3 Day Trek - Day 2 - 15 Kilometres

IMG_3812, originally uploaded by Sheila's Flickr photos.

TUESDAY 27 JULY 2010

It was very difficult to get to sleep on the hard wooden floor and then we were woken about 5 a.m. by the cockerels and barking dogs. Tea and coffee revived us, ready for our breakfast of boiled eggs and toast and Kyriakos’ mango. Somehow my bag seemed heavier today! We walked to a waterfall where we swam in a pool and had the best Jacuzzi ever! We then walked to Chai’s family’s paddy fields where we had lunch under the shelter. Lunch was fried rice wrapped in banana leaves which kept it quite warm. Chai and Michal went to collect small crabs and snails – supposedly for supper! Some people learning to train elephants passed by as we were having lunch.

We then walked on the narrow paths between the paddy fields again and Michal did a very impressive 360 degree fall about a meter down. I was laughing so much I lost my balance and nearly fell in as well!

We walked through thicker jungle and saw termites, very large butterflies, and dragonflies and heard the cicadas that sound like chain saws again.

We stopped at another waterfall and pool where we managed to cool our aching feet and showered under the waterfall. Michal and Chai caught large tadpoles – another addition for supper!
It was another hour to the village with a stop en-route at a small resort where we ate star fruit and bananas from the trees, and shared some jack fruit with a man and his son.

Our overnight stop was where Chai lives with his wife and is a Karen tribe village. It was much larger than the previous one, with about 40 houses in it spreading up the hillside from the river and paddy fields. The roofs were made of corrugated iron, and the floor was made of bamboo poles with rush matting over the top – we were worried in case we fell through it! All the women in the village weave and sell their wares to visitors. The raw materials are bought in by the whole village and the whole village share in the profits. Chai’s son had gone with another group and had fallen when jumping in the waterfall, and had hurt his head and lip, both of which were swollen.

For dinner we had vegetable curry, green bean and tofu, and rice. Chai had also fried the crabs (which I declined) and cooked the tadpoles in chillies which was too hot for the others (again, I declined). We ate outside by candlelight but when it started to rain so we moved inside. After dinner we played cards with Chai, and passed the rum and he rolled some more cigarettes in banana leaves. There were even more fireflies here because we were near the river, and some even came into our hut.