Sunday, February 5, 2012

Jungle Trekking-Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, Jungle Trekking The next day, Chad and I set off for Chiang Mai and met back up with the Canadian boys there. We hung out a few days in Chiang Mai, tasting all of the international foods there. Our hotel was quite nice and had a fabulous "Nice Kitchen" restaurant next door with delicious organic foods. Best green curry I've ever had, fresh fruit salad with mueseli and yogurt, fruit shakes, and free wifi. We also found a local market with the best and cheapest fruit shakes around. Explored some temples and parks in the town and had a nice run along the river and old temple gates that run around the town. The next day we all set off for a 3 day Jungle Trek that was more like "fat camp" as my new British friends put it. Not only is the trek quite difficult, but it's done in the heat of day, with a pack, no water, and you survive on rice and no sleep for 3 days---it was awesome! The no sleep part comes into play because it was SO cold at night (and the roosters didn't help) that NOONE got any sleep. Even our guide, Kupti, said it was the coldest he had ever experienced it. Regardless, it was one of the best experiences I've had. We were picked up from our hotel in one of Chiang Mai taxis--a red pickup truck with two benches along the sides and a rooftop. We set off for the jungle, stopping at a Butterfly farm and market on the way. Once out of town, we hiked a short walk to the elephant camp where we ate lunch (noodles wrapped in banana leafs) next to some elephants and then rode them in the jungle for about an hour. There were 3 people to an elephant, 2 on a seat and one on its neck. It was not easy to hold on as they made their way up and down the hills and dirt paths. What a great way to start out our jungle adventure! After the ride, we hiked to our camp for the night which took a few hours. The camp was absolutely stunning. Completely remote and isolated from all sights and sounds of human life. Just a few bare bamboo-stilt huts alongside a river with the sound of rushing water as our only sound backdrop. We all "slept" in one long room with nothing more than a few blankets with mosquito nets around them. As I mentioned, it was so cold, no one actually slept. In the morning, we all shared stories of how cold we were our bones hurt and huddled around a fire for our breakfast of hard-boiled eggs and toast to cook. After eating, we were driven to another section of jungle where we had a short hike to a waterfall. People took turns sliding down the natural rock slide and then ate lunch alongside the falls. At this point, we lost some members of our group and gained some more. I was happy to see some girls join our group since I had been the only one up to this point. Met some great new friends from all around the world—one of the best parts of traveling I think. We all hiked to the TOP of the mountain…It was HIGH up there and took a few hours. We stayed in a village there, all of us in one room again. Only this time we had mattresses and warmer blankets. Helped a lot! Two local women came right into our room and offered massages when we arrived---talk about service! While the women were massaging, I played with their little girls and had a blast giggling, playing hide and seek, and twirling around. They were adorable. In the eve, we hiked to a schoolyard and watched the sun set over the hills of Burma/Myanmar. Dinner could not have arrived soon enough—we were all ravished after that hike and we had a nice local meal. For those who chose, there was beer and smoking of all kinds available (tobacco, pot, or opium). I chose water and chatting with new friends around a warm fire instead but still had a blast! On day 3 of the hike, we hiked back down the mountain and did some white water "rapids." The water level was pretty low so the rapids were only about class 2, which worked to in my favor to allow me to actually partake (I was concerned about my tailbone injury). My raft had a comedian for a guide -- That, and poor Georgina falling in the water made for an entertaining ride! We ended the day on a bamboo raft. Word to the wise, they look quite romantic but there's not much "floating" going on on those things, it's more like sinking halfway in the water and trying not to sink as you go down the river. That night, everyone from the trek, the Canadian girls, and one more Canadian