On the Chang Mai trek we visited two hill tribes. On the first day we took lots of "shortcuts" by James to make up for lost time because we were slow "like turtle" according to Olip. I think we were making good time, except when we stopped at the waterfalls and each time it took the girls about half an hour to figure out how to get our swimsuits on as modestly as possible. The waterfalls were amazing, the sounds of the cicadas and crickets all around us, so much green everywhere . It was definitely a highlight...
Niki here!! Woah. Yes this trek was amazing!! It definitely wasn't easy... But I loved every minute. James, Nicky, and Olip were wonderful guides. One of the neatest things was how every so often, they would stop us and teach us about a plant or animal. The coolest was definitely using leaves to shoot with, blowing bubbles from stems, and using tree sap to blow fire! It really amazes me how we are constantly surrounded by such intricate and beautiful creations. It was really an incredible experience to be able to spend some time truly appreciating them while roaming the jungle :) And then there were the five waterfalls. Oh my goodness!!! Nothing will ever feel the way it did while I was underneath that water. Seriously so cool! But one thing I'll never forget was staying with the wonderful family way up in the hill tribes. Though sleeping on the bamboo floors was not exactly... pleasant, it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. How could a lifestyle so simple bring them so much happiness? It was truly remarkable to interact with such a loving people. Even while it seemed they had next to nothing, they had each other. And that was enough.
Before we left I grabbed some pens and paper that I ripped out from my journal and crawled into their hut. As I passed them out to the five kids, I was overwhelmed with joy just from looking at their simple smiles. We all sat and drew pictures together until I had to get ready to go. Before I left, I handed the little girl a picture of a flower I drew, and was touched by how she cherished it. I'll never forget the example this loving family set for me, and the genuine happiness they showed.
The past couple of weeks have definitely been the best of my life! I mean hello!! I got to ride an ELEPHANT!!! :D It's going to be hard saying goodbye, but I'll never forget any of the incredible experiences that I was lucky enough to have. :) Shout out to the fam, fource, and my "little homies" love and miss you! :) :) :)
Hey everybody it's David! This trip has been absolutely incredible so far, and the jungle trek really was the icing on the cake. Our tour guides were so funny and showed us so many cool things along the way. All of the waterfalls we went to were so cool, and it felt great to be able to shower under one after a long day's hike. The two tribes we got to spend time with really made me appreciate what I have back home. After sleeping on a super hard bamboo floor I don't think I can ever complain about my mattress again. Eating a tarantula was one of the cooler things I got to do on the trek (it tasted like chicken by the way), and of course the elephant riding was amazing. However, one of the absolutely coolest things I did was on the third day. We hiked to this really cool little waterfall in the jungle to stop, shower and eat lunch at. After I was done I noticed what looked like a wooden fence up behind the falls. I was very curious about what could be up there, so I climbed up over some large rocks. Once I got up behind the water there was a small path leading off to the side. I went to check it out. What I saw was so cool. There was a small shrine up behind the water, with a golden Buddha statue and a bamboo platform. There were some small candles and incense laying next to it. So, I lit some of both and sat down on the bamboo. I sat there for several minutes and closed my eyes, just listening to the water falling over the rocks. It was so peaceful up there. Definitely one of the coolest moments I've had on the trip. I'm so glad I was able to go on the trek. It definitely made me appreciate all the little things I have back at home that the people we stayed with don't have. But I still hope to be like those people, because of how kind and generous and happy they were. It's weird to think that I only have two days left in Thailand, and I will be sad to go. But at the same time I'm pretty anxious to see everyone back at home. Love you all, see you soon!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment