Another good day of trekking, we woke up around 7:30am, ate breakfast at 9am then left for our adventure of the day at 10am. A truck brought us about 10 minutes down the road to where our 5 hours of hiking would begin. At one point Vee and I were saying how comparative to anywhere else in the world most of the things we've done on this trek so far would be illegal. For example yesterday 5 people sat on the roof rack of the truck for 35 minutes with nothing to strap themselves down with or even seats to sit on, then today the truck we used they had to fit 9 people in the back with their bags, going down a super bumpy and windy road. At no point before or during the trek has anyone given us any kind of instruction to be careful or things to do or not to do, other than jump off of cliffs. We just thought that its funny how families of 5 ride on the same scooter without helmets here, and back home it's illegal to even ride a bicycle without a helmet. It's clear that health and safety doesn't exist here.
During our 5 hours of walking through the jungle we stopped at a different waterfall every 30-40 minutes of hiking and stayed at these spots for up to an hour each time. Before we booked this trek we had to ask if they were going to be able to accommodate our nutrition guidelines, since the food was included in the price. The answer was yes so we went ahead with it, I have to admit that since being here they have more than accommodated us and all the food has been authentic, homemade and delicious(I officially love eating on banana leaves!).
After lots of walking, hiking, swimming and relaxing in the sun we finally got to our new camp where we settled in our little sleeping hut once more. These huts are equipped with mattresses lots of blankets for the cold nights and mosquito nets, so basically everything you could ever need out here and more. We did not know what to expect when we signed up for this but I have to admit that it's been a really awesome experience. I'm sort of sad that tomorrow is the last day, I would do this again in a heart beat. It's also been amazing to see how some "off the beaten path" Thai people live out here, they are so happy yet have so little compared to us. Our guide Liber is truly a live version of man vs wild, he can literally make anything out of wood or bamboo with his machete and his hands, he made us chop sticks for us to eat our lunch with, he made a coffee cup, a sling shot, a hat and all kinds of other things.
We chatted, sat around the fire, watched a guy grill his freshly caught squirrel (I didn't watch, I couldn't), ate a great red curry dinner and now after sitting around the fire a bit more it's time for bed.
A bientot,
Janelle Brine
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