On day two in the Thai jungle I was woken at 4am when the rooster underneath our hut on stilts decided it was time to get up. Luckily after about half an hour he realised he was being ignored and shut up allowing us another four hours sleep!

I got up at 8am and washed my hair under a dribbling tap as the shower bucket had disappeared in the night. Then we were given a good breakfast of eggs and toast before embarking on the second day of the trek.

We were told to put all our stuff in a plastic bag inside our bags to prevent it getting wet during the rafting! I dutifully did this hoping it was just a precaution and didn’t mean our bags would get wet.

The morning also gave me the first glimpse of the elephant camp in the daylight. It was a small village with no more than 15 huts all built on stilts. The cooking and eating area was under a roof but didn’t have any walls. Then our room was a long bamboo hut also built off the ground. I couldn’t help comparing the elephant camp and the villages we passed through to Fatima’s grandma’s village in the Philippines. The Thai villages had all been bigger than grandma’s village and although like grandma’s village they didn’t have electricity the Thai villages did have running water. It seems that the Thai people live in a much more remote location but they are more wealthy than the Filipinos and subsequently that little bit more developed.

Once we packed up we loaded our bags onto the raft and checked it would balance before getting onto elephants for a two hour trek through the jungle.

To get onto the elephants we had to climb up onto a high platform then step onto the elephants head before sitting in the chair on the back. Rather disconcertingly the elephant’s head was squishy as you stood on it!

I’d heard that elephant riding was very bumpy and a lot higher up than expected but I found neither to be true. However the were a couple of scary moments. The first came shortly after we set off. We came to a steep very muddy bank leading down to the river. We could see the elephants in front trading carefully but still slipping as they made their way down the bank. As our elephant stepped over the edge it lurched forward causing us to hang onto the sides of the seat so as not to fall off.

The ride took us criss crossing the river running through the jungle for about two hours until we came to the Lahu hill tribe village were were were going to board the raft.

As with all the villages we didn’t stop there long. Just enough time to watch the elephants take a bath, use the bathroom and get hassled by another woman dressed in traditional hill tribe clothing trying to sell us jewellery. It was a shame we didn’t spend more time in the villages. I though we would have the opportunity to meet villagers and learn something about their way of life. But all the same we were having an amazing experience.

Once the elephants had washed we boarded the raft for the final leg of our trek. The raft was made entirely of bamboo and strung together using leaves of some description. Amazingly it held eight of us sinking below the surface just enough for us to feel the water lapping at our feet.

It was incredibly peaceful in the middle of the jungle. The oily sounds that could be heard were our own voices and the sounds emanating for the forest.

Not long after setting of we came to our first set of rapids. The raft picked up speed and we each stood still in our assigned position trying to make sure the raft didn’t over balance as the guide negotiated our way through the rocks. As we approached the next set of rapid we were told they were harder to negotiate and the raft was easier to balance if we sat down. No one really wanted to get wet but amongst much complaining we begrudgingly knelt on the raft pulling our shorts up as far as possible trying to stay dry. This worked for the first couple of large rapids but eventually a large wave swept over the raft wetting me up th my waist. Coupled with the guides slamming their bamboo poles the were using to steer into the water trying to splash us were were all soon fairly wet!

After a while the lead guide decided he wanted to take charge of the raft. He was a strange looking man with very small features. Emily took an instant dislike to him and I wasn’t keen. He was incredibly hyper active, constantly squealing with laughter and always seemed like he was high on drugs. As he took the helm of the raft it was clear he wasn’t as good at it or as strong as the other guide and he struggled to negotiate the raft around rocks and most of the time wasn’t even paying attention to what was coming up!

We came to our first set of rapids with him in charge of the raft and the raft began picking up speed. We were approaching a large rock in the middle of the river, he noticed too late and tried in vain to get us past it but there was an almighty crunch as the raft rand aground on the rock tipping up at a 90 degree angle and throwing me into the river! The current in the river was incredibly strong and I had to grip onto a rock with my legs to prevent myself floating away. I had fallen off right below our bags that were hung on a bamboo pole on the raft. I could see the raft tilting more and more with our bags perilously close to the water. Luckily the guides managed to get the raft back up right but it was still wedged on the rock. With a lot of effort they managed to lift it of the rock amid much cracking and splitting of bamboo!

Once the raft was freed I climbed back aboard now well and truly soaking wet. Luckily we didn’t have far left to go as the buoyancy of the raft wasn’t quite the same. There were visible splits in many of the poles and the water often came up to our knees as we passed through the smaller rapids.

Once we reached the end of the river we stopped and had lunch before being picked up by the land rover and making our way back to Chiang Mai.

That’s all I have time fore right now. More photos of the trek can be found by clicking on the photos tab on the top of the page. We’re off down to Bangkok tomorrow to meet Kat. I’ll try and check in again soon.

* Posted by j150vsc on 06/07/2007.