Going to the jungle

[X]

Don't listen to all the people here who boycott countries just because idiot journalists make stuff up to sell their crappy papers.


I've been with these people three times now, including during the so called 'revolution'. The place itse;lf is fantastic and relaxing, the people are wonderful and the trekking/rafting etc is first class. Value for money is unbeatable. The last one we did combined rafting, jungle trekking and an overnight stay in a remote Thai village. It was not a fake tourist place and was a great experience.


Highly recommended and I'm happy to give you further info if you like.


Chiang Mai Trekking - Chiang Dao Nest Trekking Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand

[Gandalf]

Cheers X. After a night sleeping for 30 minutes I'm at the airport. I have no worries really and have planned well. It will be an enjoyable trip, but first up I need to rest for the weekend as I am really quite shattered right now. Need to build myself up first before I get out there.

[CFH]

You're going to die.

[JazMerkin]

How did I miss this thread till now

Miles, this is brilliant. You are quite possibly the most mental man alive.

I looked at the title & saw CFH posted last & thought 'ah this is a perfect thread to renew our racial abuse of one another' & instead I found out you're about to try & get yourself killed

So is it Thailand you're going to?

[Andre]

We all have strong visions of a type of 'Heart of Darkness' story unfolding for Miles.

We all live in hope.

Not in a bad way Miles. I once went somewhere and a mate of mine said to me " I hope it gets real nasty for you". Not cause he wanted me to go down just because thats what it does best.. bit like Tornado chasers I suppose you wish them bad weather cause really that exactly why they are going.

[X]

So I hear Thailand has its first female Prime Minister.

Or has it?

[Gandalf]

Well, I'm back at the airport waiting for my bus back home. Another two bloody hours to wait! The trip was an eventful and memorable one. It had plenty of drama, some fun moments and almost resulted in tragedy.

The first weekend was kind of cool. I stayed in Bangkok trying to adjust to the weather which is REALLY hot. It was cool though. I found some big department stores downtown and bought loads of new clothes for a really cheap price. I enjoyed good food and even managed to find a couple of indian restaurants. Bangkok is hectic as hell, but in its own weird way quite fun. I saw a temple and visited a museum just a short walk away. The only drawback was the hotel which was overrun with noisy Chinese which meant getting a good nights sleep was tough. I had to complain to reception most evenings.

The following week I was ready for the jungle. I got into the truck with a few other travellers and we ventured north. It was nice to see more rural Thailand and the scenery was really nice. It was a long long journey though. After a whole days travelling night began to descend and it was time to rest for the night in a lodge house. But I saw an elephant on the road and got my picture taken with it. I even ran between its legs and fed it. It was scary as it nearly stood on me.

The next day we went further north and pitched up a camp. We went out into the trees and first off managed to spot some deer, monkeys, elephants, but for some reason no snakes. The leeches really began to bug me. Theywere climbing up my clothing and some even got inside my trousers. I was walking and felt something on my leg, I knew it was a leech. I couldn't get my hand up my thigh so another person had to reach up and pull it out. I had to do the same to help others. Quite horrid. Later I found little clumps of blood on my leg.

That evening we lit a fire and ate barbecued chicken. It was nice and the weather really wasn't so hot up in the mountains. That evening it rained heavily though and I mean HEAVILY....pretty much all night. I couldn't sleep a wink and the cool damp air was beginning to make my body feel weak. I was coming down with the flu.

The next day I had the sniffles and it was still wet and damp outside. We walked up a river path and saw frogs and types of fish that I really don't know about. The foliage was thick and green and extremely impressive. And then it started to rain heavily again. After cleaning up camp we ventured further north in pursuit of new trails. The rain had become torrential and visibility was next to nothing. I was sat in the front passenger seat of the truck. The truck snaked and weaved through mountain roads.

Suddenly we were heading down a hill and another truck was racing up the hill. Our paths were set to collide. I braced myself for the impact, but couldn't stop my head hitting the windscreen glass. I bounced off back into my seat. I was hurt but okay, others were less lucky and had cut heads. I realised that I had burned my arm. There is no hair there now! It's like a mini hiroshima on the arm. I also have bruising on my other arm and a variety of cuts on my fingers. I don't really know where they all came from. It happened so fast. We were transferred to a hospital and checked over and aside from a sore head and being a bit in shock, I was quite okay. But with my flu now becoming a bit bad, I needed rest and was taken to a hotel.

That was pretty much the end of my jungle adventure. I decided to recuperate back in Bangkok and just wait out the remaining days until I could come home. I booked myself into a classier hotel which was peaceful, sampled an Irish bar which was quite nice and also managed to find chicken kebabs. I also bought more clothes and some CD's. I quite like downtown Bangkok, lots to see and do. I went to the Kings Palace and lost about 3 litres in fluids. I also went to a zoo and finally saw lots of snakes including an anaconda. There were some quality animals including a crazy goat. I had fun.

All in all it was a fun trip. I am glad I got out into some deep foliage and I did manage to see some interesting animals and birds. But the weather really wasn't great and the car accident along with the flu kind of played against me. But all in I had a fun time and I like Thailand a lot. The darker moments gave the trip much needed life I guess. It was certainly never boring.