Our chief reasons for coming north to Chiang Mai were to go on a jungle trek (Karen)and to see some elephants (Mikaela). After checking into our Riverside Guest house (squeaky clean, free wireless internet, peaceful garden courtyard), we quickly booked a 3 day trek with No Boundaries tours and an additional day at Elephant Nature Park (sanctuary for rescued elephants as seen on Discovery).
The trek included elephant riding and bamboo rafting down a fast moving river, but was mostly long hours of tramping through steamy jungle.
We had an excellent guide who pointed out local customs, habits and food sources for the Karen tribe ... the indigenous people of N. Thailand and Burma who hosted our first overnight. M+M were benficiaries of his handicraft ... each taking away a bamboo spitball gun and drinking cup. The hiking up and down hills was punctuated by stops at small rural communities or "jungle 7 elevens" for water breaks or at waterfall pools for a swim.
At night we sat at a huge picnic table made from hand sawn teak wood and enjoyed a feast of 5 delicious dishes prepared by the guide and porters. We were amazed by the spread they put on, especially considering the primitive conditions in the village we were in -- no electricity, no telephones, homemade clothes, eat what you grow etc - they did however have a cooler with a bunch of 50 cent cold beer. Any pangs of guilt I felt knowing that somebody hauled in the ice for this treat was somehow washed away, but not without a determined re-rinse.
Later, we sat up late under candle light singing John Lennon and John Denver tunes with the guide. Trying to sing along was part fun and part lost-in-the-translation frustration funny.
Camp fires here go out when the cooking is done. We retired to a decidedly "firm" bed of bamboo slats over bamboo joists. We woke at 4 am to roosters crowing to each other across the hills as well as the sounds of unmarried tribes women ... up early fo prepare unsheathed rice in order to impress the local tribesmen (mortar and pestal noisy contraption).
Everything was good for me right up to the sleeping on a a bed of stone and the 4 am wake up call. Mikaela was having a tougher time with culture shock. She couldn't believe that there are people in the world that would call "that village" home. Live and learn I guess: a walk in the park means "good" or "easy" more so in some parks than others ... so off we went for 2 more days and one more night of wonder.
BOSgone
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