Chang Mai, Thailand - 3 Day Jungle Trek

The three days in the jungle went pretty fast!
Day 1: We all pile into the back of a ute and are taken up to our departure point. We sit down for some lunch adn get a chance to chat with the rest of our group. Our trekking group consists of 3 Spanish girls, 1 English girl (Vicki, but our guide calls her Wicki) and myself Jodi and Mark.
Then...the walking starts. We walk up very steep hills, we havent reached the shelter of trees yet so its extremely warm. My body is slick with sweat...quite disgustingly really. But I'm not alone. We rest next to a river under the shelter of a hut for some lunch. Boon, our guide, has made some fried rice and sticky rice for us (which he carried on his own back to the lunch site). The rest of the day is spent walking, we walked through rice fields, stopped by a waterfall in the afternoon for a break and a refreshing swim. The water was pretty cold, but oh so refreshing. The water was hard, pounding down off the rocks...you needed to keep a firm grip on your bathing suit if you wanted a back massage from the water! Besdie the waterfall was an old man hanging out in his hut, with his roosters. He was carving horn/whistle things...which were of course for sale. After the swim we headed up to the villiage of the 'Karin Tribe' where we were staying for the night.
Not a minute after we had got our bags off our back and gone back outside to check out our home for the night we had some visitors. Three young kids waiting for us to come out of hiding. They are very shy, no speaking, they just shove small baskets of bracelets and necklaces they have made, from wood and or rice, under our noses. As soon as you pick one up they find their voice...'50 baht'. Was so cute. So we all purchased a bracelet or necklace to keep them in business.
Sitting down for a rest with cold beer in hand was very welcome. The beers were stored in large chilled boxes that were locked when we werent there, they were a very reasonable price. The shower was four bamboo walls tied together with....you guessed it...bamboo, and a bucket that you filled up and poured over yourself. The toilet was a squat in a shed, and it had a door so that was great news.
We sat under the house, sort of like a carport, and ate our dinner by candlelight. Chicken and Veg stirfry, tofu and bean sprout with rice...delicious. So much food, we're all famished...but still cannot eat all of it.
We have a nice group of people. We all have a sing song after dinner, feels like school camp!! Is a good night and sleep is very welcome...although it is very hot and I dont think a good sleep is had by anyone. Then theres the 100 roosters that were awake bright and early!
Day 2: We are joined by a Dutch couple because the rest of their group have gone back. Loads more walking, Wicki is unfortunately ill today...and it wasnt even self induced. It rained a lot. It was nice, but it just made the walking track slippery in parts...which caused some comic moments. Stopped for another yummy lunch, noodles and veg this time.
The afternoon walk was a little more exciting....there was so much water....it covered our walking tracks. We're not talking getting our socks wet....we're talking getting our belts wet!! It was a great challenge, trying to balance on logs...that you couldn't see through the muddy water. Jodi went for a wash up to her armpits...hey, thay probably needed it anyway. Very quick thinking to save her camera though.
We settled in for the night at camp that was set up by a waterfall. We all jump in our bathing costumes and had a wash. Chicken and potato curry for dinner, our guide didnt carry all this food with him. He had other guys meet him at the camps with the food. This was our last night together so we endulged a little. The singing only got better as the night got on. There were about 4 locals there too, hanging out singing etc. I aquired the name 'Tiger Smile' over night, or maybe they just had the courage to tell me that night. I was given it because I am "happy and smile a lot, but can 'Grr'"...so there, make of that what you will. Our guide was great, Boon was relaxed, patient and pleasant.
Day 3: Wasnt that far to trek out of the jungle, to be honest I think we just went round in circles. We rode elephants the last day. It was quite an amazing feeling, knowing the strength and what they are capable of. They bit into bamboo like pieces of candy.

Went to a night of Muay Thai kick boxing. The ring was in the middle of a concrete stadium, chairs lined up around the sides. The night started with young boys (they were 14, but looked about 9) kicking the heck out of each other, then as the night on the contestants got older. Was a very exciting night, a sport of great discipline and bravery.

Spent the next day just hanging out, photos developed, flights to Phuket, nails and hair done (160baht, approx 5nzd). A nice relaxing day, ventured out to some markets in teh evening...it poured with rain, but before we were scared away Jodi and I managed to pick up some fabulous paintings from a young lad selling his wares. Magical.