Riding with elephants and leeches

Though its the rain season right now in Thailand and there was massive flooding in the north just a week before we arrived, we were pretty determined to do some trekking around Chiang Mai. Here, you can ride elephants and that was at the very top of the things we wanted to do. We spent our first day in Chiang Mai basically talking to as many tour agencies as we could to try and find a decent trekking group. They aren't really well regulated so the quality of the tours vary a lot. After hours of hitting the streets (hey, traveling isn't always roses and sunshine), we finally decided on going through the Eagle House. We booked a 3-day, 2-night tour that included stays with local Karen villages, bamboo rafting and of course elephant riding. We had a orientation meeting the night before we left and the group looked pretty good so we were pretty excited.

We ended up riding the elephants the first day. Since the elephants are so tall, we had to climb up to the second floor of this hut in order to hop on. It was pretty exciting at first since we were so high up and riding an elephant for godssake(!) but the seat got uncomfortable pretty quickly. Our elephant kept misbehaving also, stopping to tug at some grass or just stand around rather than following the group. We also had an elephant driver who actually sat on the elephant's head (ouch) and sang Thai pop songs as we ambled along. Ang even got to drive!! It was pretty great though there were times I swear we were about to slide off the elephant but we made it with no injuries except some sore butts.

We were hanging on for dear life!! But it was really cool to be ambling along at such great heights (stupid pop reference, I know).

The elephant behind us was a bit too friendly for me!

We got splashed pretty badly by the other elephant. Oh, its on!

It was like out of a movie. I mean, who does this in real life??

Our elephant ride was part of the tour but not necessarily part of the trek (I imagined we were going to ride the elephants from point A to point B rather than just around the elephant camp) so we quickly left to start our hike. We were hiking from village to village to see how the hill-tribes were like and to enjoy some of the mountainous scenery around the north and everything was beautiful. We were hiking through the jungle, pushing leaves and vines out of the way as we walked as well as through villagers farms filled with rice paddies and green stalks that we couldn't really recognize. With all the development in Thailand, it was really nice to escape it all. It felt like we traveled back through time except when we encountered motorbikes on the trail (how did they get those out there??). Some of the trails were really steep (no picnic in this weather!!) but we had some unbelievable views. Its just so lush and green out there.

The scenery along the hike was so beautiful and peaceful. It was great to be the only ones out there besides the local villagers.

We passed through many little villages like this one and even stayed in them overnight. Its so interesting to see how these people keep their traditions alive while integrating more modern ways.

Our accomodations on the first night. Thank god for the mosquito nets though the bamboo flooring was pretty hard to sleep on.

On the second day, we had to hike up some grueling hills in the humidity. We're pretty sweaty and gross but we're happy to make it to the top!

Taking a well-deserved break!

Our leader, Doh, is also from the Karen tribeso he was so helpful with information about the people. Usually when I go trekking, the guides will have info on the land or the area but most people won't really have information on how the people live unless they are a local themselves so it was definitely a trip to remember. Doh explained local customs, food, livelihood and traditions. We even got a tour of a traditional house and saw how the people adapted to the seasons. We also got a demonstration of how the farmers grow, store and prepare rice. It definitely added another flavor to the trip that was very much appreciated. Its always so interesting to see how the local people live their lives that are so different from our own.

Our leader, Doh, on the right, with some villagers. They are roasting some frogs though apparently last month was better for frog catching. Oh well!

We even got a demostration by this 78-year-old (yes, 78!) woman without any teeth. She was showing us how they husked the rice using this huge stick/weight thing.

But the rain definitely made it hard. Everyday, we would a pretty hardcore rain shower though we were usually able to find cover before the skies really opened up. But the rain made all the streams extremely high and the trails very muddy. We had some pretty intense river crossings and even had to take off our shoes to cross a few with water up to our thighs. Some people ended up falling into the water or slipping on the trails so it made the tough hikes even harder. But the worse part was the leeches!! Doh told us that they really only show up during the first part of the rain season, which meant exactly when we were trekking. The first day was okay, with only a few people getting them on their skin or shoes but the second day they were everywhere!! It felt like everytime I looked down, there would be some disgusting wiggly sticky leech on my shoe, trying to worm its way to my blood. We were so freaked out that we could barely walk a step without checking our shoes! Combine that with the mud and the rain and you have a winning combination. We all ended up with a couple on our skin but Doh was all over it with tobacco leaves. Leeches don't hurt or anything, they are just really really gross and you have to be careful not to yank them off because they bury their heads under the skin. But we made it through! That'll definitely be something I remember forever!

Hiking through the rain season is good because the weather is cooler (it was hot enough!) but it means bad river crossings and, dun dun dun, leeches!

Ang's bloody sock. Mine didn't look any better! When you pulled the leeches off, the wounds just bled and bled. It was so disgusting!

The last day of our trek consisted on bamboo rafting. I thought it would be like in Yangshao, with us sitting on bamboo rafts, slowly floating down the river. Yeah, right. First, Doh and a few villagers spent all morning actually building the rafts right there and then so we were a bit worried about the integrity of the rafts though we were assured that they were stable and secure. We were relieved until we went down the first rapids. Yes, rapids! We were standing on these rafts, tied together with strips of leaves, with nothing to hold onto as we bumped into rocks and down rapids. Luckily, our raft held it together though there were definitely times where we were just barely holding on, especially when our guide lost his stick in the mud. We crashed into some rocks but our raft held it together! It was really fun but I was pretty glad when it was over :).

Our rafting team! That's our guide in the corner, tying another bamboo stick to the raft since, as you can see, we're already under water (and that's before we left!).

The team post-rafting (Michaela, Gary, me and Ang), dry and relieved to have made it! We were afraid of getting our cameras wet so no photos during the rafting. It would have been a sight to be seen though!

Overall, the trek was really great. It was hot and humid the entire time (I think some of the mud is permanently imbedded in my clothes) but we had such a great time, enjoying the scenery and handling some of the adventure! We got a lot more than I had expected but the best trips always do, yeah? Our group was also really great and we were always joking around or helping each other with leeches. That's a sure way to bond a group, let me just tell you! We met up for a last night dinner and some drinks after a very very very looooonnnng hot shower. Definitely a great way to end an amazing trip!!

We're now on our way to Siem Reap in Cambodia. I'm pretty sad to be leaving Thailand but then I remember that I'm coming back in a few weeks to hit the beaches! Hopefully the rains won't be too disruptive there!