Trekking and small mountain villages - SEA Semester update from Northern Thailand

Trekking and Relaxing in Pai

Saying our goodbyes at Elephant Nature Park was difficult but memorable.  We were given the opportunity to get up close and personal with the elephants one last time when we did presentations - where we focused on individual elephants and their history with trauma before coming to the park. From the park, we moved on to Pai, a small hippy town about an hour North of ENP. In Pai, we got the chance to get a feel for the town and walk around for the night to shop and get dinner; we had to prepare for our trek as well.

Starting our morning early, we ate a delicious breakfast in Pai and left to go on the trek that replaced rafting because the river was too low. When the group arrived to our destination, we got everything together and started off on our trek. The first day of the trek was very difficult and involved a lot of uphill climbs but after 8 miles we were rewarded with a wonderful stay with a local family who opened their home to us in a village. The next morning, we started on the second portion of the trek which once again was very difficult and strenuous, but all members of our group tackled the challenge with strength and perseverance. At the end of the long 7 mile portion, we got to play around in a beautiful river to cool down then made our way back to Pai for the evening.

After the second day of trekking, we had a free day in Pai to relax and explore. We all got the opportunity to sleep in and have a “treat yourself” type of day. I learned that Pai is much more touristy than any other places we have been, especially compared to the village we had just stayed in; that brought more of a familiarity and exciting aspect to it. For our last night in Pai after having the day to ourselves, we enjoyed a delicious Italian meal then went to bed with curious thoughts of what was coming the next day at the meditation retreat in Pa Pae.

Until next time,

Morgan

(You can learn more about the Southeast Asia Semester here.)