Call me a trekkie!
G'day folks, long time no blog... with good reason. I have been out to the sticks in Northern Thailand, living with hill tribe people. Safe to say that they don't have internet access out there, best they have is an electric lightbulb.
The trekking expedition started off with 11 of us stuffed onto the back of a pick up truck headed for the hills. Getting off in the middle of nowhere we started walking... and walking... and walking. Sometimes up a hill, sometimes down a hill, but always in the baking hot sunshine!
The scenary was really picturesque, really rural looking paddy fields and wooden huts, but if I am honest, nothing that I haven't seen before in Hong Kong's new territories. Strange to think that my parents used to live in similar wooden huts and farms, so really I have only a generation removed from these hill tribe people which have become a tourist attraction for being primative.
Staying overnight in this village was fun as their was a gruop of 11 of us tourists with nothing to do but have each other for company. I mean normally we'd have a nice air con room to relax in and watch TV, but here we had a communual room with... erm... some windows... so we all had dinner then huddled around a camp fire and had a few beers. Thai beer is pretty strong (6.4%) and soon we were playing drinking games and singing songs to the stars in the sky.
Waking up at 5am the next morning was not voluntary. The cockerals on this farm are crazy and will start crowing like crazy even when it is pitch black! There were definately a few sore heads the next morning. Further walking ensured, followed by an elephant ride for an hour. For Darren, the Irish guy in our group (who being Irish should really be able to do better), sitting on top of a swaying elephant was too much and threw up from the top of the elephant, nearly hitting the elephant trainer below. Now as a hangover story throwing up from the top of an elephant in Thailand's jungles beats throwing up all over a construction yard anyday :P
The rest of the day was pretty taxing, after elephants we still had some more trekking until lunch by a waterfall. Fried instant noodles, gorgeous... not! Then more walking until we got to do some bamboo rafting on the river before taking the truck back home to Chiang Mai.
After a bit of a kerfuffle with hotels, we are now staying in a pretty luxerious hotel in the city centre. Just had an hour and a half of foot, hand and back massage which was just the thing after the trekking. Gonna lux it up for the next couple of days before we rough it again, this time staying in an elephant camp learning how to look after and train an elephant. If there's one thing I have learnt it's not to ride on one if you have a hangover!
The trekking expedition started off with 11 of us stuffed onto the back of a pick up truck headed for the hills. Getting off in the middle of nowhere we started walking... and walking... and walking. Sometimes up a hill, sometimes down a hill, but always in the baking hot sunshine!
The scenary was really picturesque, really rural looking paddy fields and wooden huts, but if I am honest, nothing that I haven't seen before in Hong Kong's new territories. Strange to think that my parents used to live in similar wooden huts and farms, so really I have only a generation removed from these hill tribe people which have become a tourist attraction for being primative.
Staying overnight in this village was fun as their was a gruop of 11 of us tourists with nothing to do but have each other for company. I mean normally we'd have a nice air con room to relax in and watch TV, but here we had a communual room with... erm... some windows... so we all had dinner then huddled around a camp fire and had a few beers. Thai beer is pretty strong (6.4%) and soon we were playing drinking games and singing songs to the stars in the sky.
Waking up at 5am the next morning was not voluntary. The cockerals on this farm are crazy and will start crowing like crazy even when it is pitch black! There were definately a few sore heads the next morning. Further walking ensured, followed by an elephant ride for an hour. For Darren, the Irish guy in our group (who being Irish should really be able to do better), sitting on top of a swaying elephant was too much and threw up from the top of the elephant, nearly hitting the elephant trainer below. Now as a hangover story throwing up from the top of an elephant in Thailand's jungles beats throwing up all over a construction yard anyday :P
The rest of the day was pretty taxing, after elephants we still had some more trekking until lunch by a waterfall. Fried instant noodles, gorgeous... not! Then more walking until we got to do some bamboo rafting on the river before taking the truck back home to Chiang Mai.
After a bit of a kerfuffle with hotels, we are now staying in a pretty luxerious hotel in the city centre. Just had an hour and a half of foot, hand and back massage which was just the thing after the trekking. Gonna lux it up for the next couple of days before we rough it again, this time staying in an elephant camp learning how to look after and train an elephant. If there's one thing I have learnt it's not to ride on one if you have a hangover!
posted by Kee at 13:50
2 Comments:
Kee I see you are really enjoying these massages..wat are you gonna do when you get back?
"Strange to think that my parents used to live in similar wooden huts and farms, so really I have only a generation removed from these hill tribe people...."
LOL only 1 generation?
We always have commented on your age you old fart!!!
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