02/11/2023 Chiang Mai Trekking I: Waterfall, Hiking, and Village Camping in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Similar to California, southern Thailand has a warmer, tropical climate with many beaches, and northern Thailand offers more mountainous landscape. Today begins our Chiang Mai Trekking two day and overnight journey through the Mae Taeng mountains between Chiang Mai and Pai. This excursion came highly recommended to me by a friend who did the 3 day/2 night excursion only a couple of weeks prior.

Our guide, Dino, along with his driver, picked up Morgan, Joseph, and I, and then two additional couples, Topher and Kim (Colorado, USA) and Ben and Angie (France) to make our 8 person group (including Dino). First, we stopped at a local market on our way out of the city to fuel up with breakfast and supply with snacks. As we moved further into the mountains and away from the city, you could sense the shift towards the wildlife landscape from the cooling air, nature smells, and sounds of birds singing and cicada bugs buzzing.

First, we took a trip to Mok Fo waterfall, where after a 5 minute walk from the parking lot, we were at the waterfall. The accessibility of the waterfall was very convenient and it was indeed very beautiful, however I enjoy landmarks and locations that require more time and effort to get to. It makes it more enjoyable when it’s rewarded after a trek, and also this typically reduces the number of people/tourists at the sight. After spending a half hour admiring and submerging in and out of the waterfall, we returned to our TukTuk and went further into the mountains to a restaurant called The Road View for our lunch stop.First, we took a trip to Mok Fo waterfall, where after a 5 minute walk from the parking lot, we were at the waterfall. The accessibility of the waterfall was very convenient and it was indeed very beautiful, however I enjoy landmarks and locations that require more time and effort to get to. It makes it more enjoyable when it’s rewarded after a trek, and also this typically reduces the number of people/tourists at the sight. After spending a half hour admiring and submerging in and out of the waterfall, we returned to our TukTuk and went further into the mountains to a restaurant called The Road View for our lunch stop.

Following lunch, we took the TukTuk further into the mountains and eventually off trail towards the trail head, where the uneven bumpy road created a bounce house-like environment for us in the back. We were all ready to get out of the TukTuk and onto our feet when we arrived to the trailhead.

Over the next 3 hours and 45 minutes, we trekked 5.3 miles (8.5km) up, down, and around lush forest and mountains. We made stops periodically to taste local herbs and plants used for medication, smell sandalwood and other natural aromas, admire scenery at viewpoints, and engage locals at villages. The entire hike was amazing, but the most notable experiences for me were when Dino told us about traditional Buddhist beliefs, including punishment for wrongdoing (ask me), and when we got to the main viewpoint, Dino prompted our group to a 10 minute silent seated meditation. Here, he said something that I really appreciated and will take with me. Dino said, “If you listen closely, you can hear the mountains in the silence.” He was right, the mountains indeed share a beautiful song if you are able to be still, silent, and listen long enough to tune in. I appreciate Dino for sharing this lesson!

At the end of our hike, we crossed a bridge into the village where we would stay for the night. There are hundreds of villages throughout the mountains with the Karen tribe. These villages have around 40-100 people inhabiting and were created around 50 years ago, mostly by Southern Chinese people seeking refuge in Thailand during the war. These tribes only allow family or spouses of village members to live in the villages, and trekking tour companies like ours provide them with resources for allowing us to venture through and even stay at their villages. Tribes would buy buffalo and cattle with their baht as a form of banking, where buffalo supply would be grown as a form of savings and conversely they would be sold if money was needed for other resources.

Topher, Ben, and I took a swim in the village’s chilling mountain river before group dinner. Dino and a couple local villagers prepared a tasty, much needed meal of authentic home cooked Thai food including spring rolls, tom yum soup, chicken and peppers, steamed rice, vegetables, and fruit for dessert. After dinner was enjoyed and cleaned up, our group gathered around a fire while we admired the astonishingly clear sky covered in stars. It’s hard to say I’ve seen better visibility star gazing before, and looking up at the sky while cozy next to a fire in a village in the middle of Thai mountains was nothing short of surreal. Surrounding the fire, Dino shared about his life and ghost stories I requested (rather disturbing; ask me). Exhausted by the activities and long hike from the day and with an early morning on the horizon, our group went to our large shared domicile for the night and slept.