Bamboo Rafting
Chiang Mai, Thailand
March 31, 2009
Boy made another great meal for us. Breakfast consisted of eggs with onion and tomato, toast and fruit.
We said goodbye to the English and Irish girls and the guy from Germany. They are going to continue on and stay at the Jungle Camp tonight. We visited the village Nursery School before we departed. There are 11 children who have class every day from 7:30 until 4:00. They are taught many things including the Thai language and numbers. Most children in the village go to primary school, but only 1 or 2 go to high school in a town near Chiang Mai. I wish we had spent more time with the people in the village. I would have liked to hear more about their lives.
We began our hike back via a different route. Most of our trekking today is downhill which seems like it should be easier, but I find is harder on my legs and knees. Most of the time it was better to let the person in front of me go ahead and jog down the hill a bit. I had to be careful to not slip on loose stones or leaves though.
Our first stop was a waterfall. It was nice to relax and hear the calming sound of the water. After our rest we had to scale a rock wall to the other side of the water. We were all sure that the Dutch guy would fall in again, but he did not. We all made it across dry!
We walked past some camps and I wonder if this is where the rest of the group will spend their evening. We were able to take another rest at a music shop in the middle of the forest. A guy gave us a demonstration on one of his homemade instruments. It was a lovely spot to rest, there were some lilies planted around the property. It was so strange that his home and "store" are in the middle of nowhere.
Our hike today is more scenic. A lot of the time we are near a river. The water is quite low now, but we can see that it can be quite high at times and you would not be able to walk in some of the places where we were. I feel like I am doing the final test on "Last 10 lbs Bootcamp" with Tommy today - LOL! We were able to rest at another waterfall. It was nice, but I am sure is much more impressive after the rainy season.
We concluded our hike just before noon (2 1/2 hours) and were loaded into a truck with 3 others to go to lunch. We had lunch near the place where we rode the elephants, so we were able to get one last look at the babies. We had Pad Thai and fried rice for lunch and pineapple for dessert. It was pretty good and I ate too much. I had a Spy wine cooler with my meal and Bill had a soda.
We hopped back in the truck (this one does not have benches, we are sitting or standing in the bed) and went to the rafting spot near Ban Mae-Ping Noi. It is pretty hot, so the being in the water felt great. Three people were able to sit on the raft with a "gondolier". It was not too long before there was a crocodile spotting (code for the gondolier/paddler to use his bamboo stick/paddle to splash the occupants of his raft). Good thing that I have a bathing suit on and did not bring my shoes.
Well, one Dutch guy (Guava) was on our raft and the other (Strawberry) was with the guys from England (Apple and Lychee), so it became an all out water war whenever we were close. Strawberry had a paddle, so he was really able to soak us. There were a few attempts to tip the other raft, but was never successful. Our own paddler tried to tip us out a couple of times too. At one point we were able to steal Strawberry's slipper (their word for flip-flops or sandals) and splash water on him with them!
The water is quite low and we got hung up on rocks a bit, but we still had a great time. We were completely soaked by the end of the trip (about an hour). Along the way we saw some more elephants, lots of coloured dragonflies (green, purple, blue), families on rafts or waterfront dock (must be able to rent the space), we even saw a small snake (eww) and the paddler on the other boat found 3 pairs of sunglasses in the water.
At the end of the rafting trip we had time to dry off a bit and try some local food. I had some minced pork that had been cooked in banana leaves. It was not too bad. Boy let Bill and I try some rice whiskey (moonshine). The rice whiskey was not too bad, it was much smoother than I thought it would be.
The truck ride back to Chiang Mai was crowded and Boy and I were at the end. The tailgate was down the whole way. Guess not too many people fall of and sue..
We enjoyed our last night in Chiang Mai. We checked back into Mandala House and they gave us an upgraded room at no additional cost (we paid $30, it would have been $55). The room was beautiful. It had a large bedroom area with television, a sliding door revealed a table with 4 chairs in the kitchenette and the bathroom was larger than our previous room with a deep tub. Very nice!
We showered up and headed out. We went to the silk clothing shop, Malai Come, that had been closed on Sunday. I tried on a beautiful light blue jacket (spring coat), a blazer, a couple of blouses and 4 dresses. One dress was very "Carrie Bradshaw", it was sleeveless with a small flower at the neckline (which was gathered) and had no waistline; it had a bubble skirt. Another dress was a golden brown with a creamy lining. It had cap sleeves and an empire waist. The v-neck crossed and then the fabric crossed in the front also, to form a slit (kinda). Another dress was a tank dress that was two layers with a short and flowing hemline that showed off the two layers. The dress that I purchased for Dev and Ange's wedding is 2 pieces. It is a tank top and a long skirt. It is a combination of pink and plum squares (hard to describe, you will have to see it). I also purchased a wine coloured blouse and some silk scarves. They are all so beautiful (sounds like co-coon in Thai)! I was able to buy everything for 4,650 bhat ($170). I really have no idea how much it would cost at home for designer pure silk clothing, but I know it ain't that cheap! I am so thrilled! The top for my outfit was a bit snug, so they are going to rush and fix it for me tonight. They are so lovely and so accommodating (really all Thai people are, they are really wonderful) and I can pick it up tomorrow morning before we leave.
I bought the mango cheesecake from Starbucks that Strawberry had recommended. I wanted one of the prepaid cards and had to use up 100 bhat. The card is so cute, I had to have one. It has a cartoon-like Asian girl on it!
We used the internet until 7:00 and then took a tuk tuk to 1 Hillside Condo 4 again. We were prepared for the BBQ this time! We got down to business right away and I gathered up some good stuff for the broth, (some greens including Chinese cabbage, garlic, a chili sauce and some lime) prawns, fish, squid and muscles. Bill rounded up some prawns, beef and chicken (we did not wait for each other, we both sprinted to the meat!). The broth rocked! The seafood was awesome in it. Bill did a great job of grilling the prawns, chicken and beef too. I also tried calamari salad, a small amount of fruit, I grilled some tomato, I had 1 tart and 1 timbit, I also grilled mango and pineapple and then covered them with chocolate sauce - it was ALL good. I again smuggled some raisins out for my cereal in the morning... so bad!
We wanted to go see the Thai boxing, but there are no bouts until Thursday... Next trip I guess!