This morning, part of our group separated. The three Australians and the young French couple were only doing one night of our two night trek and headed back down to the mountain. The rest of the group got time to rest before we continued on our journey.
As we set off on our trek, we stopped by the local school to see the kids. The school was half of a big shed with just kids there. Our guide told us that the teacher was preparing the kids lunches at the moment; this is also where he went to school as a kid. The kids were all excited to see us and most of them were just playing around, waiting for the teacher to get back. One little girl was even climbing in a tree.
Before we got into the thick of the jungle, we stopped for a break in a Chinese village. I am not sure why there is a Chinese village in the jungles of Thailand and our guide's broken English couldn't understand or answer the question. Aside from those working, the village was a ghost town, but it was nice to catch some shade and cool off.
As we continued on, we started to head down the other side of the mountain. The walk was really beautiful as we were walking through a more 'jungle' atmosphere now; massive trees and banana trees surrounded us. We came to a waterfall were we all stopped for lunch. Our guide had prepared us noodles with veggies that morning and wrapped each meal in a banana leaf and then heated them up over the fire while he cut us chopsticks out of bamboo. With the cold water of the waterfall cooling us off and a warm meal to follow, we took a break for a nap before we continued on.
After our short rest, we continued our decent. The walk became very difficult for the French family because the young boy would not slow down. He was constantly jumping and running, which caused him to fall all the time. It was getting rather annoying because the family was constantly arguing and fighting. Our guide ended up having to carry the young boy to help speed up the trek.
Eventually we made it to our next resting place by an even bigger waterfall. At our stop, we came across more trekkers who were all staying at different homestays in the area. We didn't have time to speak with them because it began to rain and they all parted to their various homestays. We stayed under the shelter at the waterfall and waited out the short storm.
After the rain receded, we made a short walk to our homestay. It was great to finally get to the homestay and relax; unfortunately, there were no Thai ladies waiting for us to massage us to sleep again. Since our group had dwindled down, the rest of the afternoon was lonely. The American couple kept to themselves, I guess trying to make it as romantic as they could, and the German and I were left to ourselves as the French family remained speaking in French and argued amongst themselves. The stream that ran by our homestay created a perfect small pool where I could rinse off. It was great to cool off again in the cold running water.
That night we all gathered for dinner and the Americans, the German and I stayed up and talked the night away, sharing our perspectives on one another's county, "so does everyone in Germany drive a Mercedes, BMW, or Audi?"
During the middle of the night, another storm woke me up. The rain was coming down so hard that it was making its way through the bamboo wall, splashing on my face. I had to sleep at the foot of my bed to keep from getting soaked. Welcome to the jungles of Thailand.
As we set off on our trek, we stopped by the local school to see the kids. The school was half of a big shed with just kids there. Our guide told us that the teacher was preparing the kids lunches at the moment; this is also where he went to school as a kid. The kids were all excited to see us and most of them were just playing around, waiting for the teacher to get back. One little girl was even climbing in a tree.
Before we got into the thick of the jungle, we stopped for a break in a Chinese village. I am not sure why there is a Chinese village in the jungles of Thailand and our guide's broken English couldn't understand or answer the question. Aside from those working, the village was a ghost town, but it was nice to catch some shade and cool off.
As we continued on, we started to head down the other side of the mountain. The walk was really beautiful as we were walking through a more 'jungle' atmosphere now; massive trees and banana trees surrounded us. We came to a waterfall were we all stopped for lunch. Our guide had prepared us noodles with veggies that morning and wrapped each meal in a banana leaf and then heated them up over the fire while he cut us chopsticks out of bamboo. With the cold water of the waterfall cooling us off and a warm meal to follow, we took a break for a nap before we continued on.
After our short rest, we continued our decent. The walk became very difficult for the French family because the young boy would not slow down. He was constantly jumping and running, which caused him to fall all the time. It was getting rather annoying because the family was constantly arguing and fighting. Our guide ended up having to carry the young boy to help speed up the trek.
Eventually we made it to our next resting place by an even bigger waterfall. At our stop, we came across more trekkers who were all staying at different homestays in the area. We didn't have time to speak with them because it began to rain and they all parted to their various homestays. We stayed under the shelter at the waterfall and waited out the short storm.
After the rain receded, we made a short walk to our homestay. It was great to finally get to the homestay and relax; unfortunately, there were no Thai ladies waiting for us to massage us to sleep again. Since our group had dwindled down, the rest of the afternoon was lonely. The American couple kept to themselves, I guess trying to make it as romantic as they could, and the German and I were left to ourselves as the French family remained speaking in French and argued amongst themselves. The stream that ran by our homestay created a perfect small pool where I could rinse off. It was great to cool off again in the cold running water.
That night we all gathered for dinner and the Americans, the German and I stayed up and talked the night away, sharing our perspectives on one another's county, "so does everyone in Germany drive a Mercedes, BMW, or Audi?"
During the middle of the night, another storm woke me up. The rain was coming down so hard that it was making its way through the bamboo wall, splashing on my face. I had to sleep at the foot of my bed to keep from getting soaked. Welcome to the jungles of Thailand.
No comments:
Post a Comment