On this morning I awoke just a little groggy and worn from wear. I was up and excited to finally head out into a few of the encroaching mountains. The pick up time was set for 9AM at my place; when the time was initially agreed upon the night before, I didn’t really think it would be followed through. But to their word, Bo and Goff were both at the door of the condo at 9 sharp. Glassy red eyes were the first thing that caught my eye once I was seated, then the smell of that brown liquid from the night before permeated from the pores of Goff as he took the wheel and led us down the morning street, he had gotten his way to sleep around 3AM the night before.
We arrived in the small town just outside of Chiang Mai a little before 10 AM. First we made a quick stop at a roadside restaurant on the way, that I was told specialized in duck. We grabbed a bite of breakfast prior to making it to our set starting point. The breakfast was some sort of spicy duck soup with noodles that cost eighty five Baht for the three of us. I picked up the three dollar tab and this is pretty much all that I was allowed to pay for. Several times I offered to pay for gas or a nice meal but they just weren’t having it. Well, when we got into the city of Bo’s mother and father all of the major players from the night before were waiting with a little pick up truck to load us up and head on out of town. Packed for the trip was a cooler with some just fried up Thai chicken, sticky rice, a few various finger foods, a good amount of ice, soda water, and of course several bottles of whiskey and rum. There must be something in the DNA or physical make up of Thai people that, like fish using gills to breathe underwater, allows them to put away so much drink. In the back of the truck there were four of us and in the cab another four. Another four would be meeting up with us at a little restaurant in the mountains later in the afternoon. As we drove out of town through the rice fields and farm lands of the Thailand country side, I found myself entranced by the by the never ending postcard images that were now a live tapestry passing before me. Choosing to ride in the back of the truck turned out to be a great way to head into the mountains.
Temperature in the City of Chiang Mai has been pretty warm with a fair touch of humidity clinging onto the brow. However, here in these mountains, the elevated air does a wonderful job in battling back that hot dank atmosphere from the lower depths. Still, in no way was this breeze chilly or cool, it was just only better than down below. As we climbed to the top of the mountain there was a much more noticeable change in temperature but that will come later in this story. Now if you know me, you probably know that I love waterfalls and that I have really been looking forward to getting out of the City to snuggle up to a few. So, it was very nice when we finally arrived at the park, which is located right about in the middle elevation of the mountain. By now I was ready to get out of the truck and go for a nice little walk through the jungles of Thailand, as well as to check out the flowing streams and falls I had been anticipating for such a long while. It did cross my mind to pack a swimsuit for the trip out to the falls, but then I thought I would be on another person's schedule while out in it, and so, the trunks were left behind. Next time I head out to the falls I will rent a bike and set a little longer stay at the falls. Then I will be sure to bring some swimming attire for the day. So for now, we just did a fair amount of walking; we also made sure to stop and take moments. Moments to allow our ears a chance to hear the wonderful sound water makes as it cascades and tumbles over and through stones that have acquiesced for Millennia. We walked across rickety bridges and walkways that lead us from one fall to another and through all types of flora and fauna. Bamboo shot out in all directions from various patches throughout the enveloped forest floor; all types of plants, flowers, butterflies, some big ole spiders and even a meandering snake was seen pushing through the thickly laden grass edge of our path. After about an hour of making our way from one waterfall to another, the group was pretty much done. If I had been there on my own, I am sure that I would have just found a nice spot to sit and read a bit; a spot that would have just given me enough shade, a few fine sprays of mist floating from the falls, as well as where I could take in the wonderful smells created by this diverse ecosystem. But alas, we were now all climbing back into the truck and heading to higher elevations. 
About twenty minutes later the truck was pulling into a small gravel parking strip located next to a creek and waterfall. This waterfall differed from the others due to the presence of a medium sized outdoor cafe, which was located right up and over the falling edge of the falls. The eatery was linked from one side of the creek to the other by a little bamboo walkway that crossed the space of water and was looking a little precarious. There was a nice little hut type structure that hung out over the waterfall and stream, in which a table and two long wooden benches were placed, we all took a seat. In the next moment there was a bucket of ice, soda water and a bottle of whiskey that had been pulled from the bag of provisions. After pouring a few glasses for the group, Aamon ordered several types of dishes for the table to munch on. First a big fish, that still retained it’s head and tail, was brought out, then some large mushroomed bunt cake like container that held in it, a mixture of veggies, various spices, coconut milk, and seafood was brought out with a flame burning beneath to keep it nice and warm. Then there was some of this, some of that and then some more of this. All I know is, we had ourselves a lot of food to eat and what a perfect place to spend the time gorging on some very fine morsels of yummy. The part of the bench that I was calling home for the moment was set right up to the edge of this open little hut, right there, where the little shaded room was suspended over the falls. I was able to look over the edge and take in all the palpable flavors of the food, the drink, and this beautiful scene. It’s funny to me, how there are so many moments that seem to pass by so slowly due to a lack of activity. Yet, in this case the slow tranquility of the moment was something that I just wanted to secure and hold onto. This sensation was a feeling that I knew would be ending. And being aware of the inevitable conclusion of this moment made the instant quicken and become fleeting. Soon we were joined by the four others from the group who drove up to meet us at this little place on the water. After spending about an hour and half on the bench in the shade, and after leisurely taking in the sustenance that lay before me and having just two, almost all soda and finite parts of whiskey, I was loading up once again with the others and heading on up.
On our ride up we stopped at a small road side gazebo to take in the vista. Laid out in the distance was a great span of heavily vegetated mountains that seemed to just continue on into an endless abyss. Like the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina, the humidity of these mountains blanketed heavily over the vegetation and remained nearer to the soil than the sky. At the vista, some of that fried chicken, sticky rice and few other items were pulled out to chew on. So, we stayed at the look out for a moment and had a little impromptu picnic. After the picnic we headed from the overlook on up to this little town where one of those in the group had a home, a school and small grocery store. The ride to the town was filled with beautiful sites, of vistas, plants, flowers and with each mile we put behind us, you could feel the air cool just a bit more. Once we arrived to the town, I was amazed by the abject poverty that was all around me. In the middle of all of this beautiful nature, was this town that looks as if it were plucked from the middle ages. Waste water drains openly down the sides of the streets, the homes are made of bamboo and random strips of wood; there are gaping spaces in the wall that allow for the ventilation of air from outside to cool the home during the day and also to assist with the ventilation of smoke during the evening from the cooking fires inside the home. These individuals, who have been hosting me on this tour of the country side and to so many other adventures; all do a great deal of charitable work for this town, as well as few other causes and groups. They have built a school house for the town as well as provided clothing, food, education and essentials necessities. There is a working farm located here that brings in an income and that also helps to feed this rural community. Seeing this kind of poverty certainly does give me a moment of pause and an appreciation for the things that I have as well as for the comforts that an industrialized society brings. But along with this, the town showed me more than just poverty; it also gave me the perspective of seeing some amazing human interaction. On the side of the road there were around five to seven children, ranging in ages from 5-9; who were at the busy, grabbing onto a vine that was hanging over the road. They were utilizing this vine to swing from a height of about 6 feet up and across a stretch of dirt road and then back again. All were smiling and laughing as they risked life and limb without a care, it was crazy. Also, I saw many of the locals chatting, smiling and laughing with one another as they went through the chores of the day. The leader of the town joined us on the front porch at one of the home/education centers in the town and shared several beverages and conversation with us all. Well, in my case I was just doing a lot of listening, but still, it was a nice place to sit and listen to friends chat with each other. 
Anyway, it seems that I have gone on for a good while now about this little town and the trip to the top of the mountain. There are many more details that I am leaving out from the trip but this Blog is really supposed to be more of a summary of events not a word for word description. For me, it’s just easy to get lost in the memories of the days events and to keep on wanting to tell more of the fine times and things I came across. I will only go a little further in my detail of the day’s events by concluding with a description of the sun setting over the soft smoky mountains of Thailand. Out over the horizon as the sun began to take its slow dive into the silhouette of mountains, I took a seat as a spectator to the fall. A few of the others in the group took up various spots nearby as well in order to get a good view of this descent from the light to the dark. As we all picked different portions of the sky in which to hold our gaze, someone in our group of viewers made a comment, to no one specific, about how beautiful this sunset was. A response that I liked to this statement was the one from Aamon, who said; “It’s hard not to use the word beautiful when watching the sunset anywhere in the world”. Sure, it’s not the deepest thing a person could utter but at the time it seemed like the perfect thing to say as the sun fell into its night of slumber. Now that the sun had taken its heat from us and left us with the chill of night, we bundled up, climbed back in the truck and headed down the mountain for our two hour drive towards civilization. Wishing you well.
Wonderful narrative...keep 'em coming.
ReplyDeleteThanks man.
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