Pai Trekking

The start of our two day trekking trip began at 5:30 am in Chiang Mai. We drove for three hours on an extremely windy road but the scenery was beautiful. We arrived in Pai at our first destination where we unloaded our backpacks, ate some snacks and met our tour guide. After, we drove a little further until we reached the trailhead. The hike began with a very steep incline which got us all huffing and puffing. We finally reached the top of the first hill where we looked out on a mountain (with rice fields below) and were able to identify the border into Burma (a nice reward for the hard work). Throughout the trek our amazing local guide pointed out the various types of mushrooms and other plants that are used as medicine for the local villagers.
After eating a quick lunch of fried rice, we continued up the Lang River and had to cross back and forth several times. We ran into water buffalo along the way scattered on the hillside hanging out and relaxing in mud baths. The remainder of hike was much less treacherous than the beginning as we started to descend into the faraway rice patties. We made it to our next home - a Lahu village tucked away in the mountains. Local children eager to meet us and led us to their village. After hiking approximately 9 miles that day, we were exhausted and sweaty but felt accomplished and proud of our team. We took local showers, also known as "bucket showers;" it was a nice way to cool off from the day. For dinner, we ate a delicious meal prepared for us by our home stay families. It contained fresh produce from the gardens near by, plus the mushrooms we had collected from our hike earlier that day. The houses were made from bamboo and had steel sheets as the roof which echoed a loud noise as it started to rain throughout the night. The children seemed to be so fascinated by us - a couple of people brought bubbles to share with them - they were a hit! As we were getting ready for bed, the families stayed as we played games and laughed as we all tried to communicate. I have found it so interesting that they have so little yet still have so much joy for life; they seem to truly take advantage of everything they own.
The next morning we woke up early and ate a quick breakfast before getting ready for our final hiking day. Our last leg of the journey was nice and relaxing as we walked through the river to get back out of the jungle. After several hours (and some bumps and bruises along the way)... we finally made it back! Everyone felt so accomplished from our 2-day, 15 mile hike. We came back to some much needed Pad Thai and smoothies. I am so proud of everyone and we all share gratitude towards our guide for leading us the whole way!

Morgan Slater