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Marmite the Dog

A wee while back I went trekking in the Himalayan foothills in the north of Thailand. I guess it was somewhere between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, but I don't honestly know.

We started our trek from a Karon village in the middle of nowhere.



Before long we were away from the village heading along a well used trck into the wilderness.



Luckily public baths were all along the trail.

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I will meet the blackness and the blackness will be eternal

Marmite the Dog

The views were not bad either.



This was on the second day of the trek. It was fairly warm so we rinsed our clothes out, put them on the rocks to dry and then went for a swim. The clothes wouldn't dry at night due to the nightly condensation (cold, wet clothes in the morning was no fun at all).



We didn't bother joining these bathers though.

Marmite the Dog

This chap was Mike, our guide. Top bloke...



..even if was just because he didn't complain when I made him hold my hand over this 'bridge'.



Luckily, I lived to tell this tale and enjoy this view.

Marmite the Dog

We bought every last pack of prawn crackers in the village, so this little chap came scrounging.



His mate was on cleanup duty in the morning.



This waterfall was our last chance for a bathe before we got picked up and taken back to Chiang Mai.



The buses finally arrived, and we were homeward bound. Weary, but happy.

Rigger

Good to see you city slickers enjoying the country life . Did you camp out ?

Marmite the Dog

We stayed in wooden shelters. Not inside, not outside if you know what I mean.

Thetyim

Nice piccies, Marmers.

How much did the trek cost and did it include your food ?

dirtydog

I think they probably had to catch their own food, that's why they bought all the prawn crackers

Marmite the Dog

Cheers.

The trek wasn't expensive (1200B I think) and all the food was included. They also provided day-packs and sleeping bags if you needed them. I booked it through the Lai Thai GH on Kotchasan Road in Chiang Mai, but that was about 5 years ago.

Thetyim

Five years ago !
Blimey that track is probably a motorway now.

I was wondering why the first piccy had a funny hue, it's a sepia print

ChiangMai noon

I think they cost much the same nowadays, maybe a couple of hundred baht more, but a lot of fun.
I really enjoyed the one treck I've been on.

I should do it more often, spend more of a saturday evening than I would do going on a treck, but I'm a woefully lazy bag of sand.

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Pictures of Lily make my life so wonderful.
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Skulldigger

Would you be interested in climbing Doi Chiang Dao, CMN? I have always wanted to do it, and found this website:

http://www.trekthailand.net/programs/chiangdao.html

I think it could make for a really interesting few days - the area is breathtakingly beautiful and the ecosystem is supposed to be quite unique.

ChiangMai noon

^
I just got back from chiang Dao today.
it is my very favourite part of Thailand.

The place I would choose to live if money was no object.
Wonderful.

And only a 70 minute drive from my home.

Smeg

CMN, the double-decker bus from CR to CM runs through a downhill valley containing a stream (and some nice houses) on the left for about 15 minutes about 30 minutes before arriving at CM. What is that valley called? It was lovely.

ChiangMai noon

I've never done the trip by bus, but do you mean the Mae sa valley which is stunning and less than an hour north.

dirtydog

That would be nice

Smeg

Yep, get on yer bike CMN and I'll let you know if you are right....

The valley is a constant downhill drop for quite a few kms, with the stream running alongside the road. Smelly bus brakes indeed...

Jon

I did a 3 day trek in the Chiang Dao region a few years ago and can highly recommend it. It's not every day you get to go downriver on your own bamboo raft or ride an elephant. The accommodation was basic but ok - everyone in a big one room hut, on mattresses, woken by snorting pigs and cockadoodledoos at 4am, right under the hut, and the food was plain but filling. No chance to have a shower, but the river was nice to swim in. Great scenery and trekking too. The scariest thing was the pick up ride down the muddy mountain, with the truck sliding all over the place in heavy rains, even with chains on all the wheels - heart in mouth stuff contemplating falling over the edge. Hopefully the road has improved in the last 8 years.

One thing to be wary of is the drugs scene - you could smoke dope and opium for a small fee, but there was no pressure. However, one girl found half a carrier bag of herbal that someone had stashed in her backpack when we arrived back in Chiang Mai. Lucky the cops at the numerous checkpoints didn't search us. She wasn't into drugs and she and her boyfriend were a bit upset. We never found out how or why. A cloggie at the gh retrieved it from the bin.

Marmite the Dog

Our guide said that he had no problem with beer or weed, but he wouldn't have anything to do with opium. Good chap.

jenben

I really enjoy reading these adventures. I am going from Bankok to Chang mai and maybe chang rai then down to a beach resort later. we are going for 2 1/2 weeks in November, so reading all the stories is helpful.