Jungle Trek Weekend

Last weekend was quite an adventurous one. First, we rode elephants. That was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Our elephant was really sweet. Her name was Bumi and she was very smart and well-trained. She was so hungry though. She kept reaching her trunk up so we could hand her a ton of bananas and sugar cane while we were walking. It was hilarious because she would keep stopping to eat and we couldn't keep up with the rest of the group. I got to sit on her neck and feel her shoulder blades moving up and down with each step. I was afraid I would lose balance. I was just mesmerized with the feeling of her rough skin under my hands. Her ears kept swatting at my legs, over and over. So funny. We took a route that crossed a river, so when Bumi got in the water, naturally she wanted to rinse herself off. So she sprayed us with her trunk. I could not stop laughing!

Feeding Bumi!

I am officially in love with elephants. They are such kind, sweet animals.

 After our elephant adventure, we commenced our hike. Actually, I wouldn't call it a hike. It was more like a trek. Through the jungle, uphill. It was an intense workout. The best part? Our guide was a native Karen tribe guy from the mountains, and guess what his nickname is. Rambo. Yes, that's right. The name suited him perfectly, too.

See what I mean?

If I had to pick one person to be stranded in the wilderness with, it would be Rambo. He would keep me alive. As we were hiking, he would stop and pick random things up off the ground and eat them. He showed me some edible mushrooms. As we were hiking, he made us all walking sticks out of bamboo that he hacked with his machete. He also made everyone a hat out of leaves. He told us where the termites and red ants were so we could avoid them. And I kept getting hit by low blood sugar, so he carried my heavy bag for me multiple times while I ate candy.


We climbed over rocks, jumped over mud, crossed high over rivers on logs, etc. It was the quintessential jungle tour. A couple times we stopped by some waterfalls and went for a swim. We met some people from Germany and Canada there. Thailand's got some NICE waterfalls.

Finally, we arrived in the Karen village. There were tons of rice paddies with the mud packed around them very nicely. The houses were made of bamboo, wood, and some sort of plant material for the roofs.



These people live very far away from society, and their culture is unique, as is each tribe's culture. It was interesting to see the stark difference between this hill culture and the one we visited the week before. The religious views are different and the clothes are different. Each tribe is unique.

Most of the tribes in this area converted to Catholicism when missionaries came to preach to them. However, they still hold their animist views as well, and mix these religions without hesitation. Rambo told us that he was a Catholic, but later that night, told us about the magic that the elderly people in the tribe possess. People may convert, but they do not change their culture. And they shouldn't have to, because it's beautiful.

Mosquito nets are REALLY nice.

This was by far my favorite weekend in Thailand. It was surreal. We slept in a bamboo hut under mosquito nets with a hill tribe by a waterfall that was perfect for swimming in. At night, you could see the stars more clearly in the sky. It was beautiful.







 

 It was time to head home, so we hopped in the back of a pickup truck and rode down, stopped by a restaurant, and got some food. Afterward, it was time for rafting! The rafts were literally bamboo sticks tied together, and on top of that, the raft drivers were quite fond of splashing us and saying "it's raining!" in Thai. Needless to say, we got pretty wet.

During the whole weekend, engulfed in the scenery around ourselves and the circumstances we continually found ourselves in, we kept asking, "is this real life?" I will never forget that weekend. It was amazing, and I wish I could share it with all of you.