| Thats it. A Thailand trek is something we'll probably never do again, as we saw that the amount of tourism through the villages can be disruptive to the peoples life and culture. It was a great experience, though next time we'll have to visit the beaches!! |
| The group, all ready for a 1.5 hour bamboo rafting trip down the Hmong river. We all managed to stay on the rafts, which is more than we could say for the group in front of us:) |
| With Val mysteriously sick (possibly from the previous night's activities), we set out across the rice fields in a much more touristed area. Mette, one of the Danish girls, made sure to plummet down the side of a hill after falling from an irrigation canal, but was unhurt. It provided everyone with an adrenaline rush, which is always healthy:) |
| Day Three |
| The day closed with a rainy arrival at the karen village, a shower, and many a beer over a drinking game called "bunnies". Much fun was had by all, until the next day.... |
| Riding Mekao, a male Asian elephant, was fun, though not terribly comfortable. The trail we rode on was treacherous, being sinking mud, on the side of a steep hill. Mekao had a bit of an attitude problem too... He didn't seem to be too fond of the Mahout (the "driver"). |
| A Karen elder of the second village that we visited. She tried persistently to sell us handmade bracelets, as her village was particularly poor. |
| Our Thailand Trek Days 2 and 3 |
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| Day 2 |
| 6 hours of hiking, 2 hours of elephant riding, and stops in two Karen tribal vilages. These tribal kids were amazed at their pictures in Meg's digital camera. One of the kids at the next village actually said hello to a picture of their friend "in" the camera. |
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| Us on day 2. One of the mountains in the background (not really visible in the picture) is the highest peak in Thailand, at about 2580m. We didn't get to the top, but we did reach 2280m, our highest altitude yet. |
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