Trekking in Chiang Mai

So I just got back from my hilltribe trek outside of Chiang Mai. It was so interesting, but I don't think I have ever gotten so caked in mud and grime in a 36 hour period!
I arrived in Chiang Mai three nights ago and was so relieved to be out of Bangkok. Even though it's not a country town, or anything along those lines, it was a welcome break from the hustle of Bangkok! Pat and I checked into our hostel at Julie Guesthouse which was more like something of a prison cell than it was like a hostel, but since I was so glad to be in a new city it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle…. Until about 2:00 am when I realized that sleep was out of the question due to the extreme heat, humidity, and proximity to what must’ve been the ONLY water faucet in the place. Someone was repeatedly turning on the faucet beneath our window and filling up some large container and pouring it out again… it must’ve been a compulsive action the guy did it so many times! And when he finally did stop, it was just in time for the early-risers to start getting breakfast and guess where the restaurant was? Yep, riiiight next to our window! I had to wake up early anyway in order to make it to my Thai cooking class—it’s okay, you can laugh, but I did a great job! It was an all-day course and I learned how to make 6 different Thai dishes, which I hope I can remember for when I get home! It was so much fun, I am really really glad to have done it. And when I got back that afternoon I signed up for a hilltribe trek and decided to stick it out and stay the night again, hoping it might be a little more bearable. I was so tired I figured nothing could keep me awake!
Well, I was wrong. I barely slept again and had to get up at 7:30 to make the trek. So I stored my big backpack at the hostel and packed a much smaller one for my overnight in the jungle. First I went to a small village about an hour and a half from the city where we saw some women from the long-neck tribe (pictures to come later!). We were supposed to learn about them, too, but my guide barely spoke English, so I will have to read up on them tonight. Then we (me and two girls from Aruba) met up with the rest of our group—there were 10 of us in all: me, the 2 Arubans (?), 2 British, 2 Spanish, 3 Koreans. We stopped at an elephant camp where we got to ride elephants through the jungle. Mine had a baby which followed her mom (and me!) all the way thru the walk. It was really incredible!
We started our trek with a 2 hour hike up a mountain where we would be staying for the night. Being that I’m not the most physically active person, I was somewhat worried that I might be more tired or slow than the rest of the group but I ended up in front with the guide and one of the Koreans the whole time! Two of the girls were really upset with the uphill climb, so we ended up taking about ½ an hour longer to complete the trek than intended. But when we made it to the top of the mountain we settled into the village where we would be staying, with the Lahu tribe. The shower was in a little room where you had to pour a bucket of water on your head to wash off—needless to say, I didn’t get real clean with that system. Then came dinner, which was bomb. Our guide, who went by the alias “Johnny Walker”, cut the root of a bamboo tree on the way up the mountain and made a soup out of it. So good! We played cards for a bit (I won!) and then I went to bed. Funny enough, sleeping on a thin mat in a bamboo hut under a mosquito net was the best night of sleep I had gotten in three nights!
I woke up this morning to a rooster crowing underneath me at like 5:00. When I was in Australia, my third cell phone’s ringer was set to sound like a rooster so, before I opened my eyes, I thought I was in Australia again! It made me so happy… and when I opened my eyes I was just glad to have had that momentary excitement because, as much as I am enjoying traveling, I miss bring in Aussie heaps!
We had a bit of breakfast and then hit the trail again. We walked down a narrow path which, after last night’s intense rain, was really slippery. The same girls who were complaining about the uphill trek yesterday began complaining about the slippery downhill today! I ended up ahead of the group with the two Brits and the same Korean as before and we ended up just trekking through the jungle on our own for about 45 minutes, ahead of the group. We made it to our next stop, a really beautiful waterfall. Everyone played in it for a little while and I just snapped some photos, before we headed off to the white water rafting camp. We did a quick white water rafting trip down some river (I can’t remember the name!) before switching over to have a quick ride on a bamboo raft. I was really cool to be on the raft and a really great way to relax after such a hike earlier in the morning/afternoon.
I ended up running into Pat in the jungle, who was on a one day trek, which was convenient since he had switched hostels while I was in the jungle the day before. I got the name of the new place and was able to get over here no problem when I got back to the city. It’s heaps nicer, which air conditioning and free internet and a pool and, while I don’t have a big problem with budget accommodation, after the last three nights, I could use a comfy bed!
Tomorrow we head off for Phuket. The beaches are calling my name! I haven’t been away from the sand for this long since February…. I don’t know that I’ll ever leave once I get there!