Day 12.

Get up on Tuesday morning and packed some gear for our 2 day hill trek and set off for Chiang Rai at 9am. After making a last stop at 7/11 for water and snacks, the songthaew's took us out into countryside to start our trek.

After being issued with a bamboo walking stick each, we ventured into the Jungle. The trail was pretty basic, just a foot-wide goat track, and our guide had to pull out the machete to clear the path a few times. No steps going up hill either, so the bamboo sticks provided some much needed traction when things got a bit slippery.

Stopped for lunch at 1pm and had our packed lunches from the homestay, fried egg and noodles wrapped in a couple of banana leaves. Tasted not bad, and was good to be able to just chuck the packaging away afterwards.

After 3 hours of trekking we got to the village at 2pm. Our accommodation was a simple bamboo hut on poles just big enough to fit the 12 of us sleeping on the floor.



Had a walk around the village, most houses were made of basic bamboo and wood. Apparently they have to rebuild them every 2-3 years as bamboo only lasts that long in sun and rain. They had power but only used it sparingly, and water was provided by a simple PVC pipe from the stream.

In the afternoon the village kids came to visit. Was fun watching them playing games and amusing themselves with only a ball or some balloons we brought.

Rabbit Ears.


Smile. The people in the village belong to one of the indigenous hill tribe's, the Akha .


The Akha live in small villages in Northern Thailand and neighbouring countries.


In Grandma's arms. Although 95% of the people of Thailand are Buddhists, but many people in the village were Christian.


Snack time.


Watching the footy game.


Mum's pride and joy.


Fun and games.


Origami.


Portrait.


Our porters prepared dinner for us at 6pm over a wood stove. Springrolls, chicken green curry, beans, pumpkin and egg. Plenty of leftovers too which the village kids quickly lapped up.

We played 'chase the ace', a simple card game after dinner, and although the kids couldn't speak English, they soon picked it up.


Day 13.

Got at 7am on Wednesday morning and after toast and eggs for breakfast, headed off into the hills again. Started to rain a bit which made the track slippery and the mossies were pretty mental which added to the fun.

Kept trekking up and down a few hills, and then descended into a valley where they were growing tea and coffee.

Kept walking again along the valley until we headed up the hill again. Stopped at a large waterfall, had quick lunch of noodles (in banana leaves again), and then went for a dip. Nice and cool after all the hill climbing.

Set off again for the village and arrived. Staying at a bamboo hut again, but on the side of the hill, so wasn't too reassuring when it creaks and shakes when you go inside.



Not many kids at the village, so not as hectic but got a chance in the afternoon to rest and chill-out.

There was a platform over a small pond to sit down and we started bringing out the dishes of food cooked by the porters. All the food was out and everyone was sitting down to eat dinner when there was a large crack, one side of the platform collapsed sending 8 people and all the food sliding into the pond!

Luckily no one got hurt, except for a few scrapes and bruises. Happened pretty quickly and everyone was in a mixture of shock and laughter.



Our hosts cooked up some more food and after everyone who went for a dip had a shower, managed to have dinner at the second attempt. Spent the rest of the evening telling jokes and playing cards before heading off to sleep in the bamboo hut perched on the side of the hill.


Day 14.

Got up at 7:30am on Thursday morning with the bamboo hut luckily still intact. After packing up, had pancakes and honey for breakfast and then headed off with the bamboo poles again. After a bit more bush bashing started to descend into a picturesque valley where they were growing rice and tea. Walked through a few more villages and then down to the road along the river. After a bit more walking we arrived at some natural hot springs and went for a swim. Was great to wash off 2 days of sweat and grime after all the walking in the hot and humid jungle, great for the muscles too.

Went to a little restaurant by the road for lunch and had some chicken pad Thai, and then back on the songthaew's again back to civilisation to Chiang Rai and checked into a guesthouse. Was good to have the first hot shower and shave after 3 days.

Just had spare time in the afternoon, and walk through a walk through town and to the fruit and vege markets and took some portrait shots:

Taking it easy.


Dumplings.


Rikshaw.


Gold.


Pick up.


Cowboy.


Workshop.


Meet up at 6 with the rest of the guys and walked down to the night markets. Went to quite a nice big restaurant in the centre of the markets. A few of us had western meals, but I opted for fried chicken curry and steamed. Got a bottle of water and fresh dragon fruit juice for the first time, very tasty. We then wandered around the night markets and picked up a few last minute souvenirs.


Day 15.

Got up at 6am for a run. All the hill walking must have done something to my legs because running on the straight level roads seemed to be so much easier than when I last went for a run before the trekking.

Meet up at 7:30am and then caught the 2 songthaew's for the last time to the bus station to catch the public bus to Chiang Mai.

After waiting with our bags for the bus to arrive, at exactly 8am, the Thai national anthem started playing on the loudspeakers and literally everyone stood up to attention. We of course did what everyone else did. A couple of stray dogs started howling too, and was quite surreal. Apparently it happens every day at 8am.

Caught the bus at 8:30am to Chiang Mai, quite nice and clean, had aircon and even got a bottle of water and some biscuits. Watched the movie 'Battleship' that was playing on the TV. All in Thai dubbing, but was just a typical Hollywood action flick with little plot so didn't matter.

Got to Chiang Mai at about 11:45am, and me and an Aussie girl jumped in a mini van to go to the tiger park, while the others headed to the guesthouse. Only 2 of us as some of the others had already been when we came to Chiang Mai last Saturday (instead of the cycle tour).

At the tiger park you literally get to pet the tigers. These parks in Thailand get a bit of a rap, but this one was supposed to be ‘ok’.

There were three options, baby tigers (2-3 months), slightly bigger cubs (5-7 months) and fully grown tigers. In between were the 'teenage' tigers who were a bit too 'playful' to let the tourists get close too. The sign also said 'insurance premium included', which I guess means you won't have to pay extra for the trip to the hospital in case something goes awry.

I signed up for the big tigers (although the baby tigers cost 50% more for some reason) and awaited my turn.

After getting our ticket and awaiting our turn, we headed into the enclosure. Wasn't that nervous, although the keeper seemed to be on constant alert, which is probably a good thing.

We then got the pet a couple of the tigers, quite a surreal experience! We weren't allowed to take bags in, so I had to hold my spare camera lens. Put it on the ground while I took a few snaps. One of the tigers spotted it and strolled over to check it out. Luckily one of the keepers picked it up though before he managed to have a chew.



Big yawn.


Got back to the guesthouse at 2pm, and went for a walk downtown and wimped out and had my first burger in 2 weeks. Bought a few t-shirts at the markets too.

Got to the train station in the afternoon to catch the 15 hour train back to Bangkok. The trip is unfortunately almost over!

Some monks who were also Bangkok bound:




Day 16.

Arrived back in Bangkok on the sleeper train about 9am yesterday. Dumped the bags at the hotel and went for a walk and went to the National Museum, and then went to an amulet market by the Grand Palace where they were selling all these buddhist amulets.

Then caught the river boat down the main river to Chinatown, and just walked through all the shops and street stalls. The weekend so was very hectic! The street vendors took up most of the pavement with their stalls so often have to walk on the road and brave the crazy traffic to get anywhere.

At 6:30pm we met up for the final dinner. Half the group are travelling south to the beaches, while the rest of us are back to work this week.

We then headed to Obayoke hotel, the tallest building in Thailand, and went up to the rotating viewing platform on the 83rd floor, and got to see Bangkok at night from above.



Only 400 baht, or about $15 and included a cocktail at the bar on the 82nd floor. I'm not much of a cocktail person, so got one of the few I recognised, a Blue Hawaii.




Day 17.

Off to the airport and back Dubai today, and back to work tomorrow morning. Was a great a holiday, many cool experiences and happy memories!