Chiang Mai is known for it's treks to hill tribes and such like adventure days out. There's plenty to choose from, so one day whilst I was practising my bartering for a much needed dress, Kimbo and Stephen booked us on to a trip. So a couple of days later, at 8.30am we eagerley awaited the private bus to take us away. Actually 
me and Stephen had only managed to grab a pot noodle for our breakfast which was the spiciest one we'd had. We had a few mouthfuls that stripped a layer of skin off our tongues, binned them and jumped on to the bus. Using the word 'bus' losely! There were people already on board. A few from Italy and a couple from Spain. Everyone was really nice. An hours drive and we arrive. We had 5 minutes to use the non lit dump-esk hole in the floor (aka. the toilet) and to buy a bunch of bananas, and before we knew it we were up sitting on Nelly. That was our ever so original name for our elephant. However, as we were in a 3 and there was only room for 2 people on the actual seats, Stephen was told to hop on to Nelly's neck. We all laughed and thought the guy was joking but it turned out he wasn't. This part probably goes in to my top 3 funny moments so far in my travels. According to Stephen, balancing on an elephant's neck is pretty hard. Especially when Nelly stopped for water and his head went down, us girls grabbed Stephen's shoulders, Stephen grabbed our legs and we all let out a bit of a yelp. Well, Stephen's was more like a girly shrill... All the other couples took plenty of pictures of this as it perhaps looked like some sort of slap stick Laurel and Hardy type routine... It wasn't long before we realised that we had the rogue elephant. Obviously. Why would it be any different?! To start with he went in the opposite direction to the others, then there was the drinking routine, and then there was the over taking all the other elephants. Nelly didn't like to be last. He had to be first, so he'd overtake the others. This wouldn't have been such an ordeal if he didn't choose to do it on the narrow paths with the high mountainous drops which were to our right! Just charged right on without a care in the world, stopping for bananas. Good job we bought some too as if you didn't feed him, then he wouldn't budge. So a bit touch and go at times but a lot of fun.
me and Stephen had only managed to grab a pot noodle for our breakfast which was the spiciest one we'd had. We had a few mouthfuls that stripped a layer of skin off our tongues, binned them and jumped on to the bus. Using the word 'bus' losely! There were people already on board. A few from Italy and a couple from Spain. Everyone was really nice. An hours drive and we arrive. We had 5 minutes to use the non lit dump-esk hole in the floor (aka. the toilet) and to buy a bunch of bananas, and before we knew it we were up sitting on Nelly. That was our ever so original name for our elephant. However, as we were in a 3 and there was only room for 2 people on the actual seats, Stephen was told to hop on to Nelly's neck. We all laughed and thought the guy was joking but it turned out he wasn't. This part probably goes in to my top 3 funny moments so far in my travels. According to Stephen, balancing on an elephant's neck is pretty hard. Especially when Nelly stopped for water and his head went down, us girls grabbed Stephen's shoulders, Stephen grabbed our legs and we all let out a bit of a yelp. Well, Stephen's was more like a girly shrill... All the other couples took plenty of pictures of this as it perhaps looked like some sort of slap stick Laurel and Hardy type routine... It wasn't long before we realised that we had the rogue elephant. Obviously. Why would it be any different?! To start with he went in the opposite direction to the others, then there was the drinking routine, and then there was the over taking all the other elephants. Nelly didn't like to be last. He had to be first, so he'd overtake the others. This wouldn't have been such an ordeal if he didn't choose to do it on the narrow paths with the high mountainous drops which were to our right! Just charged right on without a care in the world, stopping for bananas. Good job we bought some too as if you didn't feed him, then he wouldn't budge. So a bit touch and go at times but a lot of fun.Next up was a little walk down some steps until we came to the river. Our transport to the other side was a box made of bamboo hung from a rope. You can add your own speech bubble to the picture above as that was my reaction. Fun though. And back in to our 'bus' to take us to the start of our trek though the jungle to the waterfall. This is where I found a flaw in my crocs which I'd been praising for the previous 5 weeks. My mum and dad (big hugs to you both by the way) had suggested I get some for my travels as they are like slippers. And they are. You can wear them anywhere, completely blister free. Except when trekking through jungles. Any mud made them oh so slippy to climb the ricks and balancing whilst doing trapeze acts over logs. Or twigs. Stephen still takes the mick out of me, Eliza style, for my reaction to one of the stream crossings...
"How the bloody 'ell am I meant to get over that?"
... ok I do agree I may have been a bit dramatic but it was pretty much a twig. And was with my slippy crocs...
So apart from the near death by slipping down mountains I so enjoyed just trekking along, singing classical music to myself like the geek that I am. The scenery was truly amazing, with the tallest trees I've ever seen. Also at one point I smelt eurocamp. You know when a smell gives you a memory. Well as a family we used to go to eurocamp every summer. So I was lost in my own happy thoughts and music until we arrived at the waterfall. Absolutely stunning. Clear and cold. Everyone whipped off their clothes (with swimwear on) and had a swim. After failing to strike sexy poses under the fall of the water (not sure how models do it as it's strong enough to strip your bikini's right off), we sat on a rock and ate our lunch which was handed to us. Pad Thai wrapped in a leaf. The best Pad Thai I'd had so far. And then it was the trek back to the 'bus' which drove us down to the river bank. Now, earlier in the day we had joked about the river. It was so filthy and dark green, with as many bugs as you can think of hovering over it, and other animals we've probably never even heard of. Basically you wouldn't make your ice cubes from it. So we joked about it being the waterfall river and we would have to swim in it. The waterfall was actually fresh water and clear and lovely. Just remember that joke anyway. We waited for our white water rafts to turn up, got our life jackets and helmets on and got given an ore, gathered round for a short lesson...
"Forward" = row back
"Back" = row forward
"Get down" = Get Down
"Get back" = Get back up
It was only slightly amusing that one of the thai men who was to be a captain of one of the rafts didn't really understand any of the above. We got the other captain who didn't know much more, and we only got told " Forward". We think he possibly may have said "Get Down" at one point but by intinct we had all done that anyway. This was due to the rapids and a big wave of swamp water diving in to our raft. Us girls couldn't help but scream, obviously just because we are girls. Although I should have made the conscious effort not to because I got a mouthful of swamp water. Great. 'That's a guarenteed bout of travel tummy for me', I thought... But the white water rafting was definitely the best part of my day and I wish it could've gone on for longer than it did. After a couple more rapids we pulled up next to some bamboo rafts and get told to get on to them. This is the part you remember what we joked about. We were completely submersed. Bamboo rafts only seem to float a few inches BELOW water when 6 people are sat on them! It was still fun, although I did keep a close look out for snakes. When we stopped at the next bank, we didn't stop close enough so we had to wade through a few metres. I could feel my feet sinking under the swamp floor, with whatever it was oozing between my toes. I didn't really imagine what I was treading in there!
A quick pit stop where we had an ice cream and dried off and then it was back to the 'bus' to take us to a hill tribe. A bit of a mock hill tribe though as they were just waiting to seel us stuff. We didn't stay there for long before we started making our way back to Chiang Mai. We were like kids. Couldn't keep our eyes open. 'We' being Stephen, Kimbo and myself. I don't think anyone else fell asleep. One more quick stop at a butterfly/Orchid farm (and another ice cream) and then we made it home.
Kimberley then had an hour to shower and pack as she was catching a bus backto Bangkok. I'm pretty sure she would have slept the whole 12 hr journey. So we said our final goodbyes as she was soon to be flying back to the UK and we wouldn't be travelling together again.
All in all and excellent and memorable adventure.
"Catch you later Bill & Ted!"
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