My first two days in Chiang Mai were a bit disorienting. I wasn't sure what to do with myself and I was a bit nervous about being on my own. There is tons to do here but it is mostly tours outside of the city that cost good $$. I was initially thrown off because I don't think the city is particularly attractive, contrary to what everyone told me. But all my fears were quickly diminished. I took a Thai cooking course that was awesome. I'll be making Pad Thai for the rest of my life. It was a really fun evening and I befriended a big group of Aussies that invited me to stay in Melborne! Makes visiting even more tempting.
The next day I took off on a three day trek up through northern Thailand. This was spectacular. I finally felt in my element hiking through the jungle. I was with a group of three lovely girls from Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands that were all living together in Hong Kong. They were a blast and made the trip for me. The people was a group of Malaysians that were interesting (slow) but very friendly. On the first day we hiked a bit, rode elephants for a half hour which was terrible! I was pretty excited for it, but once we got on I realized it is completely overrated and only for tourist amusement. They had strapped seats on the backs of the elephants which was sad and it was a very bumpy ride. Our seat was falling off to one side so I had to climb on the neck of the beast. That part was fun, except his skin was so rough it hurt and after a while it was just boring. Elephants, by the way, are incredibly slow and it makes absolutely no sense to ride them. They're smart, but dont wish to be trained and kept stopping to eat whenever they pleased. Luckily that was a very small portion of the day and we spent the following three hours hiking through the jungle until we reached a small pool with a waterfall and enjoyed cooling off there. Slept the night in a "village" (once again only there for tourist amusement) that was made completely out of bamboo. That night the skies opened and unleashed one of the biggest rain storms I've ever seen. The lightening alone woke me up dozens of times.
Day two: we hiked about an hour in the morning, had lunch, and everyone else went rafting. I stayed behind and continued hiking with Kamon a 29 Thai guide who spoke minimal English. We hiked for three hours up a HUGE hill. It was exhausting but the views on top were so incredible!! We stopped at a bat cave where monks actually come and live for a year or two while they're studying to be monks. Incredibly minimal lifestyle. They had a platform set up in the cave for meditation which for me would be so creepy but I suppose also relaxing. That night we slept in anther bamboo hut, although this time in an actual village. It reminded me of Central America, I loved it. The little kids were all staring and I started drawing and had them replicate my drawings in my notebook. Although the evening was a little lonely, it was nice hiking on my own because I went at my pace and got to do extra things like the bat cave.
Day three (today): we hiked to another waterfall, this time one you could slide down. It was great. The trails are so wild, we walked through farm properties and schools and at one point another elephant reserve so I was actually hiking in between elephants for about ten minutes. Most of the farmers in these villages grow cabbage (which reflects beautifully off the sun), coffee, bananas, and mangos. The second part of my day was supposed to be rafting but I doubted they would send me down alone. I was wrong. And it was terrifying. Not the rafting itself, but getting there. Perhaps it was the truck that had no windshield, windows, or mirrors. Or the fact that I could see the road beneath my feet because the car had holes. Or the passenger door that didn't shut properly. Most likely a combination of all factors. Luckily it was a short drive and within ten minutes we were there. It was hilarious, the guy stops the car and says we're here. But you couldnt see the river and there was no one else around. I actually thought for a moment I would be rafting alone. Then a kid hops out of the truck bed and carries the raft down the hill on his head. He looked 14 although claimed to be 18, and was wearing jeans and a tshirt, no lifejacket or helmet. Again luckily there was only one rapid right where we put in and we almost capsized!! We started surfing the wave which is something I've done before and loved, in the grand canyon and on the Tuolonme but with real guides and a full boat. This time it was an accident and he didn't know how to get us out and the boat was entirely filled with water. I was just lauughing and laughing it was so comically scary.
I got back this afternoon and Im quite exhausted. The sunday night market is happening, where they shut down a major street downtown and people set up booths of amazing and cheap items. I will do some damage on my budget tonight, I know it. Im waiting for it to be fully set up before I begin to tackle it. Tomorrow Im taking off with Tiffany, a girl I met at the hostel and we're renting motorbikes and driving to Pai and other northern cities of Thailand for a few days. Then we're coming back here for Songkran, Thai New Years. After that, Laos :D
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