We spent our final night in the jungle, staying in another Karen Village like the previous night although this one was slightly more comfortable. We had a fun night playing a game called "ping pong pang", the forfeit being a streak of charcoal rubbed across your face (the local moonshine ran out) by either your partner or Sek, which ended in most (especially Nicola) having charcoal smearings across their face.
I also went "cricket hunting"...basically stood and watched a local catch a cricket with a hoe type instrument. I then ate a few fried crickets (which were actually really nice and I'd recommend, you know, should they appear on a menu near you).
The morning came and we ventured down to the river where we found that some of the local guides had made bamboo rafts for us. The plan was to spend the morning rafting along the river, which would take us out of the jungle and allow us to get back to Chiang Mai and...what we'd all been waiting for...a chance to shower.
The bamboo rafts were approximately 20 feet long, and there were four persons on each, plus two guides. We had Sek and Eddy on our raft, so we spent 3 hours being splashed and avoiding being pushed into the river. It was great fun. Nicola and I opted to follow the locals and stand barefoot on the raft, which made gripping it easier although it did hurt your feet a bit.
Unfortunately we could not take any pictures because our cameras had been placed in waterproof bags within our rucksacks to avoid damage. But take our words for it, the views along the river were incredible. It was so relaxing, floating down the river watching the jungle melt away behind us. There was a 20 minute period of heavy rain and thunder which was especially lovely as it cooled us off and brought more mist over the hills, which made it look like we should be watching out for Viet Cong along the riverside! (I've watched too many Vietnam films)
Nicola's favourite part of the rafting was the rapids. We went through around 10 rapids, which meant we had to balance (no sides or seats remember) on the raft as it dipped and shook and occasionally sunk below the surface whilst hurtling through the waters...it was great fun. Although there was one moment when I nearly came off. Halfway through a rapid Eddy (the local jungle expert) told us all to sit, however, as I was at the back of the raft that section was already ankle deep and as I sat the raft was sinking further and the force of the water started to drag me off the raft before I grabbed the side and Sek steadied me by grabbing my life jacket and dragging me back on board.
After 3 hours, a few rapids, and a quick dip in the river, we reached our destination and it was time to leave the jungle, although we did so sadly as we had all had such a great time and it was probably my highlight of the whole Thailand trek...all things must come to an end though and we got back in the vans and trundled back to Chiang Mai, civilisation and hot water!
I also went "cricket hunting"...basically stood and watched a local catch a cricket with a hoe type instrument. I then ate a few fried crickets (which were actually really nice and I'd recommend, you know, should they appear on a menu near you).
The morning came and we ventured down to the river where we found that some of the local guides had made bamboo rafts for us. The plan was to spend the morning rafting along the river, which would take us out of the jungle and allow us to get back to Chiang Mai and...what we'd all been waiting for...a chance to shower.
The bamboo rafts were approximately 20 feet long, and there were four persons on each, plus two guides. We had Sek and Eddy on our raft, so we spent 3 hours being splashed and avoiding being pushed into the river. It was great fun. Nicola and I opted to follow the locals and stand barefoot on the raft, which made gripping it easier although it did hurt your feet a bit.
Unfortunately we could not take any pictures because our cameras had been placed in waterproof bags within our rucksacks to avoid damage. But take our words for it, the views along the river were incredible. It was so relaxing, floating down the river watching the jungle melt away behind us. There was a 20 minute period of heavy rain and thunder which was especially lovely as it cooled us off and brought more mist over the hills, which made it look like we should be watching out for Viet Cong along the riverside! (I've watched too many Vietnam films)
Nicola's favourite part of the rafting was the rapids. We went through around 10 rapids, which meant we had to balance (no sides or seats remember) on the raft as it dipped and shook and occasionally sunk below the surface whilst hurtling through the waters...it was great fun. Although there was one moment when I nearly came off. Halfway through a rapid Eddy (the local jungle expert) told us all to sit, however, as I was at the back of the raft that section was already ankle deep and as I sat the raft was sinking further and the force of the water started to drag me off the raft before I grabbed the side and Sek steadied me by grabbing my life jacket and dragging me back on board.
After 3 hours, a few rapids, and a quick dip in the river, we reached our destination and it was time to leave the jungle, although we did so sadly as we had all had such a great time and it was probably my highlight of the whole Thailand trek...all things must come to an end though and we got back in the vans and trundled back to Chiang Mai, civilisation and hot water!
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