Georgio and Dumbo

**Note: the "big flamer" video on the Chiang Mai post is now working**

Our next day in Chiang Mai was dedicated to relaxation - one because we were tired and two because it was Michael's birthday. Most of the day was fairly uneventful, spent in internet cafes answering emails and updating blogs. That night, however, held the highlight - a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant called Georgios. In fact it was really a gift for both of us. The way we ate one would think we had never seen food before. And while by home standards it was nothing to write home about, in Thailand it was like manna from heaven. Wine, bread, salad, fresh pasta and pasta sauce, and the best, ice cream. I, and in particular my stomach, couldn't have been happier.

Monday brought a new adventure - hill tribe trekking. It is thought there are approximately 10-20 different hill tribes living in Thailand, totalling a little over half a million people; hill tribespeople are not considered citizens of Thailand. We chose a three day/two night trek that included hiking, plenty of waterfalls, bamboo rafting and elephant riding. Our group was very international - two Swedes, two English girls, two Swiss, and two Danes. We were, not suprisingly, the oldest people on the trek....by a long shot I hate to say. Our guide, Pai, was a pretty entertaining fellow who passed the time drinking moonshine and smoking dope with the Danes. His English was pretty good but the accents can be quite difficult to understand. The first night we hiked about 2 hours pretty much straight uphill. Our destination was a little set of huts with our own waterfall right next door.











Dinner was pretty basic - vegetable soup and chicken stir fry. Again, you would have thought we had never seen food before. Our particular challenge was that we were quite short on cash (long story) and had to purchase all our own beverages, including water. We figured that we could have about 2 waters a day but that was it. Watching our fellow trekkers drinking beer and cold sodas was painful.

Speaking of painful, let's discuss the "bed" situation. Beds were in one large hut and consisted of.....well a floor of wooden slats. There were thin mats that covered the floor but these were purely decorative. We were also given a thin sleeping bag that didn't zip up and a few blankets. We each devised what we thought would be the best approach to bedding. In the morning it appeared that none of our strategies had been successful. Everyone had a horrible night's sleep and complaints included sore backs and necks and the very cold temperatures.



The bathroom was actually better than I expected, but not by much. We were now in true squat territory and all facades of Western plumming are long gone. On a good note, there was little smell and the dirt floor was as clean as a dirt floor could be.



Day two - more trekking - equal amounts uphill and down hill. After about three hours of trekking we arrived in our Karen village where we would spend the night. Our village was quite small, probably around 12 huts. Pai told us that most of the residents were part of the same family - a man, his seven daughters and their husbands. Husbands get two pigs as a dowery. And speaking of pigs, they were everywhere, along with dogs (the little Paris Hilton kind seem particularly popular), and chickens. Seeing all these animals and the lack of other food alternatives I decided to stick to vegetarian cuisine while in the village. Our entertainment for the evening was not bad Pink Floyd like the night before, but logic games played with little sticks on a piece of cardboard. We were dreadfully bad at these but in our defense the instructions were not always the easiest to understand.





From my viewpoint one of the best things that happened on day two was running into Walter, our Dutch friend who seems to appear everywhere we go, sort of like Zelig. After a little consulation with Michael I just blurted out, "How much money do you have Walter?" In his ever congenial way he loaned us 200 baht (5 bucks) which kept us flush in beer and sodas. I kissed his hand repeatedly upon receiving the cash.

Day three included hiking out of the mountains, into civilization, and hopping on the back of an elephant. I had mixed feelings about this ride. It was incredible to be so high up on this beast that just pushed its way through....well through whatever it wanted. The obvious down side was that this was certainly not an elephant living in the wild and their treatment appeared to the uninitiated somewhat questionable. I'm taking it as a once in a lifetime experience as I can't imagine I will do it again.







It was great to return to Chiang Mai to shower, get some more interesting food, and get some band aids for my blisters. We also, predictably, saw Walter again and were able to pay back the 200 baht.