Chiang Mai Trekking and the Old City

Arriving in Chiang Mai in the morning was quite pleasant, with the air still cool enough to walk around for a little while before checking in to my hostel for the evening for an early night and early morning to head of trekking the next day. I really enjoyed exploring the beautiful city, particularly full of beautiful Buddhist art and architecture. The season was particularly nice as well, with beautiful flowering trees in numerous colors decorating the streets. I also indulged in my first Thai massage in the morning, quite pleasant and relaxing, especially for less than $6! I had a nice lunch of some stir fried glass noodles and a dinner of papaya salad and a yellow curry dish with fried noodles called Khao Soi– delicious!! I explored a little bit of the city in the evening and met an adorable kitten that seemed intent on tackling my sock, but eventually made it to bed excited and ready for the early morning pickup for the next day’s trekking.

I was picked up early the next day by a van, and after a few more stops to fill the van with other soon-to-be trekkers, we set off away from the city and into the surrounding hills. After an hour or two of driving, we were dropped off on the side of the road, amidst rice fields and without a building in sight. After getting our backpacks in order and applying sunscreen, the group set off with our guide, hiking along rivers and through forest while admiring beautiful views. We never saw any wild mammals, and the birds all moved too quickly and far away to catch a solid glimpse. Luckily, we did stumble across a number of incredible bugs, including a massive spider devouring its prey and numerous leaf hoppers with ornate waxy castings covering their bodies. We ended up seeing numerous impressive waterfalls and swam in the river at a few points before eventually taking a break for lunch, vegetarian fried rice wrapped in a banana leaf. We avoided a brief squall of rain with our lunchtime shelter, but eventually had to set off again on our hike.

After lunch we continued hiking into the jungle, past more waterfalls and beautiful farms. After another short break to swim and relax, the rain started to come down again, and we began an ascent along a sizable hill towards a local village. As we moved higher and higher, the rain turned into a substantial downpour, complete with thunder and lightning spaced frighteningly close to each other. By the time we arrived at the village, even our guide had begun to look a little bit panicked, and was waving us ahead to run for the village while he shepherded the slower hikers to make sure they didn’t lose the path. Eventually, we made it to the village, occupied by a local tribe known as the “Red Karen” people. We stayed in a small community hut and tried to get dry as we waited out the storm. When the downfall finally ceased, we stepped out from the hut and admired the village, complete with lots of livestock roaming around and kept in pens, as well as a beautiful rainbow and bright green scenery stretching out along the hills. After taking some time to explore the village and the surrounding farms, we set off on the last leg of our trek for the day admiring more beautiful views before we finally arrived at a small house for the evening.

After an evening with a delicious dinner at our homestay, we drank a little and headed to bed before it got too late. I awoke early, before any of the other trekkers, so I decided to head out into the surrounding forest for a little hike on my own. Solitude wasn’t in the cards however, as I was quickly joined by two dogs from the homestay who seemed insistent on tagging along as I made my way along small trails and rivers, exploring the jungle as the sun rose. Eventually I ended up in a banana grove near the hostel and some nearby rice fields, and one of the dogs had to take a little break in order to enjoy a hay pile in one of the fields. Eventually I came back to the homestay and noticed people starting to wake up and move around. I joined for a simple breakfast and took a picture of our gracious host before I headed back out into the forest, this time with the guide and the rest of the group accompanying me. The rest of the hike went fairly quickly, with more beautiful views at every turn, but eventually it came to an end and we moved on to do a quick encounter with some elephants. Though ethically dubious, while I was there I saw the elephants be treated fairly well and got to feed them bananas and sugarcane which they clearly enjoyed. We got to swim for a little bit while they washed themselves in the same pool, and after marveling at their size and power for some time, we moved on for some lunch and bamboo rafting before the end of the trip. The rafting was really fun, with locals lounging and drinking on the side of the river occasionally saying hello or even throwing us beers, but also far too wet to bring my phone so I didn’t manage any pictures. After the whole trip came to an end, we rode back to the city of Chiang Mai and got dropped off at our respective accommodations, exchanging contact information and saying goodbyes.

My last 24 hours or so in Chiang Mai was really pleasant, I found a beautiful hostel through the recommendation of some friends from the trekking. I set off on my own in order to explore the city and had a wonderful dinner of stewed pork over rice, and then a traditional local dessert called Ruam Mit with all sorts of flavorful jelly and nut and cracker toppings. The city at night was truly beautiful and featured clear signs of the changing seasons with thunderous rainstorms visible in the surrounding mountains even as the city remained dry. The following morning, I got some delicious steamed buns, alongside an extremely flavorful savory rice soup. After one more quick walk around the city admiring the ancient architecture and moats mixed with the modern urban sprawl, I felt ready to head up to the relatively remote tourist destination of Pai, so I hailed a ride to the bus station and readied myself to move on to another destination.