Jungle trekking made fun during Thailand's rainy season!

Our site inspection tour carries on, and for the past few days I've been trekking in the jungles of Northern Thailand (Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai Province). I've been doing this trek for years, with the same guides and the same company...and yet, every time I run it I feel like I'm 10 years old and it reminds me that I, for the moment, am one of the luckiest people in the world to call this land my backyard playground!


The rainy season came a lot earlier this year, so the trek was pretty interesting. 5 hours straight uphill: steep climbs; treacherous mud slicked footpaths; pouring rain; and a fog so thick we often lost sight of each other.

It turns out that the rain, fun as it was to trek through, meant dire circumstance for the villages we were passing through. For people whose livelihoods depend on seasonal planting and slash and burn agriculture, the rain meant they couldn't burn off their lands which in turn means they'll be missing out on this season's crop planting and much needed harvest. The Lahu people we visited (the most remote of all hill tribe people in Thailand) spent more time at home worrying if the rice kept in their storage would be enough to last them through the season.

We did what we could: we listened, we nodded, and we promised to bring responsible tourists to their villages. If they weren't making enough rice to eat, we'd do our best to make sure we could bring in revenue to get them through the next few months.

Despite the coming hardships, the Lahu kids were playing soccer in the villages and it was obvious the babies were happy to have their parents out of the fields and in the homes more these days. Villagers happily walked with us in the rain for bits of the trek, stopping to ask questions and chat.

There is nothing quite like the look and sound of the jungle in the middle of a rainstorm.

Surrounded by so much greenery, you can't help but physically soak the green into your pores. With the rain comes beautiful jungle mushrooms, which we picked, cooked and feasted on that night over our cozy bungalow's fire.

Pictured here are a mix of shots taken: mid-trek; posing in front of various ethnic hill tribe villages we pass through during the 3 day trip; meals provided by villagers; and bungalow accommodations we crash in at the end of a hard day's hike. (Read more about ethnic hill tribes on my Lisu Chinese New Year post, when I got the insider's peek into their mysterious culture.)

Hill Tribe trekking out of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Company guides: Lisu Lodge (and ask for Charlie!) Check them out if you're ever in town!

...Better yet...come to Thailand and be sure to put this on your itinerary!

If you would like to see more photos of trekking and my volunteer work overseas, check out my Picasa Web Albums here!