Day 1 - Trek in the jungle

We got picked up in the morning by bus. As usual the bus was about an hour late, as it always is in Thailand, and we were the last people to get picked up.

We met our group leader 'Chan' who was a cute little Thai hill tribe man. Everyone in our group seemed really nice and there was a mix of English, French and Brazilian people.

On the way we stopped off at a little market to buy some toilet roll which we were told we would need! I don't think we knew at this point what we were letting ourselves in for! Whilst we were there, myself and Hannah made sure we bought some emergency supply of biscuits to keep us happy on the trek.

After about an hour and a halfs drive we finally stopped in the middle of nowhere and were given some noodles for lunch. This is where I overcame my first barrier... Chopsticks. I asked for a fork but apparently they didn't have any out in the jungle so I had to make do and attempt to use them. I don't think I've ever eaten a meal so slowly in my life.

After lunch, we quickly drenched our bodies in mozzy spray and packed our little rucksacks ready to start trekking in the jungle. Unfortunately for me, the zip on my backpack decided to completely break before we even started! I couldn't believe it!!! It would only happen to me wouldn't it... Ash certainly wasn't joking when he said the bag might break. Perfect timing! Lol!

Luckily, our leader Chan kindly lent me his bag as he felt sorry for me as all my make up and girl necessities were falling out of my bag.

After everyone was waiting for me to sort my bag out, we set off on our trek in our sexy new hiking shoes, safari shorts and rucksack.

We shortly reached the jungle and started climbing up a MASSIVE hill amongst the trees. Talk about jumping in at the deep end!! We were already dying after only 10 minutes! I think we were all at this point dreading the next few days trekking. It was so hot and we were physically dripping with sweat!

We trekked for 3 hours but stopped every now and then to catch our breath. 3 hours later we came across a hill tribe village where we could finally get a drink to refresh ourselves... A nice cold Singha beer of course!

After our beer, it was time to ride an elephant! I had been especially looking forward to this part of the trek! Me and Hannah made our way over to the elephants. Usually 2 people sit on a seat on the elephants back and the Thai man sits on the neck to steer the elephant. However, there were not enough elephants so 3 of us had to go on one elephant! They said someone had to sit on the neck so reluctantly I volunteered. It was like riding a rodeo bull trying to balance on the elephant. Probably not the most uncomfortable ride of my life but still a truly amazing experience. My legs were so sore as the elephant skin is so rough and hairy, and the elephant kept flapping his ears against my legs despite me telling it not to. That elephant really needs to invest in some moisturiser. I was praying that the elephant wouldn't bow it's head down the whole ride incase I fell off! Haha!

After the elephant ride, we headed to what Chan called.. "a million star hotel".. Otherwise known as... A bamboo hut. The facilities were all very basic and I immediately felt out of my comfort zone. There were 10 of us together on the trip and we all slept in the same room on a wooden floor with a thin mattress and duvet. Then we checked out the toilets.... In another tiny hut and of course, the toilet didn't flush. You had to scoop water out of a bucket and put it down the toilet to 'flush' it. There was also a bin next to the toilet where you had to put the toilet roll. What was most concerning though were the spiders.. Me and Hannah went to the toilet together so one person could be on 'spider watch' whilst the other one peed. Tekkers.

We soon started to realise why we bought everything we did when we were in the UK as it was all starting to come in handy. Head torches became essential tools for toilet trips for spider watching. I don't know what we would've done without them!

When the sun went down, we sat down outside with our group and had our first dinner together which was a lovely thai red curry that the locals had cooked for us. It was definitely needed after our long 3 hour trek that day!! Chan made a log fire which we sat around and chatted for the rest of the night whilst we drank beer under the stars.

We were putting off going to bed because of the spiders and mosquitos so as usual we stayed up late with a beer or two. Chan said I could stay outside with him by the fire which apparently deterred the mozzys and he would 'protect' me from the spiders. I thought it best to decline his kind offer.

Me and Hannah finally decided to brave going to bed and joined everyone else in the hut who were already all asleep. I had possibly one of the worst nights sleep ever. My duvet wasn't long enough for my body and it was freezing despite wearing my warm fleece my mum got me. The pillow also felt like it was made out of cement and you could hear the insects making noises all throughout the night. I guess thats sleeping in a jungle for you..