Another brief trek, and Good Bye Thailand!

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We were mostly finished with our errands here in Chiang Mai, and signed up at the very last minute, for a 2-day-trek, SW of the city with a group. We spent the night in a Karen village, traveled with 3 young couples from Europe, and enjoyed perfect sunny skies, little humidity, warm days and a cool night. Everything was dry, and the scenery nice.

Link to our 2nd Thai trek



What we learned:
⁃ the Karen is the largest of the so called Hill Tribes here in northern Thailand. The elderly people in the villages do not in general speak Thai, as there is a Karen language. There is no money involved when getting married. When our Karen guide (whose name we didn’t get), spoke of the villages, he always included how many families live there. In his village, where we stayed, there are 27 families. He grows rice, and has enough now for his family for the coming year; one crop/year. He has killed 10 cobras using his sling shot. Kids, mostly the boys, go to sling shot practice after kindergarten starting at age 3. Our guide was super accurate, and when I asked, he said he is good because he hates cobras after his uncle was killed by one 20 years ago. Cobras are rare here, but there are many other poisonous snakes, which are not deadly if you get to a hospital (am guessing the closest one is some 1-2 hours away). He said kids start riding motor cycles at age 11 in the villages, but at age 18 in the cities. We have seen kids that barely look 12-13, drive them in Chiang Mai, often with other kids on board, with no helmets. Our guide was again very nice, had learned very good English from tourists, never studied it in school. He is in his 30s, and said his wife didn’t go to school much.
⁃ The other tour participants were Europeans in their late 20s to mid 30s. 2 couples were Czech, but had spent 5 years working in Holland, with the goal of saving enough to buy a house when they move back home. They all smoked, a lot, and when we asked, said that e-cigarettes only are meant for those who try to quit, which did not apply to them. One Turkish girl had probably never walked anywhere in the woods, or in the hills, and was openly very frustrated. ‘Partner’ seems to be the common word for a (long term?) boy/girlfriend in Europe, and I heard this a few times also in Australia.
⁃ The accommodations were similar to those on our first Thai trek. This time we all shared one large room, sleeping on mattresses on the floor, using clearly not very clean blankets, and pillows.. The mosquito net seemed adequate, so we never set up the Mosinet, but I did lay down our Permethrin treated liner sheet under the sheet we slept on. The toilets again had a large container with water, and a scoop with which to flush. But this village does have electricity and running water, so they do not have to carry water in. I slept in a long sleeved turtleneck, bike tights, and knee high socks.. to minimize skin contact, and to stay warm. We only brushed our teeth - I didn’t check out what looked like a shower, as the water would be cold, and it was a cold night. I don’t think anyone else did much more either. Hope we get the nice morning basins with hot water we had in Nepal, when we trek in Bhutan in a few months.
⁃ The food was plentiful, and tasty! Lots of sautéed veggies, and great curried potatoes, and also chicken for dinner. B-fast was more basic: toast, an egg, butter & jam. Fresh water melon, and pineapple, but I only had a small amount, as I didn’t want to test my current tolerance for Thai bugs...
⁃ There is no denying it anymore. Our guide asked the guys to help bring some wood for an evening camp fire. When Craig jumped up, our guide told him he didn’t need to go, as the young and strong guys could do it. Later our guide called me Mama, and said I could move closer to the fire. I came up with some excuse, until the smokers left. But we were by no means amongst the slower ones walking.
⁃ We would have preferred to spend much more time walking, but could not be picky, as we decided to sign up only at the last minute. The brief visit to an elephant camp this trip included, again made us appreciate the Elephant Conservation Center Muffy took us to earlier. Craig decided to spend 40 min. approx. on the bamboo raft at the end of the 2nd day, but I chose to go in the car. I tried to ask if I could walk, but this was not an option. The reason I am a wimp, is that there is a slight risk of contracting a very bad infection from river, and lake water here (leptospirosis). Have no idea if this could infect my hip, but this type of rafting is not fun enough to be worth any such risk.
⁃ One wonders how much longer the almost subsistence type lifestyle these Hill Tribes still have, will exist. Muffy, who right now is visiting another Karen village, invited by her friends there for their New Year’s celebrations, said many young village people prefer the close community life, over presumably unskilled jobs in the cities. I wonder what better education, and full membership in Thai life (the hill tribes are not citizens), would mean. Muffy said the owner of our guest house employs many villagers, and supports charities helping them. I am sure every villager would like to have better access to health care, but one thing they presumably would loose with our modern way of life, would be the skill our guide showed in surviving in nature here. I really liked him, and can picture him as an incredibly strong, wiry elderly man one day.
⁃ Am finishing this at the airport, on our way to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have enjoyed having Eagle House as our base here in Chiang Mai, and especially appreciate all the help we got from Muffy!