Well, that was just 3 days of sheer adventure and bliss for a great outdoorsman like myself! Wow, talk about start to finish action. I started in Chiang Mai--which really isn't the center of the civilized universe to begin with--and then we drove 2 hours out into the the mountains and jungle near the Burma border. When I say drive, I mean we actually rode in the back of a pickup truck with a top and seats--the Thai version of a taxi. It was a hot, bumpy ride--and then we started going off road.
Hiked for a couple of hours through the jungle to a hill-tribe village belonging to the Hmong. Those familiar with Vietnam and Laos certainly have heard of this tribe. Let me tell you about living primitively, whew! No electricity, no running water, rudimentary facilities. Their main way of living is terrace rice farming and whatever they can eke out of the hikers by selling baubles for almost nothing. The nights are surprisingly cool, and we slept in a large hut on stilts with mosquito netting over each bed. Not that we really needed mosquito netting since we were, by no means, swarmed at all. They did have a large bucket of clean water that we used to take a washrag bath and become human again. We had great, locally cooked, meals at each pace we stopped--always a Thai curry or soup an water or warm beer (carried and sold by guide).
Yesterday (2nd day) was great. We hiked another couple of hours to an elephant camp and hopped a ride on some pachyderms. Asian elephants are much smaller than African, which means diddly when you're 8 feet up. Also means diddly when the 120 lb guide think he's going to stop an always hungry elephant from grabbing snacks (sometimes whole sappling trees) along the way. I have pictures and will post them on www.myspace.com/mikesdaddy. Rode for about 1 1/2 hours, then hike a little more to a Karen tribal village, where we had lunch and a little nap. Finally, hiked down into a valley along a stream which, thankfully, turned into a nice waterfall with a pool at the bottom. Since there were no villages above the stream, it was organically clean. Very nice to wash the muck and grime with a good shower with soap. The waterfall created a nice breeze which flowed right through the raised hut we were staying in. Mozzie nets again. Both nights, we played a fun Thai card game, appropriately called "shithead." Just wonderful food last night--several choices. Met up with a few other people, which made our group 8. Walked down some more to a truck, which then took us to a fast flowing river, where we jumped onto bamboo rafts. Many more people here--mostly tourists and the obligatory hawkers--and floated down the rapids and waterfalls for the next hour. Finally jumped back onto our "taxi" and headed back to Chiang Mai. It's amazing to think of this place as civilization, but it is what it is!
What next? Tomorrow, I'm either going to take a slow boat to Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos ***OR*** catch a flight down to Siem Reap, the little town near Angkor Wat. Both would be cool, but only one will be chosen...probably AW. Been gone basically 3 weeks, and I have at least another week in me. Those who know me KNOW that I must be having a good time or I wouldn't have extended my vacation down here. Fun meter so far: 1) Hawaii with Mike, 2) Singapore, 3) Thailand, 4) Japan.
Well, I'll talk to you later. Don't know from where yet.
Ted
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