Day Trek

From 10/5 - got a bit behind!

Set the alarm for an early morning off to North Chiang Mai. I grabbed a quick bite of cashew chicken fried rice and a mango smoothie before getting picked up by a Chiang Mai native for our trek day. We got picked up in a truck, more or less, for our hour and a half ride up to the mountains. Here's what we were riding in:

Looking out the back as we drove up the mountain. It did hurt the booty a bit, but still a fun ride. 

We met people from all over: Holland, Italy, Texas, Ecuador, Spain, Israel, and Chiang Mai. Everyone knew English, but we mainly spoke with the Dutch and Texans. Everyone in the group had one sort of adventurous story to why they were here; whether it was in between a move, or after school, good stories. 

The hiking here was much different than Washington. We were in a true jungle. Super hot and the air was so thick you couldn't catch your breath. My body was covered in sweat the entire time, even before we started trekking. We hiked along river beds, rugged roads, and in brush. 

Our guide was hilarious. We ran into an elephant and he had us take a detour that he had to create as we went with his machete. He's been doing this for a year and never had this happen. It was awesome to run into an wild elephant! It was awesome seeing these giant animals in their element...not behind bars. 

We made it to lunch a bit late but it was great to see a small mountain village and enjoy anther delicious rice dish. There were more elephants at their village that they use to help move things. Still, it's crazy these animals are domesticated. 

After lunch we hiked up a bit more and then finally made it to the blessed waterfall. It was amazing to hop in the water and finally cool off from a heat that felt unstopable. The small river was refreshing. 

We then walked through a real village where kids and dogs were running around. The kids get teachers a couple times a week come up to the village to teach them basic stuff. Otherwise they are completely remote and away from civilization. The kids were funny beating each other up. The adults were kind to offer us water - I'm sure they are how parched we were. It was interesting hearing our guide talk about the village as it was hard to understand his English. 

Then we got to the truck and drove back after the exhausting day. It ended up being a 9 mile trek and we climbed 186 stories up!

Then, starved, we went to tailor for final fitting and ate and slept. 

Things we loved aside from the beauty of the landscape and the challenge of the hike: the dog that was with us the entire trip, the kittens at the end, and the native baby that served us lunch (see images below). 

One thing both Alex and I have realized is we've never felt unsafe in either of these Thai cities. Even after dark it has been a wonderful feeling to be safe in a foreign country. 

“Investment in travel is an investment in yourself.” ~ Matthew Karsten