Adventure: Northern Thailand

It has unfortunately been QUITE a while since I posted. I got caught up in my last few weeks in Korea. As most of you know, I decided to end my year in Seoul early and will be heading home by Christmas.

I finished teaching November 30th and am spending a few weeks in Southeast Asia before I fly back to St. Louis on December 19th.

The first leg of my journey was to Northern Thailand, to a city called Chiang Mai. It took 3 flights to get from Seoul to Chang Mai so I arrived quite late. Luckily I had a hostel picked out and was able to get there quite easily. I immediately signed up to go out on a trek the next morning.

At 9am, a hooded pick up truck with two long benches in the back picked me up at my hostel. The trek was led by a man from the Lahu tribe, a hill-tribe located a few hours outside of Chiang Mai. Eleven of us were piled into the back of the truck and driven to the hills.

Our first activity was elephant riding. Originally, I was very excited about the idea of getting to ride an elephant. I purposely sought out a trek that involved riding elephants that were treated well. I saw no visible signs of abuse, but it didn't seem like the elephants were really respected or treated as well as the advertisement led me to believe.

After elephant riding, we set off on a 3 hour hike to a mountain peak where the Lahu people live. (for more information on the hill tribes, check this out: (http://www.1stopchiangmai.com/culture/hill_tribes/). The hike was absolutely beautiful! I'll be sure to post pics as soon as I get a chance to load them.

When we arrived in the village, we were brought to our accommodations for the night- a bamboo hut. We slept on mattresses under a mosquito net. It was actually quite pleasant, though I'm not quite sure what it would be like during the rainy season. The bamboo of the roof did not cover everything and I am sure if it rained we would've been soaked!

Though it was interesting to see the tribal village, we didn't really get to interact with the Lahu people beyond them trying to sell us massages and jewelery. It felt a bit intrusive to be staying on their land, though I understand that allowing us to do so is a major source of income for an impoverished people.

The next morning we woke up and starting hiking back down the mountain. Halfway down we stopped to swim in a gorgeous waterfall. After another hour we came to a river where we were able to white water raft and bamboo raft. I am sure the white water rafting was not nearly as intense as it is elsewhere, but it was a really fun first-time experience. When the water became very calm, we climbed onto long bamboo rafts and peacefully floated down the river.

After the rafting, we ate lunch and got back into the truck to head back to Chiang Mai. All in all, it was an amazing experience. I felt that it was a bit "canned,"as many travel agencies organize treks like this, but given the short amount of time I had in Northern Thailand, it was the best way to see as much as possible in a short time.

My last day in Chiang Mai I woke up early to take a Thai cooking class. We got to go to the market and learn how to choose the vegetables and food we would be using. Afterward, we were taught how to make three dishes. I chose Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, and a Coconut Milk soup. It was really fun to learn and we were given cookbooks so hopefully I can recreate some of the delicious food at home (hopefully...).

After the class, I spent a few hours wandering the town. I wanted to get a traditional Thai massage but was debating where to get it done. I found out that the Women's Prison has a rehabilitation program involving massage. Inmates who are scheduled to be released within 6 months are taught the art of Thai massage. They have a center next to the prison where the women give massages. All the earnings are saved for when they are released. This way, they are trained and have a legal profession and some money to start a good life when they are released. I thought this was a cool cause, so I went in for a massage. For $5, I got an hour long full body massage. It was fantastic and I'm debating if I'm going to be able to leave Southeast Asia and the wonderful and inexpensive massages.

That evening I caught a flight to Bangkok where I met up with Jake. We stayed there one night and head out on quite an adventure the next morning to cross the border into Cambodia.

And that is a story for the next post!