Jungle Trek

After spending our day at the Floating Market in Bangkok, Matt and I headed to the train station to catch our overnight train up to Chiang Mai. We LOVE the overnight train. The people we've told that to seem to think we're crazy, so maybe it's just because we had spent the previous night on the big pink bus. We were in a second class car, each with our own bed...we slept like babies. As it got light out and we got closer to Chiang Mai, the scenery outside was so beautiful. So lush, beautiful mountains...a world away from Bangkok.


Our driver picked us up and took us to a guest house where we ate a quick breakfast and packed up our daypacks with three days' worth of clothes and supplies for a trek in the jungle. I was a bit nervous, but I embraced the "packing light" idea, since it's clear I brought too many things on this trip, i.e., wedges, t-shirts (all I can bear to have on is a tank top), etc. Just four wife-beaters, one pair of khaki shorts, three pairs of socks, underwear, pjs and my hiking shoes. And a headband, of course. They have become my new favorite accessory.


Our guide's name was Jack (not Rambo). He said that his nickname is Captain Jack, but that we could call him Johnny Depp if we wanted. We were set up with a great group, and all got along right away. Ida and Diarmuid are from Ireland (Diarmuid actually lives in County Roscommon!!), and Kerri and Jack are from England. Lots of things were "grand" and "brilliant" over the course of the three days, and Matt and I loved it. We did find out that we were the oldies in the group...the rest of them were 25 or younger, but we held our own. Captain Jack's co-pilot was either Mr. A or Mr. Egg...none of us could exactly figure out what Jack was saying, so I think we split about 50-50 on which it was. I went with Mr. Egg. Matt went with Mr. A.


Our first stop was floating down a river on bamboo rafts, which was such a refreshing treat from the heat. It's hot here, but not humid like Bangkok. Floating through the jungle was beautiful, and I started to see why Matt likes Northern Thailand so much. Everything is so green. Fortunately neither of us had to steer the boat. There was only one casualty, when Diarmuid fell off his raft trying to catch his flip-flop.


We were told that we'd be fed on the trek, and even though I've been enjoying the food here, I was a bit concerned. When we stopped for lunch, though, the locals had made us a delicious meal of fried rice with vegetables in it. There wasn't much to it, but Matt and I have both decided how much we like the blandness of some of the food. So, this rice was perfectly bland. And I was content upon getting a good meal in before starting the hike. It was also accompanied by fresh watermelon and pineapple. I have never been a pineapple person, but now I am officially addicted. It is so sweet and juicy here, absolutely delicious.


After finishing lunch, we went for a swim in a waterfall. It was so beautiful. But a bit dangerous...the rocks all around were so slippery. Matt and I agreed it would be a very romantic spot...if you didn't have to worry about falling and cracking your head open! We had fun, though, and everyone left without injury. Then, we put on our new hiking shoes (which we are so thankful for now!) and began our climb to the village we'd be camping at that night. I say "climb" because this was not for the faint of heart. It was basically a three-mile hike that was straight uphill. Yes, we went through some rice fields, and impressive jungle terrain, but it was straight up. We were all pretty surprised that when booking the trek, the TAT agent doesn't mention the intensity of the hike. Then again, ours was Tony, and you all know his track record.


The camp we got to was really cute, very basic...one big house with eight sleeping mats on the floor and mosquito nets; one house where Captain Jack would cook us dinner and sleep; one hut for the campfire; one disgusting "toilet", if you can call it that. Let's just say I opted for au naturel, since there was a bit of an ant infestation at the toilet. We all jumped in the river; water never felt so good. I could not believe I was "showering" in a river. Matt took pictures because I'm sure there won't be too many more instances of that. Some members of the local hilltribe stopped by camp to try to get us to buy sarongs, bracelets, anything. We didn't buy anything, but Matt befriended the cute little boy they brought with them. They were messing around with a lizard and Matt gave him a few baht. Paying people to play with him.


When dinner was served, I could not believe it. Captain Jack and Mr. Egg really outdid themselves. They served green curry with chicken, and then this other pumpkin stir-fry-type dish, which we all missed the name of. I am not a big curry person, but everyone in our group was raving about it. And, I'm not normally a big pumpkin person, but this dish was amazing. Lots of vegetables and the sauce must've hid the true "pumpkin" flavor. Or, maybe I am just used to pumpkin as it around the holidays...in pies, cakes, etc. Maybe it is the cinnamon and stuff that I don't like. Because I devoured this pumpkin stir-fry-thing like nothing I've ever eaten.


After dinner, we got into our pjs and sat around the campfire while Captain Jack played guitar. It was all popular music...sounded a lot like the music we've been hearing in the bars and on the pink bus. I think these few hours may have been the highlight of my trip so far. Hilarious. It started with Captain Jack playing songs and the rest of us cheering him on. After a few Beer Changs, though, he started playing "My Heart Will Go On" (the "Titanic" theme). Hilarious. But it got better. We are all watching him, and right when the chorus starts, EVERYONE starts belting out, "near...far...wherEVER you are"...hilarious. And so fun. The rest of the night was basically a chorus of favorite songs. Matt kept saying, "Petonak would love this." He thinks Tim would have been belting out the tunes louder than anyone.


We rose the next morning to a breakfast of scrambles (kind of a mix between an omelette and scrambled eggs), toast and more fresh pineapple and watermelon. They also gave us indivdual little banana leaf packets. They were pretty heavy, and secured with twine. They told us this was "lunch". Hmmmm. I wonder what this is. After fueling up, we hit the jungle again. This hike was a bit longer, more like six or seven miles, but barely any uphill...until the last stretch, right in the heat of the day. The jungle is so beautiful, and I was in awe staring at the rice fields. Just acres and acres. Absolutely breathtaking. We went to four different waterfalls, and at the second one, we ventured into our lunch packs. Another rice dish...perfect. It was white rice, with basil leaves, chicken, carrots, cabbage, tofu, egg and pineapple mixed in. It probably sounds like a weird mix of stuff, but...again, that pineapple. So delicious, and added the perfect mix of sweetness. We got to our camp at the Karan tribe much earlier today, around 3pm instead of 5pm, so it was just a lazy day spent swimming in the river, reading and, for me, trying to keep myself awake. I knew if I napped, I would never sleep that night.


Mr. Egg had led us the majority of the day, as Captain Jack broke off with some of the two-day trekkers. Mr. Egg and the local tribe women cooked our dinner for us...red curry with potatoes, and cucumber salad with egg. As I said, I am not much of curry person, but this was delicious! It had potatoes and mushrooms in it. Good stuff. After dinner, Captain Jack showed back up. He was WASTED as he had been drinking since 3pm. Ever the good host, he made us all do a shot of local whiskey out of a teacup. I was forced to do two shots as I left a few drops in my first glass. Then it was on to drinking games! Of all the games I've played in my life, with all the complicated rules, who knew a game as simple as "Red or Black" could be just as effective in getting the drink in quickly? The game is just as it sounds. You guess whether the card he flips over will be red or black. If you're wrong, you drink. On some rounds he also threw out some variations such as "Odd or Even" and "Diamond, Club or Heart".

After entertaining this game for far too long, Captain Jack said he would start a fire and to meet him down at the pit. When we got there, we found out that he had passed out! Instead, Mr. Egg and a new friend, Soup, were there to hang out with us. No guitar this time, but Soup still sang to us, and played drums with empty water bottles on his knees. British Jack spent a good deal of time teaching Mr. Egg some English, though I'm not sure how much he will retain, and also checked Mr. Egg's ID. Turns out he is Mr. Aek!

The next morning, we were treated to a breakfast of boiled egg and toast which is just a hard-boiled egg. Interesting, but I love hard-boiled eggs, so I was good to go. We headed out to our last day of trekking, another two miles or so. The sun was relentless and we were sweating within minutes of heading out. Captain Jack was leading us again, with a mysterious bandage on his face. He said he fell down the night before. We were not surprised, knowing the state he was in. We visited the local village, where we all bought bracelets from the Thai kids, and hiked through more rice paddies. We stopped at another waterfall. This one was the largest, by far, but the least favorite for all of us. I guess we got spoiled by all the pristine locations we had seen. When we arrived here, there were already about 30 people at the waterfall. We were used to privacy! After 40 minutes or so, Captain Jack drove us to lunch, where a feast of Pad Thai, alongside watermelon and pineapple, awaited us.

Next we headed to our elephant trek. This was definitely an experience, but not my favorite part of the trip. I'm sure we've got some good pictures, but I didn't like the way our guide was sitting on the elephant's head and screaming Thai at it the whole time. A bit unsettling for me. I couldn't believe how nimble elephants are, though! They are so huge, but navigated effortlessly, if slowly, up a hill via a very narrow path. This was the end of our journey, and just as we got off the elephants, the sky opened up and there was torrential downpour. We were so lucky with the weather! Captain Jack drove us the hour and a half back to our respective guest houses, and we said goodbye to our new friends.

I remember when Matt got back from his 2002 trip to Thailand, he went on and on about the jungle trek and how great it was. I knew it would be a unique experience, but I had no idea what a fantastic time it would be. Great people, amazing scenery, outrageous food...the trek has definitely been the highlight of the trip for me so far. Even without the luxuries of home or a guest house.