Monday 3 February 2014

Thailand Travels: Day 8, Day 1 of the Hill Tribe Trek

On Tuesday the group began its hill-tribe trek of the north. We and our rucksacks bundled into the back of a pickup truck and we began our 3 hour drive to the hills. The plan was to stop each hour of the journey at different points. The first time we stopped at a local market to buy water, snacks and very important... loo roll!! (Since there would be no loo roll with the tribes!)



The second stop was at a beautiful cascading waterfall for swimming and photographs.



Normally I just paddle in the water because it's always too cold for me to go for a proper swim. However, today was really hot and there was no way I wasn't getting a selfie under the waterfall!!


Kirsty and I did some posing together and then she took a few snaps of me doing some calendar-style posing. It just had to be done!!! ;-)





Our whole group came in for a paddle and we got a great group shot with our G Adventures tour guide, Sek, laying across us.



After this it was time for the final leg of the trip. We clambered back into the truck and set off again. There was one quick stop for lunch at a local hut on the roadside and then we were off again.

After a total of 3 hours driving we made it to a trek starting point. We trekked up and down hills for about 2.5 hours in the afternoon with two local guides.






Thankly most of the trek was in the shade as it was very hot and sunny by this point. However it was still challenging and highlighted how unfit I was!









Luckily the views were really beautiful which kept me going when my legs had turned to jelly and had given up on me!



One interesting thing I noticed was there were holes in the soil which were covered in cobwebs - they were everywhere! Our tour guide Anan (we called him Nannoo for some reason...) put his hand into one and pulled out a Tarantula spider which naturally made all the girls scream and run as far away as possible from!



After what seemed an eternity we arrived at the local village which we were to stay at and met the lovely local people. There were 3 really cute kids running around the village playing football and one particular girl which I wanted to take home!





That night the whole group stayed in a hut made from wood and corrugated metal sheets. It was very basic but I was excited to stay the night in the village and experience the tribe's way of life. The beds were made from several blankets instead of mattresses and we each had a mosquito net around our bed to protect us from nasties.



The tribe cooked us a red curry with rice and vegetable sides and then we had fresh pineapple for pudding. Whilst the meal was being prepared I went in pto the kitchen and found our tour guide playing the guitar and singing songs. It was one of the WOW moments when you think "I can't believe I'm here, doing this!!!" I felt so far away from my life back home but yet I also felt extremely privileged to be in this position and seeing a whole different way of life.






After dinner we bought beers from the tribe and sat round a fire to keep warm as the temperature dropped. The stars were out and we all commented on how many you could see without the light pollution of the city. Sek continued to play the guitar and we sang along to the songs we knew and I taught everyone how to play zip-zap-bop as a bit of a drinking game.


We were all pretty knackered after the day of trekking so we went to sleep around midnight.

1 comment:

  1. Day 8 sounds like it was a really good, interesting and fun day. Keep going and eating all the different things. Enjoy! x

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