Northern Thailand

After some navigation to the train station, we took a sleeper train up to Chiang Mai, which is probably the most popular northern city in Thailand. The train consisted of mostly western backpackers in addition to some Thai locals commuting for the weekend or taking a small trip. It was about $25 for a 14 hour sleeper train, and was like nothing I've ever taken. Accompanied by some Chang Beer, Thailand's equivalent of Bud Light, we were able to get some sleep on the shaky ride, while gripping our passports and valuables in our bed with us. Theft is huge on the trains, despite all the government's efforts to eliminate it.

Once we arrived, we found our target guesthouse staff waiting at the station with a truck (In northern Thailand, they have these pickup trucks that have a covered wagon with seats in the back; those serve as the taxis in Chiang Mai). Our guesthouse, called Libra Guesthouse, was spectacular. An extremely friendly environment, family owned and operated, great food, travel advice, and highly-recommended jungle treks. Within a few hours, we were already booked on a Jungle trek scheduled to leave the next morning. The total group size was 11 people, 5 british nurses taking a year off to travel and work in Australia, two french beatniks just traveling northern thailand, an Israeli dude about our age traveling the world for a year after finishing his mandatory military service, and then us 3 Americans. We also had two fantastic guides, who pretty much kept us safe at all times: Bee & Mr. Sang, both certified and trained for two years before leading these treks. Mr Sang also grew up in one of the rural villages before his guide job.

I read somewhere that there are almost 200 different trekking companies in Chiang Mai, and that many of them go to crowded spots that lack any sense of the remote Thai jungle. Our 3 day 2 night trek had us walking alone, almost 10 miles up hills and through muddy valleys while resting at two very rural villages near the Burmese border. The first day we stopped at a gorgeous hidden waterfall and jumped in before it began to pour rain. Then we packed it up and hiked a few hours in the mud to the first village. We arrived with candy for the village children (which they loved!) and also brought a good deal sensitivity for their traditions and way of life.

Both night we slept in bamboo huts with mosquito nets. Pigs and chickens could be found grazing about, and there was just one outhouse. At night, the villagers made an income by selling us drinks and some local handcrafts. Nighttime was also when the big bugs came out to play. Huge spiders the about 5 inches in diameter could be seen in the outhouses, and on the walls of the bamboo huts at any evening hour. The group dynamic was phenomenal. There were the French, British, Americans, and Israelis sitting in candlelight sharing stories and jokes into the night. We found out almost every linguistic difference between Brits and Americans: Just to name a few: Lift = elevator, loo = toilet, rubbish = trash, smoko = cigarrette....and so on.

Day 2 we hiked out of the village down to a large river, where we took two handmade bamboo rafts down a pretty rapid river for 2 hours, before landing at the second village. More stories and more fun. We were lucky enough to have a hose at the second village to wash off. Sang, one of our guides, guided our raft down the river (all the guys on the trip). Since it was such a long ride, he taught us an old Thai Elephant Song. In Thai, "Chang" means elephant. (Chang Beer = elephant beer).

The final day of the trek, we were all extremely tired, but it was probably the most memorable. We did an hour and half hiking through an old cave near a rice paddy. Bats, bugs, the usual... Then we moved on to an elephant camp and rode on these enormous elephants for about an hour. If you haven't been on top of an elephant before, they are extremely sensitive, smart, beautiful and hungry creatures. Our elephant could not stop eating, as she ripped out several bamboo and banana trees along the ride. It was also refreshing when we stopped in a river, since the elephants sprayed their bodies down with water to cool off, also giving us a nice bath in the process.

We were more than gracious to return to the city after the trek. And I had a newfound appreciation for running water. There are so many things we take for granted. It's important to take a step back and realize how much we really do have in the States. We can get almost any resource at our fingertips, and we should remember that most of the world does not have even a fraction of what we find essential to live. Apparently Cambodia is much worse, from what we heard from the other backpackers. But witnessing the poverty level, and realizing the power of our dollar in a developing country is a very valuable experience.