Another good but tiring day!

I woke up at about 8.50am but we weren't leaving until 11ish, so I got up and dressed and made a cup of tea with the kettle which was on the embers of the previous night's fire. It was lovely and sunny and completely quiet because most people were still sleeping, so all I could hear was the waterfall.

When everyone else was up we had some breakfast (eggs and toast - something Western!) and got ready to start trekking. The family that lived where we were staying had just had a baby, she was only 1 month old and so sweet. They've made a wicker basket for her which is attached by rope to the verandah of the hut, and every time they walk past they push it so the baby is always swinging.

We set off at elevenish and started walking, after a couple of miles we stopped at a waterfall and went for a swim. I even slid down the waterfall like a slide because the rocks are so smooth. As we were leaving we had to cross the water on a log, and Vicky slipped and cut her leg. Rocky and Tommy, our guides, covered the cut with some leaves from the jungle mixed with tobacco, and then wrapped a bandage around her leg over the leaves, apparently the leaf and tobacco mixture is antiseptic!

From then onwards we walked following the river - some of it was so scary, like walking along a tiny path metres above the water and scrambling over rocks and logs, I slipped a few times! The dogs from the camp followed for the entire day, they were so cute because they liked trying different routes and exploring, and playing in the waterfalls. The views we got whilst trekking were absolutely amazing, and we saw so many waterfalls surrounded by jungle which looked so idyllic.

We went through a couple of tiny communities, where people were farming - Tommy said he started herding buffalo at age 5, and didn't have any friends until he was 12! It seems so sad but I suppose they don't know any different. The communities all had elephants hanging around too. At one we saw a massive yellow and black spider on its web. I am so arachnophobic that I could barely look. Tommy put a leafy flower type thing in my neck and said 'spider!' and I screamed so loudly, nearly started crying, and said 'if you do that again i'll punch you in the face!' - everybody who knows me will be aware that I am the least confrontational person ever and would never actually hurt a fly, so i felt really bad for saying it because Tommy is such a friendly, happy guy - luckily he saw the funny side! I just hate spiders so much I couldn't help it!

We kept trekking (I was on high alert for spiders) and eventually stopped at a big waterfall where I climbed over the rocks and sunbathed on the trunk of a tree which had fallen and was lying over the waterfall. Vix has some amazing pictures on her camera which I can't wait to put on here! I laid my towel on a rock and sunbathed; all I could see was blue sky and tall jungle trees, and all I could hear was the waterfall - I thought about everyone at home getting up for work and school at that time and felt really grateful (and a bit smug!) that I was there.

We had a lunch of noodle soup in a community by the waterfall, and continued trekking for about an hour and a half to our camp. It is a bigger community than last night and our beds are raised off the ground this time which is nice. I had a swim in the river and waterfall with some soap to try and wash, although I still feel pretty dusty and dirty. We then sat around the table playing card games, doing card tricks and chatting until dinner came. It was rice with Thai green curry and fried pumpkin which was really nice, but I actually could have done with a bit more spice because I thought it was a bit bland. They were probably trying to make it for western tastes, but most people asked for extra chilli!

After dinner we sat around the campfire again and played some games, like a number game - the language barrier between Thai, English and Italian made it absolutely hilarious, and every time you were too slow or missed your turn you got your face painted with soot from the bottom of a wok - by the end we were all painted and looked so funny, I had a Mexican moustache which looked surprisingly real!

I am so tired from today so I am in bed already, at 10.20pm, and so are a few others. I can still hear the others around the campfire and I would love to still be up but my eyes are closing! Being here has definitely made me appreciate lights - once it is dark here you can't see a thing, so I was tripping up all over the place getting ready for bed!

We are rafting tomorrow which should be fun - I'll update you if I get time!

xxx