Thursday, April 2, 2009

the hills are alive....

It is a hot, sticky night here in Chiang Mai, and I am flat-out EXHAUSTED -- Julie and I just arrived back in town after a 3-day, 30-mile trek through the hills outside the city. WOW. Never thought I would actually sign up for something like that, but I am SO glad that I did! And I guess I have a few days to catch up on for ya'll, so I'll try and keep this brief.

So... I left you before we travelled to Ayuthaya on Sunday morning. Our 4-hour bus trip was quite an adventure... we were on a local bus, and I really enjoyed staring out the window at the passing villages and appreciating the fact that I was driving through Thailand. I love being out in the world, and traveling through foreign countries to see how other people view the same world that I live in, and how they experience it each day. It's been amazing here so far, and it just makes me want to travel more! Crap, I really have the travel bug bad now. Thankfully my job will allow me to travel through countries throughout the world, offering what services I can. I am so grateful for the opportunities that I will have! But back to my story :) So we arrived in Ayuthaya, which is the old capital of Thailand (back in the 14-15th centuries I believe) so there are many ruins of old buddhist temples in the central part of the city. Julie and I rented bikes and rode around the city, admiring the remains of a once-glorious city. One highlight -- Wat Mahatat (wat is the Thai word for temple) has a famous buddha head that has been "swallowed" by tree roots, and that is very auspicious in buddhism. I took some photos.. and again, I wish I could upload some! (I think I'm up to almost 700 now...) After the last temple site that we explored, we walked through the local market and picked up some fresh pineapple -- my FAVORITE fruit... and completely surprised me that Thailand is the #1 exporter of pineapple in the world. I'm in heaven. It's delicious. I have it EVERY day... hahaha.

After finishing our bike tour through the city, we met with our group and headed to the train station to board our train up to Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand. The train traveled 14 hours overnight, so we had beds to sleep on as we sped up through the country. We arrived in the morning, and took our stuff to our hotel before we took a taxi up to a famous mountain temple in the area called Doi Suthep. Our group leader Chompooh (and the two guys from London) went with us, and explained various aspects of the buddhist religion and their practices as we were walking along the temple grounds. When I have more time, I'll try to go into more detail, because it really has been fascinating talking with her about her culture and her beliefs, and how intertwined the two are here in Thailand. We had the opportunity to have holy water sprinkled on us by a monk and then white string tied around our wrists to wish us "good luck" -- it's a buddhist tradition. The temple itself was beautiful, with a golden chedi (a dome + spire architectural aspect of temples in the buddhist religion) in the center, and many golden buddhas that filled the surrounding courtyard. Many people were up there worshipping, and just as many were up there walking around admiring the general splendor of the building. Unfortunately, the skies are quite cloudy right now as the rice paddy fields are being burned to prepare for next season's crops, so we could not see down to the city below, but it was still quite a beautiful view from up on top of the mountain.

That night, we had 1-hr Thai foot massages (only $4!!) and then we explored the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar -- hundreds of stalls selling anything and everything you can imagine.. from hilltribe handicrafts to knock-off DVDs... it's quite the spectacle. But fun to explore. We made it an early night, as we had to prepare our bodies for the days ahead.... our hilltribe trek! Which is where I have been the past few days, and why I haven't had a chance to update this :) But before we began our trek, we had the opportunity to take a stroll on the back of an elephant! It was quite a fun experience... we were on a smaller elephant, so our mahout (the elephant owner/trainer) walked in front of us as the elephant wasn't big enough yet to hold him up on his head, and we walked through the hills feeding our little guy bananas and sugar cane. He LOVED the bananas. It was really cute... we'd be walking along, and he would swing his trunk up above his head... equalling "GIVE ME A BANANA.. OR FIVE" hahaha. It was great. So we'd put a couple in front of his trunk, and thanks to vacuum action in his trunk, he would get a tasty snack. It was a short ride, maybe about 45 minutes, but we weren't too disappointed because tomorrow we're spending the entire day with elephants at a famous elephant conservation camp in the area. Can't wait to tell you more about that :)

After leaving our elephant friends, we made our way up to the base of the hills that are home to various hilltribe villages -- Akha and Karen are the two most well-known in this area. We brought small packs with all our gear (sleeping bags, mats, and some clothes) and headed off into the unknown, led by our local guide, Can, and the hilltribe porter, Superboy (YES that is his name...) We didn't quite know what to expect, but about 15 minutes into our hike, we realized that we were in for quite a treat -- the fun part about hiking to these hill tribes is that you have to hike UP into the hills. So, we were hiking UPHILL (and I'm talking very steep) for about 3 hours. We took periodic breaks, but it was definitely strenuous. We finally arrived at the first village, and had a delicious dinner cooked by our host from the Karen tribe, and it was a fun night playing card games by candle light. Quite an experience. And then we slept in bamboo huts. I will say, it is fun to reminisce and look back on this as a fond memory, but that night was not the most enjoyable... we all were waking up every hour or so to rotate because we'd go numb on one side of our bodies from the hard bamboo floor, and then on top of that it was FREEZING. I was not prepared for that weather! It's okay though, we all had a good laugh about it in the morning. We woke up bright and early for the next day of trekking to the next village... another 2 hours+ uphill. Well, it was about half uphill and half flat. But still... my legs were still recuperating from the day before! SO it was a long day. But we arrived into the next village and were able to take a shower...... hahahaha. I laugh, because the shower was in a nearby stream. And we had to wear sarongs that covered our bodies over our bathing suits out of respect for the villagers (they are very modest). We were all in the stream having a good laugh until Ava (the girl from Australia) looked down at her arm and saw a few black wormy things crawling on her. Of course we all assumed that it was leeches... so we ran out of the stream and proceeded to do a leech-check on each other! It was quite funny. But after arriving back at our hut, our group leader told us that they were only dragonfly larvae... that leeches only live in the moist jungle during the rainy season. So we were safe... and we had a good laugh about that one too :) After relaxing for a bit, we walked around the village and met some of the locals... so warm and inviting. We learned how they make rice... wow, I will NEVER take our 90-second rice for granted ever again! After harvesting, it takes about 1.5 hours to prepare rice for dinner. They do that each and every day. They live such modest lives... Julie and I have had a few talks about American culture and how we value the most ridiculous aspects of the world, and that we overlook and belittle the more important things, such as relationships with your loved ones. Being in those villages brought me back to my days in Africa... I love how I feel when I am surrounded by these people. I really feel like I have had a spiritual and emotional recharge, and that I have found myself again. I didn't realize how much I had lost sight of myself in the past year... I am so grateful that I have here to gain a stronger foundation of my ideals before I venture off into the unknown of Baltimore and nursing school....

So... walking through the village was special. I loved that. And then we had the opportunity to make fried rice for all the village children (about 30 of them) and that was just fun. Again, brought me back to my days in Africa. LOVED it. Every minute of it. We then gathered around a small bonfire with the children and they sang us village songs and we sang to them. It was quite tender. They were so sweet and so precious. I really can't wait for the day that I can travel into developing countries to provide medical services to children who don't have available resources. SOON :)

This morning, after another comfy, cozy night in our bamboo suite, we had a blessing from our host and were sent on our way... another 4 hour hike, at least mostly downhill. Julie and I found, though, that walking downhill was just as tiring... it was so steep that we had to take our time so as not to slip (or roll) down the hill. It was exhausting. I don't know which I prefer... honestly... it was a long hike back. But quite beautiful, and I had a lot of time to think and reflect. So I definitely appreciated it. And now that we've come out the other side, exhausted but breathing, we are grateful for the experience. And we can say that we hiked 30 miles through the villages of the hilltribes in Thailand! I bought an amazingly beautiful hand-made shirt from a cute old woman in the tribe and a fantastic bag from another lady, which I am proudly using tonight as Julie and I wander the streets of Chiang Mai. We are both beat, but we cannot waste our time here! We love everything about Thailand, and are soaking up all that we can. So we are off to explore the night bazaar... hopefully we'll find some fun things of intrest to bargain. We're getting better :)

I will try and post again in the next couple days... we leave for Tha Ton and then to Chiang Rai on Saturday morning... I know we'll have internet access up there, so I will try not to leave so much to blog about! I hope you are all doing well, and I will be back with more soon..... Tah Beur! (thank you/so long in the Karen tribe language)

3 comments:

  1. THe children and the elephants...what more could you possibly want? It sounds like this trip will help you to align your focus for the next phase of your life. The simple things really are what it's all about. Life is just so distracting most of the time we lose sight of what is truly joyful. The Lord is filling your heart with a passion that will bring so much meaning to the days ahead. Love the posts. Thanks for taking the time to share the details.... MOM

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  2. Experiences like these beg the question: Who is "impoverished", us or them?

    It's fun to hear your reflections on life, Laura, as you live it in such a conscious way.

    Enjoy! :) Renee

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  3. Laura,

    Karen and I are so glad your mom is sharing this link with us. It seems you are making the most of every moment of your travel. It's a pleasure for us to follow along. Stay safe and enjoy.

    And please know that should your journey bring you to Malaysia, you would be more than welcome to come see and stay with us here in Kuala Lumpur.

    Best,

    Jason Smith

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