Day 32/33 Trekking Trip

Day 32. Getting up early again, we take the bus to the mountains. First stop is a local market, where the driver buys food for our trip. We have the opportunity to buy anything we need as well. Our group consists of Carlos and Jesus from Madrid (only Carlos speaks very little English), Loic from Montpellier, and me. Somehow, we manage.

After about 1.5 hours, we arrive at a mountain village. Here we meet Boi, our 17-year-old guide from the Karen tribe. And off we go, through the jungle, over rocks, past rice fields. First waterfall and refreshment with a naked swim. Same with the second waterfall, followed by a lunch break. The food is wrapped in banana leaves, unfortunately, it's a bit too little. On to the third water spot for another cool down. The breaks are really needed, it's quite exhausting, always up and down. The nature is very impressive and we're lucky with the weather.

The second to last stop of the day is a Karen mountain village. What a depressing place. There are 30 people living there and many pigs, chickens, and dogs. The people mainly hang around in hammocks, seems like there's not much to do. It's dirty, trash is just thrown out of the huts. There's even a school, but without a teacher. Nobody wants to live here, I can totally understand why.

We continue through nature and rice fields to our accommodation. A larger bamboo hut on a hill. The first impression could be better. Essentially, we sleep in the open air. This secluded lodge is run by a couple and their 2 children. We're the only guests at the moment. The shower is as cold as the river, and the only electricity comes from solar power. I have never stayed in a simpler place before, even Rock im Park is luxury compared to this. But there's 4G internet here.

Curry was cooked for dinner, delicious and plentiful. Boi then told us a bit about the Karen people and their traditions and presented us with some riddles. Loic likes to talk a lot, even with language barriers. He's the only one (he knows a bit of Spanish) who can speak with everyone. He lightens up the group. Later, 3 bottles of homemade rice liquor (about 15-20% alcohol I guess) are circulating and there's a small campfire. The atmosphere is great, languages don't matter. The rest is better off in the jungle (which is really loud and super dark).

Day 33. Surprisingly, I slept quite well, it was just a bit hard. Breakfast takes a while (toast bread has to be brought from the village first). But then, another hour of hiking. I didn't actually book the elephants, but Boi is too lazy to find something else for me to do. So I'm joining for free. First, we can feed and pet 2 female elephants (with bananas and sugarcane), they are 40 and 60 years old and probably weigh 3 tons. They feel bristly and leathery. And I have to admit, the animals and the trunk scare me. Then comes the elephant bathing, so we rub them with mud and wash them off. Overall, it's an exciting experience, but I don't think the elephants do it voluntarily.

For lunch, we have plenty of Pad Thai, then a siesta with Carlos and Jesus. Afterwards, we go to the last waterfall, where we can finally shower in nature, cool thing (yes, I really do look as good as in the picture). The last stop is a ride on a bamboo raft, which takes about 40 minutes and you get completely wet (no pictures available), it's quite amusing. Then we take the bus back to Chiang Mai.

All in all, a very good trip, great people, good guide, amazing nature, and the price is also right. It might not have been as good in a larger group. I would do it again, it was really fun.

In the hostel on the hallway, I met Karina, we immediately liked each other and went to the Sunday Night Market together. It's a fancy market, no pushy salespeople and a varied selection. We talked about our travels and gave each other tips. The best way to get meaningful information.