Trekking in Northern Thailand

What a phenomenal experience. This was probably one of the most intense physical challenges and culturally revealing experiences in my life.

We left Chiang Mai and bused to Chiang Rai which serves as a hub for those seeking to trek through Thailand's northern rain forests. With a local guide and a machete wielding porter, we were armed to discover Thailand's deepest forests and the tribes that still inhabit them.

I think the majority of the folks in our group thought this would be a leisurely walk guised as a hike, but it quickly transformed into a character building challenge. Perhaps not so for the determined American girl in our group, who previously conquered Kilimanjaro.

Our 3-day trek included staying overnight in two hill-tribe villages. Needless to say the conditions were basic. I tough adjustment for a downtown condo boy, but I was surprised at how quickly man can adjust to his surroundings, for the will to survive is overpowering. Soon I was quite comfortable taking cold showers in jungle streams.

Sleeping in a hill-tribe village is a whole other experience. Roosters start making their calls at 3:30 am, not sunrise as we're often led to believe. Dogs bark intermittently. And hogs squeal occasionally. The mosquito net that you're sleeping under is hardly enough to fog the consistent and persistent noise.

The third and last day of the trek was magical. Not because we could finally give our feet a rest, rather because we rode out of the jungle on elephant back. I like wild animals and my two wishes have been to spend a day chilling with monkeys, chimps or orangutans preferably, and the other to spend a day with elephants. Dreams often come true, in stages. I fed, petted and rode these kings of the jungle to my heart's content. I know pictures are key here, but I'll have to post later on.

Returning to civilization was an equally phenomenal experience as leaving it.

On our last day in the north, we visited the Golden Triangle - where Laos, Burma and Thailand meet and where opium trade once dominated.

A few of us, adventurous types, decided to cross into Burma (Myanmar) for a few hours. Not too much to see, but obviously a poor nation. Real or imagined, an odd chill seemed to be present in this exploited country.

Oddly enough, I saw some Russian tourists crossing as well. The Russians are everywhere.

Now back in the southern park of the country, Ayuthiya, the former capital.

Gotta run, more mosquitoes here than in the jungle.