Keep Your Body Low, Baby
February 21st, 2006 | Published in travel | 8 Comments
Usually when that’s uttered by your partner, that’s a good thing. Not when you’re scaling by the side of a huge rock, or when moving your lower bits across an ancient tree trunk to get to the other side.. So apparently my lack of physical coordination is well documented. When we went trekking with a Lisu man (a hilltribe of northern Thailand), we dirtbiked down mountains, swung across rivers with a stick, carried our butts across tree trunks, scaled sides of rocks, squeezed our bodies into small pokey cave openings, all I lost was, contrary to popular expectations (i.e. Z’s) the two soles of my Teva sandals.
The truth is, I don’t actually go rough it out like that. I’m more flashpacker than backpacker, more thinking-about-adventure than adventurer. Z and I got here with ambition: we were going to quadbike and get muddy, go white water rafting and get soaked, climb a mountain, camp overnight. What we really achieved was: checking into a swish, charming little place tucked away at the foothills of a mountain, in the “city of the stars”, having no itinerary except breakfast, lie down, lunch, lie down, dinner, sleep. Then one trek. To be here in the midst of nowhere, and to eat like a queen everyday, affirms your belief in the supernatural: seared duck liver salad, wonderful chicken stuffed with prune and ginger wrapped in bacon, buffalo fillet, passionfruit cheesecake and other wonderful things like that. If I’m ever to be stuck in the mountains again, I’d like to do it one more time at the abode of a London-trained owner/chef. I’m definitely coming back here again, and keeping this a secret too.
I’m back in Chiang Mai for a few more days before the flight back home. Safe and in one piece, though aching and soon aching to return (here, never home).
February 21st, 2006 at 6:37 pm (#)
Yeah.. you should write for Lonely Planet! (late comment at the wrong post, but relevant nonetheless:>)
February 22nd, 2006 at 10:58 am (#)
enjoy ur holidyay! =)
February 22nd, 2006 at 8:40 pm (#)
Enjoy! Romancing adventure
February 23rd, 2006 at 3:24 pm (#)
Eh where’s this place! Email me. Maybe I can convince my bunny to go there if there’s good food at least. Heh.
February 23rd, 2006 at 5:45 pm (#)
Thought you were up in the Golden Triangle? Chiang Rai, try any Ketamine?
Mountain Biking,…. down slope wah miss any sign posts? white water rafting?
sounds fun,..enjoy…. Chiang Mai- best golf courses in the region. I envy you
February 26th, 2006 at 4:27 am (#)
[...] So we left Chiang Mai and spent several days in a less popular area, but which was for me the highlight of the trip. It’s still a secret, I don’t want to have to fight to make reservations at this special place, so I can only mention that it’s not Pai; it’s often described by Chiang Mai residents and expats to be the “best kept secret” they’re not telling anyone about, so I’m not breaking ranks here. The people running this wonderful hideaway at this secret place are, expectedly, wonderful people. Their treks were not the cheapest, but I’m happy to hand over the extra, knowing they have a policy of giving as much business as possible to the less privileged locals, with part of the money we paid going to an education fund as well. In short, we didn’t get long necked Karens, or a troop of hilltribe villagers coming to greet us with hurrah and try to sell us bracelets. But we got: [...]
March 2nd, 2006 at 3:43 pm (#)
always wanted to go chiang mai. your pics is giving me that push. :)