Trekking with the Hill Tribes

Happy Fourth of July! One of these summers, I’ll be back in America to celebrate it, it’s one of my top three favorite holidays. This Fourth was probably my most uniquely spent (though there were no parades or hot air balloons involved. We spent Saturday and Sunday trekking with the hill tribes. I was under the impression that it was a pretty mellow hike so I wore flip-flops and it turned out to be 10 miles of practically straight uphill---no switchbacks. It was madness, but really refreshing. It was the kind of thing where you just feel really good afterward.

We started with elephant riding and one of the elephants that trekked with us had recently given birth so the baby came along too. Everyone’s first reaction is “it’s SOO small!” but be honest folks, that baby elephant is bigger than the biggest dog you have ever seen.

I just seriously could not get over how cute this baby was. The video is total crumb, but the baby! I had a moment with a guy from Yorkshire because he was saying he wanted to---take the baby home with you! I know! (I finished his sentence, we had a moment). We went on from there to hike around through the hills. Our guide’s name was ‘Rambo’ because he helped the crew of the newest Rambo movie schlep camera equipment around when they were filming in that very jungle! He was short but solid.

What I’m saying is I’m practically best friends with Sylvester Stallone by association at this point. Yea, we’re besties---about time. The hike was long and hard and I generally ended up the back of the fast group or the front of the slow group (oh how I hate mediocrity), but suddenly in the early evening we rounded a corner and came upon these beautiful rice patties. They were just like you think southeast asia is going to be and I couldn’t get over them. (literally hiking over them was wet and muddy and nearly took me out).

We camped just beyond there at a waterfall where we spent the evening singing (someone brought a guitar) around the fire. There is nothing better than that. I swear all I need for my life is a camp fire, a guitar, and people to love it with me.

This was definitely one of the best weekends we’ve spent here. The guides made us each little leaf hats that turned out to be like wearing a green house on your head and made us all pour with sweat and we finished off the fourth with bamboo rafting (where 4 of our number got charged by that mama elephant when the baby scrambled onto their raft for some air) and eventually ice cream at Swenson’s where we caught a glimpse of the fireworks from the only 4^th of July part in the city. Life doesn’t get better than that.