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Elephants, Huts, Leeches, Tarantula’s. I’m bout that life!

Now for the good stuff! I really believe that there are two sides of Lo! I am very much a girlie girl and like to be fancy and pretty but I am very much an explorer, outdoorsie thrill seeker. I am Libra, so I guess that makes sense. We left the beach and headed to the mountainous jungle of Chiang Mai! I was too excited. We flew on AirAsia again. Our plane tickets were a little over $100 a piece, but we were flying from the bottom of Thailand to the very top.

I wanted to get the full experience of Thailand. So we had to do the city, the beach, and the jungle. I met a woman in the airport in Phuket, who was originally from San Diego, who had recently moved to Chiang Mai. She approached us and said “You have to be American. Only Americans wear sunglasses inside of the airport.” Lol. I do have some “hollywood” tendencies. She worked for her family accounting business and decided to work remotely in Chiang Mai. Not only was she saving major cash on rent and life style in general, she was able to travel and experience a different region of the world. So as you can imagine I was thinking like hmmmmm in time I want to be on the same tip.

Once we landed in Chiang Mai, I could immediately tell that Chiang Mai was way more laid back and chill. Our cab to the hotel was super cheap. Only $3! We stayed at the Libra Guesthouse for $20/night. We were welcomed with a warm greeting. The lady at the front desk was so helpful. She pulled out a map and gave me the quick run down of Chiang Mai: where to party, where to drink, where to talk to Monks, where to explore, and what temples to visit. But what really got me was when she told me about the trekking tours they offered! I was too ready to go all up in the jungle and hike and see elephants. I didn’t have to think twice. We were doing the 2-day tour the next day. The trekking tour was probably the most expensive activity on the trip but it included a 4-hr guided hike, a trip to a waterfall, bamboo rafting, an elephant ride, food and accommodations in a small village. It was about $80 per person. Talk about the real deal experience. I was a bit nervous but too game. You would have thought I would have gone to bed early in preparation for the next day. Nope! We went out to a neighborhood bar. I played a few games of pool and found myself in deep conversation with a German guy who packed up his life and decided to come to Chiang Mai to meditate with the Monks for a month. There is nothing like intellectual conversations with strangers. Truly the essence of traveling.

We woke up the next day ready but was not too sure of what to expect. After a quick trip to the market, we were on our way.

After about an hour and half drive we made it to our first stop, which was a beautiful waterfall.

We spent about 45 minutes to an hour at the waterfall before heading back out on the road. We stopped at a small restaurant on the side of the road to have lunch. Fresh mango, papaya, dragon fruit and pad thai! So GOOD! We eventually made it to where the trekking began. I was hype and ready. I am pretty athletic and like to think I’m in pretty decent shape. That hike was rough! 4 hours of going up and down the mountain. Periodically, our guide would ask us to do a leech check. Ok, so I was completely caught off guard! Leeches? But we weren’t in water. Goes to show you my ignorance. I sho-nuff looked down at my sneakers and they were covered in leeches. After about two hours we made it to the first village. I was more than ready for a break. While we were chilling out, my friend Edward felt an itch in his shoe. Turns out there was a LEECH between one of his toes. YUCK!! This leech squirmed up his boots and through his socks! Talk about a story to remember. The thing is you can barely feel leeches because they don’t hurt so who knows how long it had been there.

After resting for a while, we continued our hike further into the jungle. We saw small snakes and tarantulas. I was thrilled! When we finally got to our final resting place, it hit me that I was going to be sleeping in the middle of NOWHERE in a hut with NO electricity. Some animal could come get me in the night and that would have been the end of Lo. lol I eventually got over it and chilled out. We had dinner by candlelight and shared traveling stories. It was a very intimate experience. Nothing could have prepared me for that nights sleep. I made sure I peed twice before bed because nothing was going to make me go outside in the pitch dark with a flash light to use the out house. I said my prayers and tried my best to go to sleep. I woke up every 30 minutes. I was so freakin cold. I heard the craziest noises too. I don’t usually have dreams at night but that night I had the WORST dreams ever. I woke up not wanting to be friends with some people. lol. Let’s just say it was an experience of a lifetime. It was exactly what I was  looking for though. I’m always down to test my limits and try new things. Now will I do it again? Probably so. I would bring more clothes. Its hard to sleep when you’re freezing. I totally forgot that the temperature drops considerably in the mountains at night. If you haven’t checked out my Chiang Mai video you should. (It’ll be at the end of the post)

I was ready for the main attraction. The Elephants! I was really in disbelief that I was able to feed, wash and ride an elephant. I am still in awe even as I’m writing this. The feeling of doing something you’ve always dreamed of–truly amazing. I was truly grateful. After riding the elephants along the river, we took a two and hour bamboo rafting ride further down the river. What an experience!

 

Here is the video from my Chiang Mai experience: