Elephant trek (Feb. 11/09 - somewhere in the mountains of northern Thailand)

Somehow we had a sound sleep despite the hard floor, people getting up all night, and roosters starting to crow at 3am. Mist hung in the trees until the sun became strong enough to burn it off and force us out of our fleeces. Late in the morning, some guys showed up with a bunch of elephants that would take us to a village belonging to the Karen tribe, a few kilometers upstream. These are Asian elephants that used to be used for logging, but now they take visitors on rides through the forest. We were surprised how small they were - standing only 7 or 8 feet at the shoulder (compared to about 10 or 11 feet for the African variety). Their ears were comparatively tiny, with big bulbous foreheads and short tusks. We felt sorry for them, having to haul our butts and our bags around, but we went along with it and enjoyed the ride. We climbed on, two to an elephant on a wooden saddle with our bags strapped on behind. The other four elephants had a trainer/guide sitting on their heads to steer, and ours was tethered to the one in front. We quickly found out that you really have to hold on during the downhill parts because there's nothing holding you in when the elephant lurches you forward on a steep downhill! The trail meandered along the riverbank and then dropped down into the river. Most of the elephants tried to sneak leaves as they walked, wrapping their trunks around branches and scraping off all the leaves to shove in their mouths. You could tell that they enjoyed walking in the river, as they splashed water over themselves and grunted with pleasure each time we went into the river. We rode for a coupe hours up the river, crossing it here and there to follow the trail. It was a fun ride, and very peaceful... nobody else around except some kids on their way to school, some women collecting greens to eat, and a bunch of water buffalo grazing on the banks - some of which were albino. Eventually we arrived at the village and kicked back for a while, had some lunch, and bought some bracelets and a cute little carved wooden elephant from the local ladies to remember today by.


After lunch, we threw on our packs and hit the trail. First up, we had to cross the river on the most sketchy suspension bridge imaginable. It was moderately bouncy, but the clincher was that the boards you step on were at least two or three feet apart, with nothing between them but thirty feet to the river below. The trail wandered along a ridge, giving us pretty views out in both directions over the hilltops. The sun had no mercy and baked us until the trail dipped down into the shady forest. We came to a fork in the trail and realized that the two people who were way out in front more than likely went the wrong way, so we ended up waiting for 45 minutes while the guide went ahead to the village and got a guy on a motorbike to go find them. Eventually, we all made it to the village, called Banpakaolam, which is comparatively large and spacious compared to the one we were at yesterday. This one is actually home to both the Karen and Lisu tribes, and the dirt road we hiked from yesterday ends up here so they actually have a couple vehicles in town. A bridge crosses the river and then simple wood houses dot the valley floor, each with their requisite buffalo, pig, dog, and chicken population. Our home sweet home for the night was a similar house on its own down beside the river, which made for a much more peaceful spot than last night.


We bathed in the cool river, having to hang onto the bamboo rafts that are ready for our downstream journey tomorrow to avoid being swept away. Refreshed, we wandered around the village and admired jewellry for sale from the local girls until dinner was ready. They served us delicious pumpkin with beef, a tofu noodle soup, and some sauteed veggies. We went to bed full, happy, and eager for the last part of our trek tomorrow, which involves a four hour bamboo raft trip back downstream and a walk in to some sort of waterfall. Another fabulous day in Thailand, guaranteed!