After Pun Pun we went up to Chaing Rai and stayed at the Mirror Art Foundation. The people there prepared us for our trek into the mountains to visit the Lahu hilltribes. Our first day of trekking was about 10 kilometers (6 miles) through the pouring rain. When I say pouring I mean POURING. We got completely soaked. We arrived at our first village, which is the home of our guide, Surachai. We dried off by the fire and ate homecooked food made by Surachai's wife. We got our first taste of living in a bamboo hut on stilts above the domesticated animals.
The next day we trekked about 20 kilometrers (12 miles) mostly straight uphill on muddy trails
. We finally arrived in Jaful Jaka village at long last in the afternoon. The lahu tribe that lived here were very friendly people. They spoke their own tribal language of the lahu so the language barrier was rough!
The second day there we were woken up at 4 o'clock in the morning by the roosters underneath our house and the pigs, and the dogs. We began our work with the Lahu at 9:00am everyday. The guys would help the men of the village gather giant logs from the forest and carry them, 6 men to a log, up hill in the mud and bring them back to the village in a little pick-up truck. But, since the Lahu are an anemistic tribe this made it very hard because we could only take the blessed trees.
We spent the whole first day gathering logs to build a hut, while the ladies were busy at work digging and leveling out the hill for the foundation. The second day we awoke at 4:00 AM again. At breakfast Surachai announced that a crazy man from a neighboring village had run out of medication so Surachai and the rest of the men from the village ran to aprehend the crazy man and take him down to the hospital
. The good news is work didn't start until 11:00 that day. We hung out with some of the villagers in their hut and learned a little about their customs. Tobacco is a huge part of their culture, they sit in their hut and smoke homegrown tobacco rolledup in a corn husk all the time! A very common way of smoking it was out of a bamboo water pipe. Some of us joined in on this cultural experience.
We got back to work building the house, putting large posts into the ground and building the structure. It was tough work. The Lahua are very strong people!
The next day we finished up the the structure and hung out with the villagers and got to see how they do things. After lunch we went on a pig hunt and the men got their muskets and shot a pig. Daniel ended up having to deliver a dedaly blow with a club.......but it tasted great!
After dinner we had a dancing ceramony with the hill tribe playing their tribal instruments, and guitar
. It was alot of fun we danced until the sun went down.
The next morning we prepared for our trek out of Jafu Jaka village. We had a final goodbye with the villagers, and exchanged gifts, and then made our way down to the next village closer to Chiang Rai. This trek was about 20Kilometers (12 miles) through the jungle. Once we arrived we got to wash off in a beautiful waterfall near our next village, which was very nice, and had a lot more modern amentities, like actual toilets!
We spent one night there and awoke the next day to do a short trek out of the jungle and down to a little town outside of Chaing Rai where we got to ride elephants!!! it was awesome! The whole group was ecstatic!
Well, it was a long and challenging journey through the jungle but I think for the most part everyone had a lot of fun!
We miss everyone back home and we'll try to keep you posted
.
Hope all is well, Phelan .................................
Yesterday we rode elephants. Yes, we literally rode elephants! It was an amazing, and breath-taking experience. One that tested our faith in the elephants' training, our reflexes, our back strength, and my personal fear of heights and spiders. We all survived though, yet one more example of the obstacles we must surpass each day.
The elephant grounds were a sight to see. Multiple elephants were chained to posts, where they were forced to sit right next to their humongous pile of excrement. Each elephant had its own unique set of scars, ragged flesh lines embedded in its leathery skin. Their ears were spotted and were perforated around the edges. It looked as though famished bugs had taken bits out of their flesh, creating ear lobes the shape of Africa. The most amazing characteristic of each elephant, however, was its eyes
. Their eyes were like windows into their souls, a reflection of both their deep sadness and natural beauty.
As I approached the elephant grounds, I experienced a rush of emotions. I felt truly sorry for the conditions the elephants were forced to live in and for their violent domestication, but also very grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime oppurtunity I was about to experience.
In order to get on top of the elephant, we had to climb up to a platform that was parallel to the elephant's back. On its back, there was a small bench-like seat with a thin bamboo bar as our protection from falling. The seat had room for two people, so Paige and I paired up for the ride.
With the help of our elephant rider, we tentatively stepped onto the rickety seat. Once we were comfortably situated, the elephant slowly started to walk forward. It was a crazy sensation. It felt as if I were riding a giant and obese horse! Our bodies jerkily swayed with each step, and I'm convinced we looked very spastic from a distance
.
After the first ten minutes of our ride, however, we became accustomed to the foreign movement of our bodies. Paige, the group's designated photographer, enthusiastically took pictures of each pair on their elephant. Everyone elegantly posed for each picture, each person photogenically smiling or "duck-facing" for the mobile photo shoot.
After walking for ten minutes on the main paved road, the elephant continued on to a narrow path into the jungle. It excitedly groped at each nearby tree branch and ripped out the leafy bamboo for a crunchy midday snack. The elephant repeatedly disobeyed the elephant rider and would stop abruptly at the sight of edible greenery. To my dismay, the rider would occasionally lambaste the elephant with a long wooden stick.
Soon after we entered the jungle, it started to rain. Luckily, the rider was equipped with an umbrella and generously gave it to Paige and me
. Holding up the umbrella, however, was no easy task. The umbrella was not only difficult to keep balanced evenly between us, but it also constantly collided with the overhead tree branches. Taking turns holding the umbrella, we struggled to both maintain a strong grip on the handle and to hold on for our dear lives! And not to mention avoiding the gigantic spiders! I once had to simultaneously duck my head and swing my umbrella in order to avoid "lethal" contact with a palm-sized, rainbow colored spider. No lie! Let's just say this trip is definitely testing my arachnaphobia!
Although it was raining, the jungle was still very beautiful. We passed by verdant rice paddies, banana trees, towering bamboo trees, and the occasional bamboo hut. I loved seeing everything from my elevated perspective, and I tried to mentally soak in all of my surrounding.
About two-thirds through the hike, things got a bit rough. The elephants had to descend a steep hill, where soil was loosened by the down pour
. As the elephants started to slip and slide down the hill, Paige and I started to freak out. With each deep lunge of the elephant's lower body, our seat tipped forward and we desperately held onto the bamboo bar. Paige and I probably scared away multiple animals with our piercing screams, and I swear some of the boys had higher pitched screams than ours!
We all became that much closer as a group after the journey, bonding over the scary and hilarious moments of the elephant ride. I think we will all remember this day as a test of our courage, bravery, arachnaphobia, umbrella-holding abilities, and scream pitch frequencies for the rest of our lives.
-Kathleen
Hill Tribe Trek and Home Stays
Sunday, October 07, 2012
Chiang Rai, Thailand
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2025-02-15