We Came we Saw we Trekked

We have finally left Chiang Mai, and headed for beautiful Pai...but before we get into that, lets update you all on our last couple of days in Chiang Mai.

The day after the cooking course was a day just for ourselves. Our Dutch friends went out on a one day trek, so Correne and I had the whole day to do nothing. Correne was feeling a little under the weather so we used that morning for sleeping, and I of course, had no objection. In the afternoon, we scouted out a popular vegetarian restaurant called AUM, that was recommended to us by Christy and John. Thanks guys, it was really good. Correne had some really spicy red curry that had to of killed some of her flu bugs. Later that night we met up with Milan and Arenda and decided to do a 2 day 1 night trek the next day.

The Trek

We were picked up in the morning by our tour guide, and met the other two travelers that would be sharing the experience with us, two guys from California. Our first stop was a local market were we could buy water or any other supplies we would want for the trip. After this we went to a national park and saw an amazing waterfall that was over 20 meters tall. It was really beautiful. The two guys from California went swimming in it, but the rest of us did not want to be wet for the rest of the day.

After the waterfall, we were taken to a food stall and were made really good fried rice, and served fresh pineapple for desert. After that we hiked to a hot springs, and then trekked for about an hour and a half thru the jungle to a local hilltribe settlement. It was really neat to see how these people have been living for centuries with minimal resources(except the solar panels supplies by the government). About another two hour hike later we arrived at another settlement were we would be spending the night on the floor of a hut. Thankfully there were lots of blankets and mosquito nets. It was by far the worst night sleep anyone had ever had, but it was a pretty neat place to spend the night.

The next morning involved another hike to a nearby elephant camp, where we rode on the back of an elephant, and made our way down the river. Correne and I had mixed feelings about the elephant ride. In a way, it seemed cruel to ride these beautiful creatures purely for our enjoyment. Down the river were two bamboo rafts waiting for us. This was the best part of the whole trek.

We got on the rafts, four per raft, and made our way down the river for two hours. We went thru rapids and a couple a miniature waterfalls, and we got soaked. It was so much fun. The only thing keeping us on the raft was our balance, but we didn't fall off. There were a couple of water snakes, but other than that the scenery was unbelievable. Down the river we were served dinner, and then drove back to the city. What a great trip! The night market one more time, and then in bed early. Next day...Pai.


Pai

Since we have only been here for a couple of hours, there is not much to tell. When we have some news, we will surely keep you all posted.

Paul