Thailand Part 6: More hilltribe trekking, wats, an orchid farm and the Chang Mai Night Market.

As we lumbered along on our elephant, our guides slide by on a bamboo raft they had built (or at least lashed together) after we left. It was perhaps a more elegant way to travel the river. Don’t get me wrong, we loved the elephant, but were more than ready to get off when we got to our destination.

So, after a lunch break and short siesta in another large hut built to aid visitors we began our trip down the river. No sooner had we started, then a rain that turned into a torrential downpour began. It was almost cold for a while and gave us a better appreciation for the characters in “Forrest Gump” as they survived the seasonal rain in southeast Asia.
Here we are during a break in the rain.

I was even allowed to pilot the craft for a while.

The last night, we stayed in our own small, private hut over the river. At this point in the river, the rapids became too large for the bamboo rafts, and the only watercraft beyond were traditional rubber river rafts or kayaks.

Another view of the place we stayed (which also doubled as a restaurant). However, as they had for the rest of the
trip, our guides provided us with traditional and truly spectacular dishes to our culinary delight. Even I, who am not a “food” person, really appreciated the meals they made for us.

Since we were not burdened with have to make or clean up the meals, we were able to take short hikes in the area to appreciate the views of the cloud forest (as Anna called it).

This is probably just the name of the person who lives here, but I liked the sign.

Yet another symbol of the devotion so many Thais feel for their religion. However, while a vast majority of the country is Buddhist, the missionaries that have visited many of the hill tribes, have converted a number of them to Christianity, but their “traditional” religion (often a form of animism) is still very strong and sometimes intermixed with other faiths.

Another friend we met along the way.

The last day, we used a truck to get us out of the deep jungle. On the way, we saw a number of villages and these two large rocks in the river. No wait, those are elephant butts.

We also stopped by another holy temple. In it, there was a local monk whose embalmed body and wax likeness was on display.

Outside, this row of Buddhas caught my eye.

The last stop on the trek was to a butterfly and orchid farm on the outskirts of Chang Mai. These orchids were very pretty and are my favorite tropical flower.


Anna blended right in.

That concluded our hill tribe immersion experience, but it was quite memorable. If you have a chance to go, I highly recommend it. Our guide, Jai, was of decent from one of the hill tribes (Hmong) and his ability to speak the language (which is linguistically very distinct from Thai, and even from the other hill tribes), move with extensive
local knowledge, training in horticulture and most importantly, his ability to explain and decipher the local customs and practices for us was a VERY enlightening experience.
When we arrived back to our hotel in Chang Mai, we had all afternoon to enjoy ourselves by the pool. Then, we discovered a local dish that is absolutely delicious: mango and sticky rice. After our afternoon snack, we headed down the street for one more Thai massage. This one was not as perfect in terms of setting, just a simple bed and towel, but the price was tough to beat. We had a 2 hour massage for $8 (US) each. Then another delightful dinner, then back to the night market. This time I was armed with my camera, so I can share what it looks like.


Today brought to a close our simply magnificent voyage into Thai culture and living. We loved every minute (well, almost every minute). We would love to come back and perhaps stay a little longer next time.
So, until our next adventure.
–Jim