Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
HI Everyone,
I cant remember where i was in the last email, but there was a bit of a change of plan!!! I am now right at the top of Thailand in Chang Mai and have been for the last week.
From Phi Phi i started the long journey back up to Bangkok as the people that i was travelling with were heading on. This would have left me with a little over 3 weeks to sunbathe and drink, Although tempting i decided that i would head up north for some trecking, and to see a bit of Chang Mai as its meant to be nice.
I got the ferry from Phi Phi to Phuket then Flew to Bangkok, from Bangkok i got a VIP bus to Chang Mai which took 12 hours. It was not too bad tho as i had two seats from Bangkok to Chang Mai so after reading and listening to my IPOD i managed to get a decent amount of sleep.
The day after i arrived i started my 3 day 2 night trecking adventure which was really cool, although very tough. The first day we hiked up hill all day on slopes that were about as steap as vigo (for those of you who dont know it...a very steep set of stairs).
We were walking up dirt tracks with trees hanging ove, over streams and up hills for about 4 hours (13 kilometers i think they said) in mid 30 degree heat with a racksac full of clothes and other bits for the 3 day stay. It was really hard work and very tough on the legs!. We arrived in a small village right on the top of the mountain at around 5 to see possibly the most spectacular sunset i have seen (there will be pictures on my site in the next few days so check them out!). There was a group of 11 of varying nationalities. We spent the evening drinking and chatting and was really taken care of by the people in the village. We stayed in a hut with matresses on the floor with Mosquito nets etc so naturally after a few beers we were very happy!!
Most of the group went back down the next morning, however me and one of the couples were up on the 3 day treck so we hiked a few more miles (for around 3 hours) down very steap slopes (which was very tough on the quads) to a nice waterfall where we spent a few
hours relaxing, swimming and eating before starting the long hike back up (which was very tough on the calfs / hamstrings etc!!)
the hill to the village!!
In the evening we had more food and drink and attended a local village persons wedding. There was lots of whisky(40% proof!) and a pig cooked specially for the occasion so we had a really nice evening. They made us feel really welcome, and loaded us full of alcohol and songs so the night passed pretty quickly.
Wednesday morning we hiked back down the hill for around 2 hours before doing Elephant trecking, White water rafting and bamboo rafting before heading back to a small camp for food :D (we needed it by then!!) It took around an hour to get to Chang Mai from there but was ready to go by then as it was a pretty long day (few days!)
I have since been in Chang mai for a few days. its a really nice city here actually. Not as busy as Bangkok (although still quite busy) The people are a lot friendlier, and the climate is also a little cooler which has been nice in the evenings etc. There is a night market here 10 mins walk from my hostel which is very cool, easily 200+ stools selling just about everything that you could want. I certainly know a few of you shopaholics (you know who you are) that would love this place. They are more geared towards the woman with lots of jewelry, skirts etc but there is lots of othere stuff available, fake and real that can mean you can pick up some real bargains for the rest of your travels (backpacker paradise!)
Today i have been up to see the local zoo (which was cool) and a temple (meant to be one of the most famous in Thailand) called Wat doi suthep (i think) at about 1600 kilometers above sea level there is a pretty cool view of Chang Mai from the top so naturally i took some pics!
In the next few days i will be heading back to Bangkok, then to back to Phi Phi where i will finally get to do my dive course.Once i have done that i will have around 10 days to travel to Singapore where i will fly out to Hong Kong (the 18th). I Cant beleive i have been away 4 weeks already, its going so quickly!!
- comments