Mud, elephants, mountains and rain!

The Three Day Trek

The guides:

Gwok - that's the phonetic-style spelling, and I'm pretty sure it's not the proper spelling of his name - Terry and Chan.

The group:

Me - obviously.
Two Irish lasses, Hazel and Maria. (If you could trip over it or fall down it, Maria did!)
An older retired couple from Devon, John (who's originally from Llanelli) and Debby, who are travelling for 3-4 years, and that's if they ever go back home.


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Day 1

We left Chang Mai at about 9am in the morning in the back of pick-up and went to a market to buy any supplies - toilet roll! - and then on to the Elephant Park. At the Elephant Park Hazel & Maria had an elephant to themselves, John & Debby got into the seat strapped to the back of the other elephant, and the 'driver'(?) told me that I was to sit on the neck. At first I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. So I spent about thirty minutes clenching my thighs for dear life around the elephants neck as he whacked my knees with his ears and wandered along the path. The driver kept shouting at the elephant, but I had the impression that the elephant knew exactly where he was going, and that he woiuld get there in his own time.

After the Elephant Park, we walked for about thirty minutes to a waterfall where we had a 'swim.' Otherwise known as swimming and going backwards, so I sat on a rock, with the water up to my shoulders and helped the girls stay on their feet.

Refreshed after the waterfall, we walked for about two hours to the Karen village where we stayed for the night. After dinner the rain started and didn't stop until the following morning. So the guides did magic tricks - "David Copperfield!" - with cards and matches.


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Day 2

Because of the previous nights rain we left the village later than we should have and had a revised route, since the original five hour route would have been too treacherous. The new route lasted about three hours and basically went up the mountain and down the otherside. Halfway up the mountain you could hear a rumble of thunder in the distance and then hear the rain falling through the canopy of the treetops, moving nearer and nearer to us. When it finally reached us, the rain turned the paths into streams in moments.

Lunch at the top of the mountain - if there was no cloud the guides said we would have been able to see Burma - was slightly warm Super Noodles in a banana leaf wrap. I wasn't quite hungry enough to eat it, so I left it for the wildlife to eat.

We arrived at the camp by the waterfall where we were to spend the night much earlier than we should have, so everyone had a shower under the waterfall. It's not quite as glamorous as the adverts would have you believe, but it was extremely refreshing!

After dinner - a curried something and non-curried something with lots of rice - it was pitch black outside but only about 6.30pm in the evening and far to early to go to bed. So for entertainment we all played 'Drinking Games' but without the drinking of alcohol. The guides and John were drinking cans of beer but everone else was drinking water since I don't think anybody fancied trekking along the mountainside with a hangover. Regardless, it ended up being an extremely entertaining night with lots and lots of laughter. With the girls teaching Gwok(?) to 'Irish Dance' and Terry's continuing attempts to woo Maria. He was about as subtle as sledgehammer, but it was good fun!


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Day 3

After a shower or a wash in the river, everybody got into their damp and muddy clothes and we hiked for about three hours along and down the mountainside to the waiting pick-up truck. We were driven to a shack for our lunch, where we meet up with another group and were told to put on sandals ready for the bamboo rafting.

Bamboo rafting - imagine a really big longboard made out of bamboo that offers absolutely no stability and you're close - has got the most fun you can have with clothes on! We spread out across three rafts; John, Debby and myself on one, Hazel, Maria and Phil (a really nice bloke from Leeds) on another and the four girls from the other group on the third, and set off down the river, nice and sedately.

Of course, as soon as you get near somebody else's raft the fun starts. "No wet, no fun!" Terry kept shouting, and soon everybody was kicking, splashing and falling into the river.

By the end of the trip, Hazel, Maria, Phil and Terry had managed to break their raft and Phil had spent more time in the river than on the raft. A great laugh and I recommend that everybody who goes to Chang Mai should go bamboo rafting.

After the rafting the other group got into some clean, dry clothes whilst our group dripped water and sand onto the road waiting for our photos to arrive. There wasn't a towel or item of clothing between us that wasn't wet and muddy. And we had an hour's drive back to Chang Mai to look forward to!


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Back at the guesthouse I had two showers, just to be sure that I was clean, and finally got into some clean clothes. Downstairs I met up with Hazel, Maria and Phil and we went for dinner. The girls detox went out of the window and everybody ate and drunk themselves happy. After all we deserved it! On our table there was three whole fish, plus three bowls of soup, and plates of noodles, rice and salad, bottles of water, and glasses of wine, fruit shakes and gin & tonics. I was stuffed when we left to find a bar and have a few more beers and cocktails before bed.

A great three days and more trekking to come when I arrive in Laos!