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Bidding our silent hosts goodbye, we walk away down
the dusty track, moving deep into the forest. Now
the going is mostly uphill and much tougher. We often
find ourselves following narrow paths with huge drops
on one side. The coward in me balks at this, but the
others seem to love the adventure of it.
After about three hours we arrive – very sweaty and
tired – at a Karen village. The village consists of
a collection of about a dozen wooden huts, each on
four foot high stilts. All the villagers here are
self sufficient, lively solely off their own skills
as farmers, and dozens of pigs and chickens roam freely.
My group is told that we will be setting up camp here
for the night and invited to explore.
As the sun sets, dinner is served on a long wooden
table in the centre of the village. We are all starving
and quickly demolish the curry, vegetable and rice
dishes.
Later, the tour guides build a fire and we all sit
around it and relax with a few beers. Ban gets out
his guitar and starts to sing loud, off-key Western
songs. Suddenly, he starts to sing "Puff the
Magic Dragon"! I wonder if he knows what the
song is really about. I start to giggle and retreat
to my bed before I lose face too much.
The six trekkers share a large room in one of the
big wooden huts. I awake early in the morning to the
sound of baby chicks and pigs and peer through the
floorboards beneath me to glimpse them searching for
food. Totally spellbound, i get up to watch them while
my fellow trekkers snore away.
There are several hill tribe groups living in the
north of Thailand including Hmong, Mein, Lisu, Akkha
and Paduang. Each group has migrated from one of the
surrounding countries such as China or Myanmar and
still follow their cultures, lifestyles and clothing
patterns.
The group that we are staying with are known as the
White-Karen and originally came from Myanmar. They
wear beautiful multi-coloured woven clothes and are
very friendly. As I explore the village I am invited
to watch as a couple of women use a huge wooden tool
to take the husks of their rice, while another women
attempts to teach me to weave bracelets.
Once the others are finally up and we’ve had breakfast
it is time to continue our trek. We walk for about
an hour to a jungle clearing, where a few elephants
– managed by a man from the Karen village – stand
waiting. We carefully climb aboard and set off for
a thrilling ride through the jungle.
When we are finished, i find that it is hard to say
goodbye to the mighty beasts and start walking again.
We have to walk for about six hours that day, some
of the way across rope bridges, rocks and narrow ledges.
The scenery was simply stunning as we passed lush
paddy fields, through a thick pine forest and followed
a flowing river.
At mid afternoon we finally came to a stop beside
a small waterfall. In a nearby clearing stand three
huts – our accommodation for the night. We all spend
the rest of the day swimming, eating and drinking
beer, happy to have finished walking for the day.
In the evening a very drunk Ban insists on showing
us some magic tricks before we all turn in for the
night. The forest is pitch black, which is a bit unnerving
for those of us that are used to the bright lights
and sounds of the city.
Waking up in a private hut beside a waterfall is
simple magical. Poor Ban seemed very much the worst
for wear though. After a gruelling three hour walk
on sore feet and legs we stopped to enjoy a picnic
beside the Mae Tang River.
Finally, completely exhausted but pleased by our
natural encounter, we climb back into the truck and
are driven to Chiang Mai. Sometimes it’s worth stepping
out of the city for a touch of nature. But only every
once in a while!
Information:
The best time to go trekking is between November
and February. Remember to take a small backpack with
a change of clothes, swimming gear, towel etc and
wear comfortable walking shoes. Insect repellent is
also a must.
About the author:
Kirsty
Turner (Kay) is currently living in Bangkok
where she she is a travel writer.
More articles by this author:
Wat
Saket - the Golden Mount
| Things
to Do Under 50 Baht | My
Date with Mr Thailand | Confessions
of a Coward: An Indian Adventure | Koh
Phangan - a Magical Mystery Tour | Thailand's
Floating Markets - The Real Thing | The
Beauty of Big Mountain: Khao Yai National
Park |
Loy Krathong - of Light and Water |
May Kaidee : Veggie Power |
Park Life | Go
Koh Chang | Of
House and Home - Spirit Houses | Patravadi
Theatre - Play Acting | Erawan
Waterfall | Pad
Thai - The Stuff of Life | Puttamonthon
Park - Lizard Safari | Focus
on Culture: Thai Superstitions and Beliefs | Veggie
Delight | Wakeboarding
in Thailand | Ready,
Set, Go-kart! | Phuket
Vegetarian Festival | Baiyoke
Tower | Dream
World | Incense
| Dusit
Zoo | Wat
Doi Suthep | Wat
Arun | Bangkok
Parks | Surprise
in the City | Ancient
City | Penang,
Malaysia | Future
Light Childrens Home | Chiang
Mai Trekking
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