Thursday 1st November

We were picked up by the American owner of a mountain biking & kayaking tour company in his pick up as he took us to their HQ. There were a few bad jokes but we were excited to be going kayaking. I have never done it before & Sy had once but in an open canoe, we were to be using the sit on top type of kayak. We were kitted out with very fetching life jackets and i panicked a little as i wanted to make sure we had picked an easy one with little or no rapids as i certainly wasnt ready to give those a go!

He explained that the life jackets were a rule but the water we would be paddling down was only waist high for the majority of it. Another couple from Germany joined us & we were really happy as with 4 of us and 3 instructors, that was a great number to go out with for the day.

We drove for about an hour into the mountains of Chiang Mai and evenually came to where we would start our 18km adventure. It was off road and when we stopped it was dead quiet with the river curving around a bend in front of us. There wasnt another group of people in sight, it was lovely after the bustle of the city. It was hot so they made sure we suncreamed up and had hats etc and gave us another briefing on handling and paddling then we were in the water!

At first i wasnt extremely confident as i am not very strong and as mild as the river looked it was still taking effort to paddle against it. I am weak when it come to upper body strength but really wanted to do this. Sy, of course, took to it like a duck to water!

The next hour or so was spent learning how to approach turns in the river, over hanging trees & shallow pebble sections! Rule number one was not to use your hands to move low branches out of your way for the simple reason any spider, scorpion, snake etc may be there so better you move it with your paddle instead.

It was beautiful, the sections where the flow was strong enough it was lovely to rest, lean back and take in your surroundings. On a small river, winding its way through dense jungle, birds and other animal sounds accompanying you along the way, sun warming you and shade for welcome breaks from the heat. This was exactly what we wanted!! It popped into my head that it was a month today since we left. Its mental, we have done so much in the month that it feels like longer. All the memories we have created so far came into my mind as we paddled & i felt so lucky. Lucky to be doing the trip but really lucky to be doing this with Simon, what a great opportunity for some awesome times together that will stay with us. I looked over at him and he had this big silly grin on his face, this trip is definitely treating us both well!!

I was started to get tired as my arm muscles had never had a workout like this, my wrists felt really weak & my hands hurt from gripping the paddle all the time. I was determined to push through as all experiences like this are hard but you gain too much to give up. Then i fell off! I could see it happening but just didnt have the strength to paddle out of the dangerzone. I had turned the kayak but without the forward motion my backend went straight in the trees at the bank of the river and i tipped. I was a little shocked as i completely face planted but was relieved when i realised i could stand up and the river was only up to my belly. Saying that the current there was pretty strong so i was glad to get in my kayak!

We kept on paddling and spotted snipets of wildlife along the bank of the river, felt really priveledged to be able to be experiencing the jungle like this. Inevitable as it was i fell off again, same reason as before, my arms were getting so tired and i was finding it really hard to keep pushing. This one freaked me out a little more as my feet couldnt feel riverbed and the current was particularly strong so i hugged a tree and didnt let go. Sy got into the same spot of bother, probably from watching my mishap rather than prepping for the turn but before i knew it we were both hugging the tree!! The guides were straight there as we swam for the easier bank the other side, i was definitely glad to feel riverbed beneath my feet again! I truely felt as though i had exhausted all energy i had available.

As long as i was going forward i was ok but if i had to face a hard turn or turn and pull over to the bank facing against the current i just wasnt strong enough to manage it and kept floating away. I knew i wanted to get to the end though and the guides were awesome. They stuck with me and gave me technical tips on how to approach the turns etc, they really meant their best but i kept struggling to power paddle from the fast turns.

We finally reached the end and although i honestly had enjoyed the experience i was so glad it was over and i could rest my arms!! We were taken for a lovely lunch then drove back to the city and i think everyone had a doze on the way back in the truck. It was an amazing day and i would definitely do it again, you never know i might get decent biceps by the time i get back home!

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