Chiang Mai

I just got into Chiang Mai and fell for a taxi trick at the airport. It cost me 160 baht to get from the airport to my hotel where in Bangkok it cost me 180 for a trip three times as long. Lesson learned. Next time I'll walk waaaaay out of the airport before saying yes to someone who looks all official with her smart little clip board. Oh well...it's only $5 after all. The owner of the company running the tour I am going on tomorrow, Jungala, came by the hotel to prep me for tomorrow. After informing me that I will be going on a completely different (but cheaper) tour than the one I booked, he warned me to bring mosquito repellent since Chiang Mai is known as the part of Thailand most prone to dengue fever. I could feel them biting me as he was talking and promptly ran upstairs to apply bug spray when we were done. Since I'll be out from tomorrow morning until 5 o'clock the next afternoon, I ventured out towards the river from the charming Sri Pat Guest House to see what all the Chiang Mai hype is about. First stop was Ginger & Kafe, a short walk from my guest house for some delicious red curry before a relaxing massage and calling it a night. I may not have seen much of the town, but at least I enjoyed my first evening in Chiang Mai!

Elephant riding in the river

The guide came for me at 9 AM the next morning to begin a two-day overnight trek into the jungle. We started off with a visit to a local market for any last minute necessities before heading to an elephant camp. After a leisurely ride for about half an hour which took us through a river while on elephant-back, we hopped back into the truck to go see a waterfall. My traveling companions for the weekend are two Belgian girls, a guy from Japan and an English guy. I'm glad I'm not the only solo traveler so I have someone to talk to. 

After the waterfall, we began our 7 mile hike to a Karen village. The Karen people are one of Thailand's hill tribes that still live very traditional lives away from the cities. The only way to get into the village is by foot or a treacherous scooter journey on steep trails. When we finally arrived, we were greeted by a group of boys and young men playing a game similar to volleyball but without using their hands. It reminded me of the way Brazilians play on the beaches of Rio. The Belgian girls and I watched as the two guys in our group attempted to join them. After about five minutes, the villagers demoted them from the court to playing with the kids on the side. 

"Home" for the night

As it got dark, a number of other villagers stopped by our tree house to sell bracelets, visit us (probably out of curiosity) and say hello to our guide who is from the village. He invited his "uncle" - which I gathered means literally every man older than him unless he has fifty uncles - to come play an instrument made out of a coconut attached to a bamboo shaft that resembled a banjo of sorts. After he played for about half an hour, the silence was broken by the sound of children singing in the distance as part of a honeymoon ritual going on in the village. The hike really exhausted me, so I turned in for a night under a mosquito net on a mattress in our tree house. 

Karen villager getting water from the river

The next day was very busy! Starting off with a two hour hike back to "civilization," we reached the starting point of a trip down the river in a bamboo raft. This is Thailand's version of floating the river like we do back in Texas, complete with drunk people partying and all! After our rafting trip, we ate Pad Thai for lunch and headed back into Chiang Mai. 

Wat Chedi Luang

My flight wasn't for another three hours, so I decided to walk around the old city a bit to check out the Sunday Walking Street and some of the temples. I managed to see Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh and some other smaller one I don't know the name of. While I was at Wat Chedi Liang, I got a blessing from a Buddhist monk. He gave me a bracelet to wear to resemble the blessing and splashed some holy water on my head. Not a bad way to cool down! The temple was in the midst of a big offering ceremony to bring on a good monsoon season. It was packed with people offering flowers in masses for a good harvest. Sadly, after spending some time strolling through the Sunday market, it was time to head back to Bangkok. I think I definitely made the most out of my weekend though!