Adventure Time with Keri!

Anyway, we rendezvoused with our next group and started our hike downward. About halfway down the road a pick-up truck stopped and offered us a ride. We all jumped in and rode it for a few minutes before we had to jump out and hike down another trail. Even though I was thankful that we were hiking down, I wouldn’t say that it was any easier. As I said earlier, it was steep going up, therefore, it was steep going down. The dry leaves on the ground didn’t make things easier either since they were the waxy type of leaves and even more slippery (we’re at the end of the dry season currently and the rainy season is about to start next month so everything is dry and a bit drab around there…but still very pretty). I had to be extra careful since my shoes were not meant for hiking. Most of our group was wicked fast and a lady from Spain and I were in the back taking our time. We stopped about half way because the Chinese girl that was leading, Tao, had the most horrible blisters on her feet. I don’t think she realized how difficult the hiking would be (plus this was their third day of hiking) so she was only wearing socks and Crocs! (Hey, that rhymed.) The lady from Portugal gave her band-aids and traded shoes with her and then proceeded to help her down the more difficult areas. We thankfully slowed down because of this and I was finally able to keep up! Haha. 

We stopped at a small waterfall next to a village and there were a few villagers selling trinkets. I took interest in one lady that was weaving a scarf and after taking pictures of her, she let me try it! I ended up buying one. Haha, I’m such a sucker for things like that. Towards the end of the downwards hike we went through a few cornfields. And instead of just walking through the rows, we had to follow the “trail” which was elevated a bit and was only wide enough to walk toe to toe. We finally finished hiking and stopped by the road for the truck to pick us up. We got to talk to the rest of the group who were cool (but not as cool as our first group…haha, I’m just a little bit biased). Not only did we have the quirky girl from China, and the two chic ladies from Spain and Portugal, but we also had a Korean that knew how to speak Chinese, and a guy from Calgary, Canada. 

Once the truck picked us up we drove to an elephant camp where we got to ride elephants! Ok, I must admit I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it was really cool to be on the back of an elephant (ok, on a seat that’s on the back of an elephant) b/c it makes you realize how massive and beautiful these creatures are, but on the other hand, they don’t treat the elephants the way they should there. They use force to make the elephants listen to them and probably don’t feed or water the animals properly. Where's PETA when we need them the most?!?! Lol. It was still really cool to be around a bunch of elephants (despite the fact that it blew snot on us multiple times) and now I can say I’ve ridden an elephant and cross it off my bucket list! Wait…I don’t think that was even on my bucket list…oh well! After the elephants we drove a little bit down the road and had lunch. 

After lunch we lazed around…or tried to since it was so hot and humid…while waiting for the next truck to pick us up. We then made our way down to a river (or creek…or stream, depending on how technical we want to get) for some bamboo rafting! We were told before we got on that we’d get wet…but I didn’t expect to get soaked, much less in full clothing! Haha. It was great fun though. Three to four of us sat on these long bamboo rafts and meandered down the river with a driver steering our raft with a bamboo pole up in front. The water was cold for it being so hot, but it was a welcome relief from the heat. Our bottoms got instantly wet since all the raft consisted of was bamboo tied together with rubber. On our way down we passed many different groups along the side and many of them decided it was great fun to splash anyone that passed them – which is how we got soaked! Haha. It was so peaceful and serene, except for the few small rapids – I don’t think you could even call them rapids they were so small – and the fact that since the raft was so long the back end would always hit against a rock or tree branch. Poor Kathlyn got the brunt of everything since she was in the back. Our leisurely trip down the river ended too soon and we disembarked and changed out of our wet clothes. After that we headed back to town which took quite a long time and dropped everyone off to their respective places.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of us actually on the river since...well, it's a raft...and a river...and it's wet...and I didn't bring my underwater casing for my small camera. Sorry. =(

I did happen to get this shot afterwards (see below). These are cool little hang out spots that ppl can go to and chill by the river and have a picnic or whatever. So cool!!

And thus ended that particular adventure…but wait, there’s more!!

Since Kathlyn and I came on a whim we hadn’t booked a place to stay that night. We were dropped off at the tour office along with Tao, the girl from China. She told us we should stay with her at the guesthouse next door since it would cheap to split it between the three of us. Ok, let’s get this straight, I’m not the type to just go get a room with someone I just met that day, but she looked harmless enough, plus she was kind of the ditzy talkative kind but very genuine. Anyway, I’ve stayed at hostels with other random people before and survived and that was probably a lot sketchier than this. But back to where I was….We ended up only pay about $5 per person for a basic room. This included a fully functional bathroom (with hot water), three beds, and a very strong fan. Not bad, eh? For only one night, we didn’t need the works, so this was more than adequate. Plus, all we really wanted was a nice long shower to wash away all the grim and sweat we had built up over the last day and a half. While Tao went to collect her luggage from the office and book another tour or something, Kathlyn and I had to run to the store to get a little bottle of shampoo and conditioner since we didn’t bring any. 

After a good shower we headed out to go book a flight back, b/c once again, we didn’t have any set plans and decided it would be better to fly back instead of sit on another bus for 10 hours again. After that we went in search of a massage place since we so desperately wanted one. Thankfully massage places are in abundance around here and we stumbled across one in a matter of minutes. I decided to get a traditional Thai massage (WOOOOOT!!!) and Kathlyn opted for a foot massage. If you’ve never heard of a Thai massage, let me explain a little…actually, just go look it up b/c it’s hard to explain. It’s not your normal massage, that’s for sure. There is a lot of pushing and pulling and stretching and encroaching on your personal space, but it’s SO worth it. At this point and time I was already extremely sore from hiking so much that I couldn’t tell the difference whether I was sore from hiking or sore from all the stretching during the massage. I’m so sore still and I’m ready for another massage. Lol. But that’s beside the point. Haha. After our massages we went back to the room to tell Tao we weren’t going to join them for dinner. She had suggested earlier in the truck that our whole group meet up for dinner as a last hurrah…but we were starving and they weren’t going to meet up for another half hour or more. 

So we were off to find a vegetarian restaurant by ourselves…except we started going down a street and then realized we had no clue where one was. So we went back to the tour office and looked in a magazine I had skimmed through the day before. We found the one I had seen and since we’re horrible at reading maps (ok, it was more like we weren’t sure which way we were facing) we had to ask the receptionist for directions. Turns out we had been going down the right road before we went back and just hadn’t gone far enough. Good thing we hadn’t walked very far! We embarked once more to fine this vegetarian restaurant and finally found it. Everything looked so good (and it didn’t help that we were starving!) so we ordered two appetizers and two entrees to share. The food was so delicious!! The appetizers were yummy, the pumpkin curry was awesome, and we decided to take a chance with the hok mok curry even though we hadn’t a clue what it was and the waiter couldn’t really explain to us since his English wasn’t great. I’m so glad we ordered that b/c it was fantastic! We were stuffed to the brim after that. The waiter was so funny b/c he came back to clear our plates and said something to the extent of, “You are both very pretty” and “I like talking to you” even though we only exchanged a few words. Lol. Kathlyn and I were dying of laughter after that. 

When we had had our fill we decided to check out the night market down the road. It was abnormally quiet for a weekend night market. I mean, there were people milling all around, but it wasn’t super crowded like I’m used to seeing at a night market. It was quite nice actually. I bought a few things and practiced my bargaining (I suck at it, usually), but I had to resist from buying a lot since I only had a carry-on and not much room to spare. We walked around for about two hours and got fresh fruit smoothies towards the end b/c we were craving fruit. 

After walking back we checked out a function in front of the Tha Phae Gate which was promoting Elephant Day and they had a really good local band performing. One of the most recognized symbols of Thailand is the elephant so they were promoting people to go see the elephants in the villages and such. That’s all I could grasp from the whole thing since they were speaking in Thai. We were pooped by then so we decided to head back to our room and turn in for the night. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t sleep very well yet again. My stupid bug bites kept itching and waking me up. Three nights in a row with little sleep is never a good thing. I'm still trying to catch up on sleep as I type this.

We finally got up and packed our things and went in search of coffee for Kathlyn and something to eat for me. Starbucks was the closest thing to us. Haha. We walked around a bit after that and explored a little bit of the old city before going to a café so Kathlyn could get something to eat and I could get something to drink…hmmm…we should sync our hunger and thirst strikes better next time. Haha. 

We hailed a songthaew to take us to the airport and thank goodness for AirAsia kiosks for easy check-ins, especially when you don’t have luggage to check in. We chilled at the gate for a bit before our plane was ready to depart. It was a short ride back (def a lot shorter than the way there!) and we soon had to depart from one another. She took the bus back and I had to take a taxi to my place. I was so exhausted when I got back that I just fell on my bed and fell asleep in a matter of seconds. My whole body is still sore and aching. I’m getting too old for this kind of stuff, but it was SO worth it!! Even though I was having second thoughts during the trip, I’m so glad we did it.