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MAE TANG JUNGLE TREK - DAY 1
I was picked up at 9.30 outside my guesthouse to do the prebooked two day jungle trek. I was feeling a little apprehensive about the whole trekking thing because my health and level of fitness has been really poor. On hindsight i should of done more preparation and made more an effort to be fitter.When I was at home i was a very lazy, undisciplined individual and on the whole i do regret this.
My first mpressions of the group of whom I would be spending two days with, wasn't very encouraging for the simple fact that everyone was in their little groups of two. I felt like an outsider to a degree and at the start of the tour everyone kept themselves to themselves. But as the day progressed most left their little comfortable places and started bonding with others. There were some foreign speaking people in are group who only spoke a little English so it was hard for them to interact or bond with the group but they managed. I've learn't that kindness and the offering of food to share like chocolates and biscuits breaks down barriers
and forms friendships even if its a kindly smile or laughter.
THE BEGINNING Anyway the tour guide who had a hangover rammed us in a pickup truck like a tin of sardines and took us to a butterfly farm which was rubbish. However it was a good place to have a pee. Then we went to the long- neck tribe village which was pitiful to say the least. I watched the tourists take photos of them as the long-necked women posed like staged monkeys and It felt like I was watching a freak show or something. I found it very dehumanising and i was uncomfortable with the whole affair so I didn't take any photos. It felt it was very much staged for the tourists with their stalls of objects to sell. I don't doubt there are authentic tribes out there but this place wasn't one of them. I happened to venture upon this elderly long-necked woman whom had jet black teeth which was grinning at me in a manical sort of way, I found her quite disturbing .I later found out that they chew this stuff and its like a drug or tobacco I'm
not quite sure and after time their teeth turn black.. it was freaky
we stopped for lunch of fried rice and veg and began our grueling trek. At first we ascended a very steep hill and then i realised it was going to be a hard trek as I was out of breathe on the first hill. The trek was to become very challenging however its amazing how the body adapts to exercise. We trekked steadly for about an hour across even ground and across streams surrounded by amazing landscapes and wonderful leafy jungle. The paths through the jungle are very vague and sometimes we stop at what looked like a junction and wait for the guide who was being held up by Roy the older american guy and his filipino girlfriend.
we stopped for a brief rest at a stop off point, and their was quite alot of them in which the tribes people sold cool refreshments and energy food and fruits . We were struggling with the humidity and heat, sweat was dripping off us like a flowing tap.The air was so saturated that the sweat didn't evaporate but soaked us to the skin. Sweat
was stinging my eyes but my lewis hamilton cap came in handy as i used it many a time to mop my brow.
THE NEVER ENDING HILL the last stage of the trek was the most challenging it consisted of a steep muddy hill that continued to rise and rise with no end in sight. I was out of breath and I was ready to faint, all I could think about is it to put one foot infront of the other and to follow the guy infront of me. wisely I had bought sugary sweets and think these gave me a little sugary energy that I needed to get me through it. I had planned to be near the front of the group so when I eventually got to the top i could have a good rest and wait for the others.
The tribal village in which we were to stay for the night was nearby to my relief, my energy levels had dropped and the thought of trekking another hill would of made me cry. The hut in which we were to stay stood at the top of the village and the scenery from
the decking where we sat was breathtaking. We could see from where we started from to where we were now and I can for the whole group say that we were very proud of ourselves. Infact i was very proud of Roy because i had grave doubts that he would make it but slowly and surely he had made it....good on yer chap!!!
since we were staying the night everyone had bought a change of clothes except from me. I didn't think i would be sweating as much as i did so i thought i would wash my shirt in the shower room (mud hut) thinking to myself that it would take about 40 mins to dry however it took until the following day to dry. I felt like a prize goose at the time because of my obvious beer belly and my pale white skin. some jeering and jokes went around about my lack of a tan and shouts of 'sexy man' from the hungover tour guide didn't help. I did manage to bring a rain coat so when the sun had set and it cooled down , I slipped it on.
I had a thai massage
from the local tribes people and it was rubbish..I had a feeling that they had no idea how to massage but it was very funny. I couldn't stop laughing because it was so bad. they wasn't massaging but rather pressing me with there fingers, like you would do if you were testing the freshness of a piece of fruit by pressing it to see how firm it was.
" SEXY MAN " Dinner was really good I suppose because we were damn hungry. I noticed I was the only drinking beer so I made sure I didn't drink loads since I didn't want to create a false impression. however by the end of the night the tour guide slowly and surely got drunk on his bottle of rice wine. he gave me a drink and the potency was lethal but very smooth. on each glass he got getting roudier and roudier " hey richard!! you sexy man!! you know that!! you sexy man." in these cases I normally laugh it off as if water on a ducks back.I stayed a while longer not wanting them to know I was offended but my name changed from "richard"
to " Sexy man." I decided to go to bed and said my farewell and on this cue
everyone followed.. I left our tour guide muttering into his glass " I don't wanna drink alone.."
Everyone had set there beds up before they went to bed so since I had no torch or light I struggled to find my blankets so I slept in my rain coat. However I managed to find my blankets in the morning as they were under my head. What I thought were pillows were infact my blankets
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