After postponing the trekking tour several times, we were finally able to pack our backpacks in mid-December and explore the jungles of Thailand. First, we drove with two songthaews to the Mok Fa Waterfall and visited a bat cave. After a delicious lunch, we started the adventurous drive through the mountains to the starting point of the hike. Since no tourist groups had walked this route for a long time, the path had to be cleared with the machetes of the guides. After two hours we reached the small Karen village where our accommodation for the first night was located. With the onset of darkness, it became increasingly colder so that we sat at the table for dinner already in the thick clothes. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing until we all fell tired into bed.
When we woke up the next morning, we were more or less frozen and we were very pleased with the hot tea and freshly fried bananas. After that, we carried on our journey with our backpacks. This time we walked past rice fields and streams and encountered numerous cows and water buffaloes. At a river, we transferred to three bamboo rafts, which took us comfortably to our second accommodation, located in a remote mountain village. The guides lit a campfire on the terrace over which sticky rice in bamboo sticks was prepared and we could warm up. At night while brushing our teeth, the starry sky thrilled us.
Before we boarded the bamboo rafts again on the last day, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast with a beautiful view of the green covered mountains. Since the rainy season had long since ended and the river was accordingly filled with less water, the so-called bamboo rafting was more of a relaxing three-hour trip through the beautiful landscape. As a final meal, we could enjoy a large portion of Pad Thai. The last stop before our return trip was at an elephant camp, where we first fed the elephants and then washed them in the river.
Afterwards, we took the songthaews back to Chiang Mai, where we all arrived tired but happy. A weekend with many great experiences and very tasty Thai food thus came to an end.
