Back from the wilderness

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Well, it has been an interesting few days!

Since I last wrote, we woke up on New Year's Day and boarded a public bus to Chaing Rai. The family behind us had obviously had a great celebration as they threw up all over the back of the bus. This made the 3 hour ride seem even longer.

We arrived here in Chaing Rai where we stayed with a Thai family on their living room floor. We did a short walk to town - which consisted of 3 stalls selling crepes with blueberry jam, dried pork and chocolate. Nobody tried one. We also saw a pig head that was quite fresh.

Then we played soccer with the neighborhood kids. We had dinner at our homestay then thekids performed traditional thai instruments and dance for us. That was cool.

Then we woke up, boarded a farm tractor and headed into the hills. We walked 14 kilometers the first day, mostly up hill. I hired a porter to carry my bag. Yeah! We walked to a village....okay....I have to go now. Will continue.....tomorrow morning. :-)

I'm tired, had a couple beers, and threw up on the street in Thailand. Long story. Will finish tomorrow morning.......

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Photos

Group trek photo
Here we are before we head out!

Kids playing for us at the homestay
The owner of the house where we stayed was a music teacher - so the kids did a show for us.

The food at the homestay was the best
Sitting on mats having dinner

Trekking!
We crossed several streams on bamboo bridges...

First night - luxurious!
Our first night was fabulous....great view, great accommodations...

Lisu Village
The Lisu were the more wealthy of the two villages we stayed in.....

Lisu and Ahka kids
The kids at the first village performed for us. It was a mixed village with a few Ahka families.

Group in the middle of the trek
At the second village we stayed....

Second night - not so luxurious!
We had to sleep on the plywood floors, under mosquito nets in sleeping bags....it was freezing!

Akha Village
The Akha village was much poorer - but much friendlier. The kids and adults alike came up to talk with us.

Shower room
Bucket showers - in the cold!

Hiking break
The countryside was gorgeous - our tour guide was irritating.