Trekking to a Hill Tribe in Northern Thailand

Well, I am sore all over, but I had a fabulous time on my first trekking adventure. We flew from Bangkok to a small town in Northern Thailand called Chiang Rai (Our 1.5 hour flight, with taxes and fees, was only $9.75 US dollars . . . and it was actually really nice.) We landed and took a taxi into the town to a hostel to set up a trekking trip.

Our guide, Jong, met us at the hostel and we started on our adventure. We took an hour long tail boat ride up the Mae Kok river (spectacular views) to an elephant camp. Here we rode elephants around the small village and through the river. Afterwards they fed us a great Thai lunch while all of the men watched Moi Thai boxing on a small TV in the corner.

After lunch we crossed the river and the three of us began our trek. I have never been backpacking at all, so this was a new experience for me. We walked for about three hours through the mountain hills. Most of the first two hours we were walking through rice fields. After that we started into the jungle and up the mountains. We followed a stream for a couple of hours to a small waterfall. Mostquitos were everywhere, but it was totally worth it. Tall, tall trees and huge arches of bamboo surrounded us. Jong had his machete out the whole time, hacking our way through the jungle. He took good care of us. Warned us not to touch the big green leaves, because that is where the poisonous green snakes wait to bite you.

After resting at the waterfall we climbed for another hour until we arrived at the Lahoo hill tribe village. It sat on the top of one of the mountains. We came to a hut and rested on the porch. The tribe has about 20 families and 100 people total living there. Jong made us dinner (three Thai dishes) and then two small tribeswomen pounded on my body to get the knots out.

We slept in huts on mattresses on the floor, but we had big mosquito nets, so that wasn't a problem.

The next morning we left the village and continued on our trek. We trekked for a few hours, occassionally passing other villages. We stopped at one for lunch and all three of us took an hour nap on a open porch on bamboo mats. Then we continued on.

An hour later we came to a beautiful waterfall. I have never sweat so much in my entire life, so It was better than christmas morning to jump in the water. We were the only people around, and it was fantastic. perfect temperature.

After the waterfall we continued trekking, passing a few more villages and then headed down the mountain. In all we trekked about 20 km and had not major injuries or scares. Jong was a great guide, hacked us through in safety and even made us each cups out of bamboo.

Now my body is sooooooooooooooooo tired, but I feel great.