Day 12 started out with a pretty awful Changover, but we had to a mountain trek in front of us so we couldnt worry about that. Before heading off to the mountains we stopped for a 2nd snake show and at some flower place. Kinda lame, but from there we went to a market to buy some water and TP for up on the mountain. At this market we saw one of the more remarkably dangerous things. There was a swinging baby in a pretty ghetto looking hammock that just so happened to be right next to a street with cars driving on it. The baby looked like it was gonna fly out of the hammock and get flatten at any instant. Back home that parent would have had there child taken away by Social Services, but we were in Thailand so it was all good.
The hike was located about an hour north of Chiang Mai. We eventually arrived from our 'base camp' and had lunch there. From there we set off on a hike up this mountain. And when I say mountain, I mean big mountain. I remember at one point joking with our hiking guide about going up above the clouds.
The exchange happened like this
Me "So are we gonna stay up above those clouds" jokingly pointing at a mountain that you couldnt see the top because of the clouds.
Tour Guide, totally serious, "Yes"
I clearly didnt fully understand the 'trek' concept when we signed up for it in Bangkok.
Oh well, we had a blast and the trek took around 3 or so hrs. Halfway there we stopped at a waterfall for a 'shower' before continuing on. I couldnt complain because in our group of 17 people, half were older than my parents and looked like they were close to death.
We arrived near the top of this mountain, in a village, above the clouds. Pretty normal stuff for Minnesota... Upon arrival, we were lead to the hut that we would be staying in for the night. It was completely made out of wood and yet they still had a fire going. Another normal thing for Thailand. In our group there happened to be some other people around our age. One of those people, Seung Jae, just happened to be a Korean college student from Incheon. We immediately bonded talking about the joys and pains of drinking soju.
Later, the kids of the village came around and we played with them for a little bit before we had a wonderful chicken curry meal. After the meal our group hungout by the fire while our tour guide played some music for us on his guitar. Before bed I went onto the 'deck' of the cabin/house/shack/whatever the hell they called it to just admire the view. It was possible to make out the outlines of the mountains and you could see the lights of Chiang Mai far off in the distance. Luckily there werent any clouds so I laid down and stared up at the stars in the sky. I remember thinking about the people back home. What were they doing at that specific moment in time? Was my dad watching some lame old movie hes seen a million times? Was my mom making some wonderful food that I miss? Was my brother ghost ridin his whip...again? What were my friends doing?
I feel like I have done and experienced a lifetime of memories in such a short time here and hope that the people that I left are enjoying their lives right now as much as I am mine.
Much love
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