Songkran!!!!

Thai New Year is a blast!!! We are in Chiang Mai where the biggest festivities take place. It's been amazing! We are told that since everyone is on holiday, they all come to Chiang Mai to celebrate.

The Thai ride around town in the back of pickup trucks overflowing with kids and all, and have huge barrels full of ice cold water. They use water guns and buckets to drench each other as they drive by. Some even stand outside their shop or restaurant and wait for people to walk by. The kids just love it! It's so fun to see the big smiles on their faces as they completely soak us...and of course we are a target!!

With all of the festivities still going on in town, we went on a 3 day/2 night trek through the jungle. I must say that that was the most challenging physical activity I have ever done. For two days, we walked 4 1/2 hours up and down a mountain through the dreadful heat of Thailand.(110 degrees) 

We kept joking that we should have read the fine print on the brochure better but even still, there would be no way to prepare ourselves for what we were in for! Luckily we had a really great group, and we kept each other entertained knowing that there would be ice cold beer waiting for us at the end. The first day we marched, and marched and marched. Up and down, and around the mountain. We finally arrived at a small village with about 150 residents. The Karen hill tribe greeted us with a big mound of delicious steamed rice and curry. We walked around the village and were surprised to find that some even spoke a few words in English. There were men cutting bamboo pole to make a new house.

The Karen have their own language however the younger generations now learn Thai in school. I was able to spot a school house, and it just amazes me how isolated they are from the rest of the world. Most children just learn the skills that have been passed down from generation to generation and have no concept of the outside world.

The villagers farm chickens and cattle and use the slash and burn method for rice fields. Everything was dry and dead because we are in the middle of the dry season. We would love to come back again when we can see the green fields. The Karen live deep in the jungle and have beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

That night we sat round and sang songs to remind us of home!! All 10 of us slept in a bamboo hut. We had no padding and slept directly on the bamboo floor. After walking 4 1/2 hours up and down mountains, we were very stiff the next morning. We awoke to roosters crowing and a large plate of eggs and toast.

The second day, we trekked again, and 6 hours later, were rewarded with a magical waterfall and swimming hole.

  We stopped for lunch at another village where the women were selling handmade jewelry and bags. They dress in bold colors, usually blue and red and have head wraps. They are skilled weavers.

Our sleeping arrangements were slightly better than the first day but not by much. We were very fortunate to experience how the Karen people live, and were thankful that they took us into their homes. We had such a fun group also, which made the trek very memorable. We really bonded with them and hope to keep in touch as time goes on. We met an Australian couple Alan and Kristen, Jenn, from the French Provence of Quebec, a girl from London and Maddie, from Delaware. I'm so surprised to see so many single girls my age traveling alone. I really admire them!

The third day really made up for all of the struggling of the first two days. We trekked about 1 1/2 hours to our truck and then floated down the river on a bamboo raft!! That was so much fun!

It was the day before New Year and the week long festivities were in full swing. The river banks were full of families enjoying the celebration. As we floated by we would splash each other! We even got surprised by a group on monks hiding in the bushes who jumped out and splashed us with buckets of water! The festival occurs on the cusp of the dry and wet season and represents a "Spring Cleaning" theme. They splash water to wish each other well in the new year.

We really wish that we had a water proof camera but hopefully the Australian couple will share some of their pictures with us. After that, we continued up the dirt road to meet the elephants!!! Alex and I took turns riding on the elephant's neck, it was such a neat experience!! We fed our elephant bananas and learned some of the commands. They have very course and hairy skin and are surprisingly gentle. It was an incredible feeling!!

 
Next, we piled in the back of the pickup truck and headed back to Chiang Mai. As we drove through town, we got soaked with freezing cold water!!! We were completely drenched!!! Luckily we put all of our belongings in plastic bags so nothing got wet. Later that night, we found a really nice restaurant called "The Riverside" and our entire group went there to celebrate being back to "civilization."

Songkran has been a blast!!! It lasts for 5 days, and is quite a celebration. Yesterday we found a dry place to sit and people watch. It's just a wild party!!

The city has an old brick wall surrounding it and people use water from the moat. It's dirty river water and everyone we've met felt sick to their stomach after getting a big mouth full. Today "Potato," our guide from the trek, offered to take us in the back of his truck. We drove around with a huge barrel of water with an enormous block of ice!! You just have to prepare yourself, knowing that you are going to get completely soaked. The ice water actually feels nice sometimes because it is so hot outside.

We are here for a few more days and booked a bus back to Bangkok on the 16th. From there we will get another bus ticket to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have really enjoyed our time in Thailand and don't want to leave however we know that there are many more great things to see! I can't believe that it's almost been a month, time has really flown by!!!

Thanks for all of your comments, we love getting them! We'll try to post pictures when we have the opportunity.

Love to all~
Loranda and Alex