, we waited around the guesthouse for the meeting. At 6:00PM, Foo, one of the guides, showed up and asked us how long we were staying in Chiang Mai. We told him we didn’t have any special plans. He said they didn’t have enough people for the trip and asked if we could slip the trip by one day. We told him we would do that if the guesthouse would provide one free night accommodation. He checked with the boss and said it was OK. I was a little agitated with this because when we booked the trip in Bangkok, Nuang told us there were five people signed up for our trip and we were guaranteed to begin our trip as scheduled. She also said that many guesthouses use this tactic to keep people at their place an extra night. We were delighted to see that SK House made good on the delay and provided us a free night’s accommodation for slipping our trip by one day.
Later in the evening, we went out exploring on foot. We found the famous Chiang Mai Night Market and walked though the variety of vendors hawking their goods. We went to a pharmacy kiosk and picked up some bug spray and a few other essentials. We also picked up a large jar of Red Tiger Balm. It was dirt cheap because they make it in Thailand. We only paid about $2.00USD for the jar. I had previously paid about $20USD in Switzerland for a smaller jar. On the way home, we found a street vendor with large clothes. Lynne picked up a couple of tops for a bargain price. Everything seems so dirt cheap here in Thailand. Thank goodness we are carrying backpacks or we would have spent a fortune on all of these great bargains.
On Thursday, 9 October, we slept in very, very late and felt completely refreshed. Our body clocks are a little bit out of whack and it began to take a toll on us. Thank goodness we had an extra day before beginning our trek.
Lynne found out where the “modern” mall was located and we decided to take a foot tour of
the old city. The mall was located on the outside of the walled city in the opposite direction. Crossing traffic on the roads around the walls is a most entertaining experience. Here you get to dodge cars, buses, motor bikes, tuk tuks and taxis to try to make it to the other side. I had to chuckle because it reminded me of the old video game “Frogger”. We walked around the mall in search of some suitable sleepwear for Lynne for the trek. We would have two overnights in a group setting so she needed something a little more suitable. After a quick search, we found what we needed and headed back to the guest house. We decided to take one of the local taxis. The local taxis in Chiang Mai are a little unique. These are mini pickup trucks fitted with a high roof and two bench seats facing each other.
Our driver took us right to the guest house. We waited at the guest house and had our 6:00 pre-trek meeting. It turns out that they now had enough people for two separate groups and we had a new guide, Pong. Pong filled us in on the
details of the trek and what we needed to bring. He gave us rucksacks and we proceeded to pack for our excursion. After packing, Lynne took me to the Ginger House for a fantastic birthday dinner. Dinner was great and we finished the night with coffee in the garden. We retired for the evening to get some rest for the trip.
On Friday, 10 October, we awoke and had breakfast at the guesthouse. One of the other couples had to bow out of the trip due to illness. Our final group for the trek would include Lynne and myself, Juan who was from Spain, Ally and Sarah (two sisters from California) and their friend Rebecca. Lynne and I were the old-timers, but our friend Juan was running a close third behind me. The three ladies were much younger than us and were full of energy.
We loaded our chariot and headed to a local market. I had to take a few photos of the market and you see some of those photos in this post. After the market, we headed up the road for about another hour before stopping at the Pong Koon Hot Springs. At the hot
springs, we saw locals cooking bamboo shoots in the boiling water. Pong picked up a bag of these shoots for dinner and let us all sample them. They were great. After walking around for a while, we stopped by and soaked our feet in some hot water. Best I could estimate was that the water was about 45C or 115F. It was hot, but it felt great. We loaded the truck and hit the road again. Next stop was a little roadside market where we would have fried rice for lunch and wait for a 4WD truck to take us into the mountains.
Upon mounting the 4WD truck, we quickly realized we were in for a ride of our lives. This 30 minute ride took us up steep muddy tracks which bounced us around the bed of the truck. Fortunately we had hand rails to hold onto. The ride was exciting and there was only one area where the truck had to back down and re-attack the hill. Our driver was really awesome and navigated the steep inclines like a master. We were lucky that it wasn’t raining because other groups have had to get out and punch the
Slow but strong
Lynne trekking in the jungletruck up these very hills in the past.
We finally made it to a point where the truck could go no further. We dismounted, took a group photo and officially began our 3-day jungle trek. Our objective was to trek through the jungle and make it to one of the Karen Villages which would be our home for the evening. The Karen hill tribes are people who still live off the land and have a proud heritage. We splashed on the bug dope and hit the trail. We immediately realized that this would become the most challenging trek Lynne had ever been on. Typically when we are trekking(hiking) on our own, we do it at our pace with no specific destination in mind. This was different because we now had to make it to the village in a reasonable amount of time. The three youngsters and Juan were blazing the trail with Pong’s porter and took the lead. Pong stayed back with us and made sure that Lynne was doing well.
Our trek to the village is normally a 3 hour hike through the mountains with multiple ups and downs. The elevation combined with the heat and humidity
was taking a toll on Lynne. Pong stayed with us and reassured Lynne that she was doing well. He kept telling her that she was “slow, but strong”. He told us stories of a young British girl who got on the trail and gave up. He ended up carrying her on his back. Pong did take Lynne’s rucksack to help lighten her load. There were a few times during the trek were Lynne was ready to give up, but she hung in there. Bless her heart, she is a real trooper.
As we continued up the trail, it began to rain. The cool rain proved to be a blessing, because it cooled us down. We opted to forego putting on the raingear and enjoyed the rain. The rain did add a little excitement because it made the red clay a little more slippery. The other part of our group stopped several times to wait on us and then proceeded. During one of our stops, we found a huge vine hanging from a tree. We took turns playing Tarzan and swung on the vine. It was a lot of fun for everyone. Juan took some video and I will try
to post a video of me playing Tarzan.
As we progressed up the mountain, the leeches became very thick on the trail. If you stopped for any period of time, they would hitch hike a ride on your shoes in search of the opportunity to suck a little blood. These were little leeches, but these little buggers were relentless. We stopped several times to pick them off of our shoes and socks. Occasionally one would find bare skin and enjoy a brief meal before being thrown back to the jungle.
While trekking through this rain forest jungle, we were treated to some of the gems that only a rain forest can provide. We passed through bamboo forests, wild banana groves, and trees with such a high canopy we couldn’t see the tops. Wines were growing from the tall trees and we saw many varieties of wild orchids and other tropical flowers. Wild, colorful mushrooms were nestled on fallen tree branches and beautiful butterflies were floating through their jungle paradise. This lush tropical jungle was a perfect setting. The wild birds called out into the day and the song birds provided a musical serenade for our trek.
As
we continued on the trek, we heard the distant rumble of thunder. Pong kept saying “not yet, not yet”. We were on a ridgeline and surrounded by trees that showed scars from multiple lightning strikes. Fortunately, the lightning stayed at a distance and we continued on the trek.
Pong told the rest of the group to proceed to the village with the porter and patiently waited for us. Pong would prove to be our hero for being so patient. Although we didn’t hike with the rest of the group, we did get an added bonus. It was like having our own private guide during the trek. Pong often stopped to point out the variety of vegetation. We even stopped and ate some fresh tea leaves straight from the tree. He pointed out the abundance of nut nuts, and we even sampled a few along the way. The rest of our group arrived at the village about 45 minutes ahead of us. We were a little behind schedule in arriving at the village, but I have never been so proud of Lynne for accomplishing this leg of this jungle trek.
Upon arrival at the village, we both took off
our trekking shoes and put on our sandals. While we were relaxing in the village, Pong made dinner. Dinner was served family style and it was absolutely fantastic. Pong cooked up a great Thai meal including green curry chicken and sweet and sour with tofu. After dinner we went up to the hut, I looked down at Lynne’s foot. It was covered in blood. AT first, I thought she had gashed her foot. Upon closer examination, I realized that a leech had made a whole meal of her foot and had swelled to ten times its original size. I removed the leech and we cleaned up her foot. Damn those little blood suckers.
Lynne was aching from the trek so I rubbed some Tiger Balm on her, she took an ambien and we crashed for the evening in our jungle hut. The accommodations were in a large room with comfortable cotton mattress pads and pillows. We opted to sleep in our sleep sacks Lynne had made before our journey.
In the middle of the night, we got up to use the bomb dump toilet facility. While I was waiting for Lynne, one of the villagers came by and
we did a little littering. Dave and Stefanie, Yes, littering and…Littering and…
During the night, the jungle storms rolled in and the rain pitter pattered on the tin roof of our temporary home. The storm dumped enough rain to make the mountains pretty wet.
On Saturday, 11 October, we awoke to a cooler morning. Pong made breakfast and we packed the gear for the trek. As it turns out, we would have another 3 hour trek with many ups and down. Our objective was to make it to a Palong hill tribe village for lunch before proceeding for another hour to a waterfall. The morning hike turned out to be more intense than yesterday’s hike. Lynne continued on the trail which had an added bonus of crossing multiple log bridges crossing streams along the way. The leeches were really thick during this stretch of the hike.
The natural beauty seemed much more spectacular today because of the clear skies. The temperature soared and so did the humidity. The excessive heat began to take its toll on Lynne and she pushed herself to her personal threshold on this leg of the trek. The trail was extremely wet, slippery and
muddy during much of today’s trek which made parts of the trail extremely difficult to navigate. Lynne slipped in the mud twice during our trek today, but only suffered getting dirty. Pong did a remarkable job today to guide us into the camps. Along the way, Pong kept us entertained with stories of his life. Wow, he really has a fascinating story. He was born in one of these hill villages and left for the city when he was 7 years old. He knows these hills inside and out and knows how to live off of the land.
The scenery today was much like yesterday, but the trail crossed the stream many times today. The first few times we carefully stepped on stones to keep from getting our feet wet. After trudging through the mud, we decided to tackle the remaining stream crossings head on and right threw the water. The cool water actually felt great on our poor aching dogs.
Before arriving at the village (camp) Lynne and I decided to opt out of the trip to the waterfall. We would later determine that this was a very wise choice. We arrived at the camp,
well after the rest of the group. They had already eaten lunch. Pong made our lunch and brought some banana worms by for us to sample. Lynne couldn’t stomach the thought of eating worms, but I gave them a try. I was absolutely surprised at how tasty these were and finished the rest of the bowl set before me. These worms feed off of young bamboo trees and are harvested for a highly nutritious snack food. All of the locals eat them. These are much tastier and nutritious than a good ole Snicker’s bar. To me, they tasted much like sunflower seeds, but we joked that they tasted like chicken.
While the rest of the group headed off to the waterfall, it gave us a chance to relax and wash some of our nasty clothes from the last two days. Pong went to work on preparing and cooking the dinner meal. He also took the time to sample some whiskey while making dinner. I went over to the fire pit to prepare the fire for the evening. I would practice my fire making abilities tonight.
Both of the groups returned from the waterfall with wide tales of the
trail and the journey. We did make a wise decision to stay behind because all of the youngsters said the trail was extremely difficult for them. During the whole time they were gone to the falls, Pong continued to sample the whiskey and was well lubricated by the time they returned.
Dinner was served to both of our groups by the light of oil lamps. Again, dinner was fantastic. As it turns out, Pong had worked in a restaurant when he was a teenager and his skills stayed with him today. He is a great cook. After dinner, Pong entertained everyone with his famous rope trick. This might have only lasted a few moments, but the whiskey allowed him to keep us entertained for quite some time. I moved on to getting the evening fire started. It was a challenge, but I managed to get a nice blaze going for the evening. Lynne retired early from the exhaustion from the past two days. She was getting some well deserved rest.
Slowly the rest of the group migrated to the fire, Foo brought out the tribal drum, cymbals and gong and we started the campfire musical show for the
evening. At one point, Graham, a chap from Plymouth, England, started a round the fire singing game where everyone had to add a line to the song being created as it unfolded. It was a real hoot. As the crowd began to disperse for the evening, Foo got on the drums and showed his musical abilities. It was most impressive.
I couldn’t hang around the fire too late, so I retired for the evening and crashed out as soon as I hit the rack.
On Sunday, 12 October, we awoke to a beautiful morning. Pong had cooked breakfast again. While we were packing up and getting ready to hit the trail, one of the local villagers came into camp with the longest rifle I have ever seen. It was a black powder gun he used for hunting birds and other small game. He demonstrated the gun and I keenly watched as he reloaded it. He loaded it first with the chucks of black powder, and then with a small handful of homemade lead pellets. I was quite amazed. I named him Davey Crockett for obvious reasons—check out the photo.
Pong, Lynne and I hit the trail about
10 minutes ahead of the rest of the group. Our hike today would be about two hours through easier terrain. We hiked to our 4WD chariot that would take us to the elephant camp. The rough dirt road took us up and down mountain trails and we passed some beautiful farm land with a variety of crops. We crossed several streams and finally made it to hard top roads. We stopped at another roadside market to pick up lunch for later. We all took advantage of the opportunity and enjoyed some ice cream pops. We continue the ride for another hour or so and pass numerous elephant camps. We finally arrive and had Pad Thai for lunch.
Right after lunch, we head over to our elephants for a short trek around the jungle camp. The sell bananas by the bunch to feed the elephants as you are riding and these elephants know you have them. We play the game with feeding the elephants. Lynne’s elephant decides to head down to the river and snack on some fresh brush. The elephants climb up a steep embankment to show off their 4WD capabilities. Halfway through the ride, there is a lady
in a high structure that is willing to sell you more bananas. She has a net to retrieve your money and throws the bananas to you. Joe, I called her the Banana Lady and she kept asking where the school teacher was.
Upon completion of the elephant ride, we suit up for the white water rafting trip. We were told we would receive a full safety briefing before we went on the water, but that never happened. Luckily, Lynne and I did some white water rafting at the NOC in North Carolina just a few months ago. The river trip was a blast and naturally, I had to act like a kids and engage in splash fights with the other rafts. We went through some decent rapids because the river was a little higher than normal. This also made for a quicker trip. Everyone agreed that it seemed like a pretty short trip.
After the trip, we watched as the water guides load up their trucks. This was a comical sight to see. We loaded the truck and headed down the road. Our next stop was a real Akha tribe village. This is the first village we actually
got to see a tribal village. This is the type of village we all thought we would be staying in over the last two days. The village was most interesting to see because these people live a very simple, Spartan lifestyle, but still have electricity and satellite TV.
The drive home was uneventful until the truck started making an awful racket. Not sure what the problem was, but I thought it was a broken brake spring getting caught in the rotating brake drum. Our driver decided to proceed and we returned to the guesthouse safe and sound.
I’ll add a special note in this post to thank Pong, our trusty guide for being patient and making this a really memorable trip. Pong, you made the trip really special. Also a quick shoutout to Juan, Ally, Rebecca, and Sarah. You guys made the trip special. Thanks for spending a few days with us in the jungle. We enjoyed your comapny. Best wishes to all of you.
I’ll leave off here because after returning to the guest house, Lynne and I went out to dinner and ran into an old friend at the Mexican restaurant across the street. Imagine that.
Stay tuned for our next update as we fill you in on our adventures in the city of Chiang Mai.
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Pong demonstrates his rope trick
Is pong demonstrating the rope tricks or his bong tricks! it looks a little hazzy in that picture.