I've spent the last three days trekking in rain forest north of Chiang Mai. Most of the time it rained heavily and we got absolutely soaked. The trip started with a visit to a long-necked Karen tribe. There are three types of Karen tribes - red, white and long-necked. The women from the red and white tribes only wear red or white, depending on which tribe they belong to, until they are married. The women in the long-neck Karen tribe wear those fairly iconic rings all the way up their necks, they look pretty heavy but a woman I spoke to said they are not. We then had an elephant ride. This was better than the elephant ride I had in India as we went through rain forest and my elephant a five-year-old mare called Sitri was pretty unruly and refused to do anything her mahut, who looked like a Thai version of Blakey from 'On the buses' - "I'll get you for this Sitri (comic fist shaking)".
We then had a massive climb to about 3000ft, arriving sweaty and exhausted, and stayed the night with a Lahu tribe in a very nice wooden shack. The next day was all trekking and we were hit by the monsoon. The ground below became extremely muddy and at times resembled a dirty waterfall. I didn't have hiking boots as I couldn't justify shelling out for a few days and then carrying them the rest of the trip, and have the natural balancing skills on Bambi on ice at the best of times. For a while I found that light quick steps were the safest way to go, even if I did look like a drunken fairy, but as the rain got harder even this couldn't save me and my backside and the forest floor became close friends. Yesterday, the trek ended with rapids rafting and a ride on a bamboo raft. The group was all Dutch and German, apart from me, and we all got on very well (which I have to say as they may end up reading this, but it is also true).
Just a quick word about an elephant park which I went to immediately before the trek. They basically have performing elephants playing the harmonica, playing football, dancing throwing darts, spinning a hulahoop around their trunks and even painting. It may seem in bad taste, and I know it's impossible to tell for sure, but the elephants seem to enjoy it (there was a lot of showboating going on). Years ago elephants would be used in Thailand for logging and other agricultural work, but not anymore. Without the performances and the rides they may have no use and a sanctuary has already had to be opened for abandoned elephants. They are expensive to keep and the tourist stuff brings in much needed money to poor communities. So, on balance, I think it's a good thing.
Tonight I hope to get a bus to Bangkok to collect a Vietnam visa and then a Cambodia one, then head to Kantanaburi and the bridge over the River Kwai, before heading to the islands
We then had a massive climb to about 3000ft, arriving sweaty and exhausted, and stayed the night with a Lahu tribe in a very nice wooden shack. The next day was all trekking and we were hit by the monsoon. The ground below became extremely muddy and at times resembled a dirty waterfall. I didn't have hiking boots as I couldn't justify shelling out for a few days and then carrying them the rest of the trip, and have the natural balancing skills on Bambi on ice at the best of times. For a while I found that light quick steps were the safest way to go, even if I did look like a drunken fairy, but as the rain got harder even this couldn't save me and my backside and the forest floor became close friends. Yesterday, the trek ended with rapids rafting and a ride on a bamboo raft. The group was all Dutch and German, apart from me, and we all got on very well (which I have to say as they may end up reading this, but it is also true).
Just a quick word about an elephant park which I went to immediately before the trek. They basically have performing elephants playing the harmonica, playing football, dancing throwing darts, spinning a hulahoop around their trunks and even painting. It may seem in bad taste, and I know it's impossible to tell for sure, but the elephants seem to enjoy it (there was a lot of showboating going on). Years ago elephants would be used in Thailand for logging and other agricultural work, but not anymore. Without the performances and the rides they may have no use and a sanctuary has already had to be opened for abandoned elephants. They are expensive to keep and the tourist stuff brings in much needed money to poor communities. So, on balance, I think it's a good thing.
Tonight I hope to get a bus to Bangkok to collect a Vietnam visa and then a Cambodia one, then head to Kantanaburi and the bridge over the River Kwai, before heading to the islands
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