anyrandom
DSCF0254
(long one here )
i think i hit the jackpot. My fever has stayed gone, foot is healing nicely (hot sweaty, flip-floppy, thailand where you are often asked to remove your shoes is not a good place for foot wounds), and I've slept much better since Sat nite I'm also happy cause I've found a nice excursion in chiang mai. Chiang mai is the gateway to a beautiful mtny area with heavy outdoor tourist activities and a few nat'l parks. Waterfalls, rafting (not until the rainy season is in full effect), scenic drives, elephant rides, bamboo rafting, and trekking (hiking to remote villages to take bigpicture of long-eared and long-neck tribes) are the main events. The trekking doesn't attract me cause I hear it can sometimes be an over-touristed song and dance by poor village people looking to capitalize on some tourist. Trekking is included in almost every expensive package even this nat'l park i'd like to see. No rafting now, i hear some elephants are abused, and the national park packages sound rushed and touristy. Luckily, I found an awesome downhill mtn biking experience. A guided, mostly downhill ride with lots of singletrack. 45 usd (expensive but fun). I was afraid it would be tame and overhyped, but was pleasantly surprised. My bike was small, and took awhile to get used to, but it was cool - even a remote waterfall from afar. Basically they shuttle us to the top, the canadian and brit gals went one way, myself, a guide, and an aussie tourist went one of the harder ways.
The best part is that I met the owner. I've had difficulty with locals finding 'big picture' information and details, but this guy (an american i think) answered many of my curiosities about my desire to see waterfalls or scenery without a) trekking or b) spending hours on a bus for two days, etc. The kicker is that after giving me several good options, and after I peppered him with a thousand questions, on my way out the door he asked if I wanted to tag along for some trail exploration. He, myself, and the guide I rode with today are going to try to find the rest of this hidden trail on the opposite side of the valley that will eventually be added to their list of guided rides - and he pointed me to a bigger, better bike that i'll be using. I'm super psyched. I'll just chill the rest of today, hopefully watch some footy or tennis tonight, chill friday and see a few more temples or plan my next city, then do this exploration on Sat (small chance it will fall thru for some reason)...and he is charging me less than the normal rides - i guess just for the bike - then costs of gas, food, and water. PS, if bored on friday i might rent a 115 cc scooter/motorbike which probably means I'll be in the hosp and not make the ride
DSCF0254
(long one here )
i think i hit the jackpot. My fever has stayed gone, foot is healing nicely (hot sweaty, flip-floppy, thailand where you are often asked to remove your shoes is not a good place for foot wounds), and I've slept much better since Sat nite I'm also happy cause I've found a nice excursion in chiang mai. Chiang mai is the gateway to a beautiful mtny area with heavy outdoor tourist activities and a few nat'l parks. Waterfalls, rafting (not until the rainy season is in full effect), scenic drives, elephant rides, bamboo rafting, and trekking (hiking to remote villages to take bigpicture of long-eared and long-neck tribes) are the main events. The trekking doesn't attract me cause I hear it can sometimes be an over-touristed song and dance by poor village people looking to capitalize on some tourist. Trekking is included in almost every expensive package even this nat'l park i'd like to see. No rafting now, i hear some elephants are abused, and the national park packages sound rushed and touristy. Luckily, I found an awesome downhill mtn biking experience. A guided, mostly downhill ride with lots of singletrack. 45 usd (expensive but fun). I was afraid it would be tame and overhyped, but was pleasantly surprised. My bike was small, and took awhile to get used to, but it was cool - even a remote waterfall from afar. Basically they shuttle us to the top, the canadian and brit gals went one way, myself, a guide, and an aussie tourist went one of the harder ways.
The best part is that I met the owner. I've had difficulty with locals finding 'big picture' information and details, but this guy (an american i think) answered many of my curiosities about my desire to see waterfalls or scenery without a) trekking or b) spending hours on a bus for two days, etc. The kicker is that after giving me several good options, and after I peppered him with a thousand questions, on my way out the door he asked if I wanted to tag along for some trail exploration. He, myself, and the guide I rode with today are going to try to find the rest of this hidden trail on the opposite side of the valley that will eventually be added to their list of guided rides - and he pointed me to a bigger, better bike that i'll be using. I'm super psyched. I'll just chill the rest of today, hopefully watch some footy or tennis tonight, chill friday and see a few more temples or plan my next city, then do this exploration on Sat (small chance it will fall thru for some reason)...and he is charging me less than the normal rides - i guess just for the bike - then costs of gas, food, and water. PS, if bored on friday i might rent a 115 cc scooter/motorbike which probably means I'll be in the hosp and not make the ride