Thailand: Hilltribe Trek

Last Sunday we traveled from Chaing Mai 4 hours to a small Thai village to stay in the home of a village. We ate a traditional northern Thai Khantoke dinner here. This was the first night we spent sleeping on mats on the floor.

Monday through Wednesday was spent on a hilltribe trek. Over those three days we hiked up to 1500 meters in the mountains and over 30 kilometers. This was not a walk in the park, this was trekking up and down the mountain terrain stopping at beautiful waterfalls for lunch and meeting local hilltribe villagers. I hired a porter for the day and he carried my backpack for me for about $7 a day. That way, I could enjoy the scenery and the walk without a load on my back. We stayed on the floor of huts, the very very hard floor, for 3 nights straight. This was really roughing it, as I could barely sleep because it was so unconfortable. The shower consisted of a basin of cold water that you scooped onto your head. The toilet was a hole in the ground. It makes you realize that all the mod cons you have make life so much better!

Thursday we visitd the point of the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Burma and Laos borders meet. We took a fast boat ride down the Mekong river to Laos where we spend an hour looking around. The boat ride was a lot of fun and super fast! We also crossed the border into Burma for a couple hours. So in one day I was in 3 countries!