Thai jungle

Hiking across a field of marigolds

Hiking in the jungle was ... different than I had imagined. I had no idea it would be so hot and unbelievably humid. I was dripping with sweat all the way. Now I understand why all the hiking tours end with water sports: after sweating for two days and sleeping in a hill tribe village without water and electricity, there is nothing that could keep a group of tourists away from jumping into the river at first opportunity.

A makeshift Seven Eleven shop

As we hiked up the mountain towards the hill tribe village where we would spend the night, we didn’t have to bother carrying lots of water to replace all the sweat. The local people set up makeshift Seven Eleven shops with hiking necessities along the way. Beer, Coke, water, and snacks were available whenever we wanted them. I downed a cold Chang beer when we reached our destination. I so deserved it, not from the hiking itself, which wasn’t too strenuous, but from suffering in the stifling humidity.

Hill tribe village

We were told that there is no electricity in the hill tribe villages and we had to use headlamps to find our way after dark. We did notice, however, that the local people all have mobile phones and wondered how they recharge them. A short stroll through the village gave us the answer: they do have a few solar panels. Life in the village is pretty basic. Small children, chickens and cats run around freely. In the evening, the women of the village convened in a clearing where they smoked and gossiped. And laughed at us tourists, who knows what they were saying about us. Unfortunately they didn’t speak any English so we couldn’t communicate.

Crossing rivers

After our night in the village we descended a different way than where we came up. It was very steep and slippery due to frequent rains. Almost each one of us in our group slipped and fell down into the mud at least once along the way. The path ended at a waterfall where our guide invited us to take a shower. Yes! Cold water after two days in the hot jungle! We all jumped right in.

Waterfall to cool off

The vegetation in the jungle is made up of many plants that are grown as houseplants or annuals back home. I recognized bamboo, bananas, hibiscus, and for some reason that I haven’t yet figured out they seem to cultivate marigolds (tagetes) in fields. Some interesting wild animals that we encountered included termites, huge spiders, beautiful butterflies, and this fellow, about 20 centimeters long (I'm not exaggerating!):

Unknown animal

The guide told us that it may bite and it is poisonous. If anyone knows what it is, let me know.