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Other entries in Chiang Mai

Trekking and Leaches!

We boarded a boat early in the morning heading back to the main land and then caught 2 overnight buses up to Chiang Mai. The guest house we stayed at had a very helpfull, if not slitely over affectionate sales man, camp, way beyond the scale of camp-ness (I found out later that he was that friendly to all the guys, not just me) and we booked on to a tour that was leaving in a few days.

We headed up to a view point over looking the city the next day, 3rd tallest peak in Thailand, called Wat Phra That Doi Suthepan. Most holy sight in the north. Bhuddist relics were strapped to a White Elephant and aloud to walk. It walked straight to the top of the peak, and died, probably from exhaustaion, they took this as a holy sign and erected a Temple/Wat there to honur the dead White Elephnat. It was really peacefull with a very relaxed atmosphere compared to the noise and chaos of the city below.

After some confusion over the time that we were leaving in the morning for the trekk, 8am and not 12pm, quick bag packing and check out was needed and we jumped into the pick up and headed north on a 4hour trip  up to the trekking area just south of the Burmese boarder. We had lots of check points, police and army to go through checking us into the national park and making sure that we weren't escaping illegal workers.

It was an easy first days walk, 3hrs through the jungle to the first village, with a stop at a very cold waterfall half way. The village was cut off from the outside world, save for a very muddy track to the nearest road. They were very comfortable lodgings bamboo houses, with hundreds of pigs and very noisey chickens and cockrels, which started crowing at a very early hour, many dreams of catapults and rocks were dreamed of early that morning. The next day was a 3hour walk to the head waters of the Mae Teang, where bamboo rafts had been prepared and were waiting for us. After a meal of pot noodles with extra chillies, and most people being eaten my leaches, it was time to board the rafts for out 3hour trip down the river. It was very undisturbed jungle with very few villages and even less people about. It was fairly easy to control the raft down the grade 2 rapids, the guide at the front having the most work to do with me and the other trekker playing at steering the back around obsticals, well letting it crash in to rocks got it round them alot easier than the bamboo pollss that we were trying to use. At the end of the river there was a short walk to the 2nd village where we were to spend the night. This village had concrete roads and mains electricity. Both villages had running water to each house as supposed to a communial taps as in Nepal. That evening the  guide produced his guitar and played, while we expertly followed the tunes and melodies of some well know songs. Some people may have said murdered, but the dogs and chickens were joining in, so they must have liked it, if not the other trekkers who were trying to sleep, having been very ill for the last few days.

ooops.

A pick up arrived the next morning to take us to see a cave and temple. The water at the entrance to the cave was crystal clear, with huge Coi Carp and Cat Fish feasting on the huge amount of fish food that was thrown to them everyday. There were some very fat fish.

After coming back from the cave, we headed through more check points to an elephant trekking area. This time it was an hour trekk through Lychee orchids and sweet corn, which elephants seemded to enjoy alot, instead of through a building site. It was still un-comfortable with no rope to tie us into slippery seats and a back rest that was metal, plus we weren't further. It was only an hour trip back to Chiang Mai, where we caught an over night bus back to Bangkok.

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