Thailand: The Jungle

Many hostels in Chiang Mai offer guided jungle trekking. Naturally, this was right up our alley so Dayton and I signed up. We met with our guide at our hostel to discuss logistics so he could be sure we had all the right gear. Much of the gear was provided and all we really needed was the essentials. Having planned our trip so that we would be back for Sunday church meetings, we were informed that not enough people had singed up yet so our trip would be postponed. This came as somewhat of a disappointment to us so I called our guide. I told him that we preferred to be back Saturday night so that we could go to church on Sunday and he said he would try his best. When it came down to it, going with the original plan just wasn't possible. So we decided to go ahead with the postponed trip and it turned out to be a fantastic experience. We met up with a bunch of Europeans from another hostel and after a long drive we all started to make our way into the jungle with out guide who we lovingly called "Rambo". Our guide was a short, middle-aged, Thai man who was as nice as they come. We trusted him with our lives as we ventured into what, for us, was a new world. February is the dry season in Thailand so the jungle wasn't as green as I imagined it would be but it was still so refreshing to get away from the city and all the people. The Europeans we were with were also super friendly. When we made our first stop for lunch, Dayton busted out the Frisbee and it served as a great icebreaker for the group. Pretty soon we were all laughing and having a great time together. Our lunch break was taken in a small "village" with no people around, just animals. It was like we had stumbled upon George Orwell's Animal Farm. The large pig seemed to be in charge while all the other animals tried to beg for food. After a long break we started off again to find the next village where we could stop for the night. During our hike Rambo kept pointing out interesting plants. There was one type of fern that when touched, it would close up on itself. We trekked and enjoyed the company when finally we reached a waterfall. It was gorgeous and refreshing but the night was getting on and we were almost to our destination so we didn't stay long. Exhausted, we finally arrived to a village of bamboo huts and we were greeted by the people that live there. This was also our guide's home. His nephew quickly took to us foreigners and he was soon named "jungle boy". An amazing dinner was served, made by the locals. There were even special dishes made just for Dayton and I because we are vegetarian. After dinner we got the Frisbee out again and one of the local women wanted to play with us. It was so much fun to hang out in this village in the middle of the jungle with amazing people. We made a fire and jungle boy had a guitar so we all sat around and listened to him and Dayton play music while we sang the words that we all knew. It was a fantastic way to wind down after a long day of hiking. The other Euros asked Dayton and I if we were interested in getting high with them and jungle boy. We respectfully declined but they insisted and said "but we are gonna smoke opium!" Dayton and I went to bed while 4 of the Euros stayed up with jungle boy in his hut to smoke opium. We found out later that they were soon joined by jungle boy's mom and uncle. What a different culture. In the morning I found out that the entire village was Christian. Our guide was a little curious about our religious beliefs since I had told him we wanted to be back in time for church on Sunday. We talked about it a little bit but the conversation stayed pretty vague. I also made a new puppy friend. We named him jungle dog and he followed me all over the place. 4 of the 8 Euros left after breakfast to go back to Chiang Mai while Dayton and myself stayed with 4 guys to continue trekking another day. We walked and walked through the jungle, learning about local plants from our guide and avoiding poop along the trail. We had worked out a pretty good system so that the person in the lead would announce poop on the trail by shouting "poop!". It was best when our friend from Holland, Gido, would say it. His accent was hilarious! At one point I was in the lead and walking up a slope covered by leaves when I took a step on a leaf and slid a little bit. There was fresh poop right under that leaf. For the rest of the trip, I never heard the end of it. I was now known as the guy that "likes to step in poop!" Despite being made fun of, I had a really enjoyable time. Our next stop was at an abandoned rice field. Being the dry season, the workers had all gone home and we stayed in their bamboo huts that were right next to a small waterfall. It was so peaceful and serene. After the long hike the cold clean water from the waterfall felt so good to swim in. Dinner was made for us again and it was delicious! We had another fire this night with our European friends and we all just chatted and had a great time. Sleeping in the bamboo huts was great, I was lulled to sleep by the sound of the waterfall. I woke up early and took photos of the fall and enjoyed the quiet morning while watching the sun rise. Rambo pulled me aside and started asking me questions about my religion. I had the chance to talk to him about his beliefs as well and he mentioned having seen missionaries in Chiang Mai before. He asked if there was any way that I could have them come teach his village. I didn't know exactly how that would work but I took his number anyways and was able to contact the mission office and get the cell number of the missionaries in Chiang Mai and I told them about what happened. They seemed pretty stoked. After breakfast we packed up again to make our way out of the jungle. A little ways down the trail we ran into another waterfall by a small village where people tried to sell us things. There were also a bunch of cute little puppies everywhere. They would crawl in our shoes and chew on the laces. I was so entertained by them. We also got our swim suits on and played around in the waterfall for a while. There was a way that we could actually walk behind the waterfall then walk straight out through it. It was so powerful that I could barely stay on my feet while walking through it. We had so much fun there but the time came to move on. We trekked out the rest of the way and made it to a truck where we all piled in the back and were taken to have some lunch in a town that was close by. I was so hungry that I definitely ate my fair share of the meal. After a big lunch we met up with some girls that we had seen in the jungle and we were all taken to an elephant camp to go on an elephant ride. The elephants in this camp seemed extremely depressed. They were trained to know that along the trail there are stand where the riders can buy bananas to feed them. The elephants won't move unless they are fed bananas. It's definitely a tourist trap and wasn't that great of an experience. The elephants were cool to photograph though. We were then taken back to Chiang Mai and that night, after a shower, we met up with our European friends and the girls that they had met in the jungle. We all enjoyed some food and drinks (coke for Dayton and I). One of the best parts about traveling is meeting new people and being able to learn about different thoughts and ideas. Next Stop: Bangkok Again?!