Jungle Jadine

I have to say, that the last three days were the highlight of my trip thus far. Not only were we blessed with rain-free weather, but my trekking companions were fantastic. The first day we mostly hiked up, stopping to cool off in a little waterfall. That night we spent in a "bamboo hotel" in a Black Lahu (sp?) tribe village up in the mountains. The view was spectacular, and the people in the village were very sweet. Obviously they are very used to tourists spending the night there and taking their photos. My new friend Steven, from Rhode Island, was snapping photos of the local children with a Canon camera which had an enormous lens. The kids just ignored him and kept on playing. I can't imagine what it must be like to live solely off of the income generated by the occasional tour group. According to our guide, the people in this village are not allowed to have a Thai passport, and therefore cannot work outside of the village. So, basically they live off the land, and raise their own chickens and pigs.

The next day we mostly hiked down and had lunch while sitting on the rocks next to a larger waterfall. They served us noodles in makeshift bowls made from a bamboo stem. It was pretty cool...Then we continued on to our "jungle camp", yet another bamboo shack, but this one was more private and it was located next to a stream. We bathed in the stream...very Swiss Family Robinson! In the evening, we chatted by the fire while our guides sang faulty lyrics to English songs. Too funny...

The last day was relatively quick. We hiked the rest of the way down, ending up at an elephant camp, and we went for an elephant ride through the jungle. I got to ride on our elephant's neck and feed her bananas. We called her Sophie. She had prickly hair on her bumpy head. Then we went white water rafting down a river (name forgotten) and then a more relaxing float on bamboo rafts. They fed us lunch before driving us back to Chiang Mai. After showering and washing our clothes, Sarah and I treated ourselves to a much deserved Thai massage. It was lovely...my masseuse discovered areas of my body that I didn't even know were stiff and stepped on them and/or kneaded them with her hands, knees or forearms. Then we went to dinner at a Pakistani/Indian restaurant near the night market before meeting up with some other people from our trek at a new bar that was opening in Chiang Mai. The bar was full of Thai lady boys, and we were even treated to a show. The owner kept giving us free alcohol, and I'm still feeling the effects at 1:02 pm.

I will hopefully leave for Laos tomorrow. I think it's possible to get a package deal which includes transportation by bus to the border, a lazy ride on the Mekong river to Luang Prabeng, accomodation and some meals. Today my goal is to sort out the details.

Don't worry...I'm being safe! Only 8 days left...