Carissa Goes Trekking

Day 1:
After breakfast a minibus picked me up at my guest house. The minibus is possibly the best form of transportation ever (aside from elephants)! It's a small pickup truck with 2 benches in the back and a plastic covered roof, but no doors or windows or seatbelts. Completely unsafe and wonderful! In the back of the minibus were already 2 Italian men, Fabrizio and Andrea. Andrea doesn't speak any English and once they heard my family name they decided that I had to learn Italian and spent the next 3 days teaching me Italian (which means with all the Japanese, Afrikaans, Thai and Italian my head is quite confused right now). We stopped to pick up one other trekker- a 53 year old man from Scotland named Ray. So the 4 of us and our Thai guide, Tong, made up the whole group. First we went to the tallest peak in Northern Thailand-- Doi Inthanon Park. There are two stunningly beautiful pagodas at the top dedicated to the Queen and King of Thailand. There are hundreds of people who work year round to make sure the extensive gardens always have something in bloom (we stopped and helped some of the people pull flowers out). From the top I could see Myanmar in the distance, I was quite excited about that. Thailand has a lot of hill tribes that are different ethnic groups than the Thais (I think the Shans are from Chinese heritage, the Karen and Hmong are Tibetan and Burmese). These groups of people somehow got passed over when Thai citizenship was being handed out and up until the last few years were completely ignored when it came to health care, education, etc. In the last few years their situation has been improving though, so all the villages we visited had a school and electricity (although the smaller villages still don't have electricity). These tribes use to grow a lot of opium and the guide said that 10 years ago everyone in the villages smoked opium. The government has been getting rid of that though and all the opium fields were converted into flower fields. I didn't see any sign of opium smoking or poppies. First we went to a Hmong village and then we hiked through the mountains to a Karen village where we stayed the night. We got to shower in a gorgeous river. While the guide was cooking dinner we sat around drinking the local rice whiskey with the villagers (they really love that rice whiskey). It was so strong I thought I was going to pass out after the glass had gone around the circle a few times. It was hard to communicate because the Karen people have a different language and just when I was getting a few words of Thai down, I land in a situation where I can't use it. It was a lovely time though and the people were very gracious. We got to stay in the chief's house, which was brand new. They are still poor people and very traditional, but certainly not backwards. There were TVs in quite a few houses and the chief had a computer in his house. I thought it was interesting that the chief is democratically elected by the people in the village.

Day 2:
I woke up and played with some of the village children before breakfast (such cuties). They are on spring vacation right now and looked as bored as I always looked during summer vacation. We got to watch all the cows being taken out to pasture while we ate. Then suddenly two elephants run into the village. Our rides. The elephants were really funny and kepy trying to get into the trash cans. They are so gentle though that to make them go away you just have to nudge them (very strongly) in a different direction. We fed them our left over fruit from breakfast and then jumped on. I didn't stay in the seat for very long, instead I got to drive! I sat on the elephants neck and tucked my knees behind it's ears. They taught me how to say go (hu-oi) and stop (hou). It was lots of fun steering an elephant through the jungle for an hour and a half. Our elephant was really good and didn't stop too much to eat. The Italians got a lazy elephant who stopped every 5 minutes to munch on a tree. After the amazing amazing elephant ride we hiked 13 km (I swear it was all straight up hill) to a spectacular waterfall. I was proud of myself for (mostly) keeping up with the boys. We all showered in the waterfall and then had dinner by candlelight next to it. We stayed up late drinking with the locals and teaching eachother songs from our various cultures. We also learned a bunch of Thai drinking games (more of the evil rice whiskey). We slept in a hut right next to the waterfall and the next morning I went swimming before and after breakfast.

Day 3:
Feeling a little shaky after the wild party the night before and an uncomfortable night sleep on bamboo. We hiked for maybe 2 hours (stopping half way at another waterfall to shower). We followed the river so it wasn't as difficult, but I was getting a bit tired (and hot hot hot hot hot). We finally arrived at our guide's Karen village. It had stacks of tourists all over the place aruging about what to buy and bargaining over prices. It was a bit of a shock after 2 days in the jungle to suddenly come across American's buying things. We had lunch, cooled down and went down to the river for a ride on a bamboo raft. I was declared princess of the jungle and sat in the middle of the raft holding all the beers while the men did all the work. It looked a bit like venice with 2 Italians standing on the raft steering with long poles (I convinced Andrea to sing a few Italian gondaleering songs). We were the most energetic group on the river and kept trying to pass other boats and yelling in all sorts of different languages (Tong the guide spoke some Japanese so we kept speaking Japanese and Italian and bits of Thai and English). I taught all of them a Japanese children's song when we were hiking and we all sang it together (a million times) as we floated down the river. There were stacks of Thai tourists relaxing on the sides of the river and we would all splash eachother as we went past (one Thai girl even pulled me into the water yelling "Swimming, swimming"). It was such a blast. Some of the people on the river bank even joined in on our Japanese song as we went past. It's amazing how close you feel to people after 3 days of braving the jungle together, I was very sad for the trek to end and to say good-bye to my new friends. It was an amazing experience though and I am very happy I decided to do it.

What travel blog would be complete without illness? I wouldn't want to deprive my readers of the full truth of travel. I am wishing I could die right now. I am covered in bug bites (almost 40 below my knees, I can't count the ones on my back). I sprayed bug spray everywhere and the bugs still bit me (I got one on the back of my ear, another under my eyebrow and one on the bottom of my small toe-- just to show the ingenuity of the bugs in Thailand). I think that the bugs like the bug spray. The Thai people think it's kindof funny and keep telling me I have sweet blood and need to eat more garlic. Vampires wouldn't come within 5 miles of me I have eaten so much garlic and yet I am still the favorite fast food joint for half the bugs in Chang Mai. I also ate something that made me sick. There are so many things I have eaten that I shouldn't have, it would be impossible to pinpoint what made me sick (maybe it was the water I got up my nose in the waterfall, who knows). The good news is that I haven't gotten sunburned yet (I'm waiting until I get to the beach though). More to come, hopefully from Cambodia....

Like my mother I think I must be developing a strange super-power that forces individuals I encounter to divulge their life-story to me. Or maybe Thai people are just really friendly. On the plane from Bangkok to Chang Mai I sat next to a man who had just been in America visiting his daughter. He was very eager to chat and practice his English. As the plane was touching down he told me that he is the police chief of the town near Chang Mai and then he gave me his phone number and told me to call him if I had any problems. I thought that was a lovely offer after only talking for an hour (he even made sure that I had a taxi to my hostel and told the taxi-driver to me nice to me). I checked into the coolest guest house ever (after a taxi ride in which the taxi driver told me all about her life). Gap's House is so beautiful and exactly what you imagine accomodations in Thailand should be. Everything is dark wood, old, and shaded. It has a courtyard full of plants, outdoor restaurants, and random antiques everywhere. The people are all friendly and helpful and people are always just randomly relaxing, sipping coffee or beer and enjoying the peaceful lull. It sortof seems like a step back in time. After a quick nap I went Wat-seeking (looking for temples). There are so many that on my way to the one listed on the map I stumbled across a handful of smaller ones. They are incredibly beautiful (and very different from the temples in Japan). They are bright and have huge murals all over the walls (the Japanese temples tend to be a more subtle kind of beautiful). At a Wat with the biggest pagoda in Thailand, I met some monks who I talked with for awhile. They said that 70% of Thai men become monks at some point in their lives. It was really interesting being able to talk to the monks (who were all about my age) and learn about Thailand, Buddhism and their lives. One of them is studying American history in his spare time and was impressing me with his knowledge about the Civil War (which seems so far away and foreign right now). Being a tourist you don't always get to talk to people about things outside the typical (how much is this? I'll have the pad thai, nice weather, etc).

Today I took a cooking course and learned how to make Green Curry, Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry, Fish Cakes, Fish Souffle, a Lemon-grass soup, Pad Thai, Spring rolls, and pumpkin filled custard. We got to eat all the food we cooked (and take some home for dinner). Such fun. But the truth is that I will never be able to make all of that stuff again. They made it so easy by buying the ingredients, cutting them, and putting them into separate bowls for us. All I had to do was toss things into a wok and add some spices. It was nice pretending I could cook, even for a few hours. They gave us beautiful cooking books with all the recipes we made (and a ton more) and lots of color pictures; this way I can look at it and fondly remember the one time I was able to cook.

Tomorrow I have decided to go on a 3-day (2 night) trek through the jungles of Thailand (I imagine they are jungles, but maybe forests, I will find out soon). We are going to visit two hill tribes (the Hmong and the Karen). They are very interesting and I am really excited. There is quite a bit of hiking involved though. But we get to ride bamboo rafts down the rapids and then ride elephants through the jungle. This being the hot dry season the forests aren't as green, but I was told there are far fewer spiders, snakes and mosquitoes. I am perfectly happy with that. This is also the low season so I will probably be going with quite a small group (I haven't met them yet). So excited!

Traveling alone can be fun (never have to agree with someone, I can just do what I want when I want to), but it can also get quite lonely. I got on really well with the people in my cooking class today (2 Americans and 4 Brits) so we are all going out for drinks tonight. I think that is when I miss having a traveling companion the most-- not during the day when I am busy anyways, but in the evening when I want to go out for a drink but don't want to sit in a bar by myself. Should be good fun.

Well now I'm off for some shopping before dinner and drinks.

Well I am writing this from Bangkok. I am sitting here bored to tears waiting for my flight to Chang Mai (a 2 hour layover in Seoul and a 5 hour layover in Bangkok, ugh). Brilliant time for a little blogging.

This last week has been interesting and busy and stressful and wonderful and sad. I moved out of my apartment a week ago and the new teacher came. All week I have been saying good-bye to students that I have grown incredibly fond of in the last 18 months. The younger kids don't understand the idea of someone leaving. They have short memories and will forget me quickly (my favorite student came to the train station with her family to see me off and had so little understanding of me leaving that she spent the whole time showing me her new cat sticker book, she looked a little confused when I burst into tears). The older students and the mothers understood though. Lots of tears and hugging (which is incredibly unusual in Japan-- people don't hug, but I got lots and lots of hugs this week). It was very sad, but also a little satisfying to know that I actually made a difference in people's lives. In the fall I was getting discouraged with teaching, but this week made me feel very happy about the time I have spent in Fukui. Friends too. Lots of people came to my good-bye/birthday party and it was so much fun. At one point I just sat in the bar looking around at all the people who have made my stay here so fun and memorable. All the people who have impacted me. They were all talking and laughing and drinking and singing mediocre karaoke. I just sat there for awhile trying to soak it all in, to burn that one final night into my memory. I know that I am moving on to bigger and better things, and I am very excited about the next few months. But that excitement doesn't mean I'm not sad. Saying good-bye and letting go is always difficult and I don't think I will ever get the hang of it.

So I am in Bangkok. I'm a little bit in shock still and can't believe I'm here finally. I keep trying to speak to people in Japanese, as it's the only foreign language I know (unless you count my recent attempts at Afrikaans, which are pathetically...pathetic). So, my plans in Thailand: I'm going to Chang Mai in 2 hours. That seems to be as far as I made it in the planning stage (and actually I didn't buy that ticket until I got to Osaka and was about to get on the plane coming here). I'm going to stay in Chang Mai for 6 or 7 days. I want to study Thai cooking and Thai massage (2-3 day courses in each- nifty). Then hopefully on to Ankor Wat in Cambodia for 3-4 days, Koh Chang (back in Thailand) for 6 days to lie on the beach and then a few days in Bangkok at the end to do all my last minute shopping.

I think I am too tired to have any emotions at the moment, they have all drained away and been replaced by an overwhelming urge to close my eyes just for a moment. I will hopefully be able to update this blog occassionally... but now I'm off to kip on the hard plastic chairs of international airports.

The cherry blossom trees are crying. Their tears fall down like snow flakes, covering everything in white petals. It makes me think of an Indian ceremony, the lushness of walking on flower petals. They fall into our hair, guarenteeing good luck for the year to come. We pause to take pictures, vainly trying to capture this moment on film. This moment. The sounds of laughter, the smells of barbeque, giant koi kites fluttering in the breeze, the sunlight warming our backs, happy people strolling by, the blue blue sky peeking through the branches and the peaceful flutter of petals floating down. Nothing can ever capture this moment. I take it all in, the pure happiness and contentedness I am feeling. It is a beautiful moment.


I moved out of my apartment yesterday. I have lived in that apartment for 18 months, the longest I have lived in any one place since leaving my parents' house. I was rather attached to my little apartment despite all of its flaws-- too small, noisy neighbors, a trash nazi on the corner, too few plugs, etc. It was really and truly completely mine. It is the first time I have lived alone. So I was feeling a little nostalgic and sad moving out the last of my stuff. Looking around the empty space that has been home for so long.

We all know the best way to distract yourself is to.... go shopping! I had decided with all the traveling I am doing in the next 4 months I really should stop using disposable cameras-- its embarrassing to be a world traveler with a backpack full of disposable cameras. 20 countries in the next 4 months equals a lot of disposable cameras. So instead I bought the cutest digital camera ever. There was a sale and Japan is cheaper than the US so I ended up getting it for less than half the price it would have been in the US. Did I mention it is soooo cute. Today is my last weekend while working for Amity and I am going to spend it taking a million pictures of everything in sight with my cool new camera. It has short videos and is so cute! Did I already say that?

As time ticks away quicker and quicker I find myself wanting to leave less and less. Part of me keeps crying out "I'm not ready to go yet. There are still so many things I haven't experienced. There is still so much that intrigues me. There is so much that I will miss." I know that I can come back at anytime to visit, but it isn't the same.

Sunday I took the bus to Nagoya to visit my host family. They were taking me to an onsen which I assumed was in Aichi (you know that they say about assumptions). After an hour of driving I asked if we were almost there. Ha ha ha we still had 2 hours left (silly Carissa). It was worth a 3 hour drive though. We drove into the heart of Nagano prefecture (winter olympics anyone). I have never been to Nagano so I was rather excited. The onsen was incredibly spectacular. It is built up and down a hill and is the definition of posh. There were more people waiting on us than there were guests. There were people pouring tea and opening doors every few feet. We changed into our yukatas and went to a private bath when we first arrived (you get to lock the door so it is only your group inside). There were two large tubs, one inside and one outside. The outside one had a spectacular view looking out onto the mountains. It was raining slightly while we were in the private bath, but fortunately the inn had provided umbrellas so we could sit in a hot bath and not get our heads wet! We laid about relaxing and drinking tea (so much tea) for the rest of the afternoon. Then we went to dinner which was another beautiful experience. We were given a private dining room looking over the river and the bamboo grove on the opposite side of the river. All of it was covered with lights and sparkled. The dishes are all made from locally grown foods (even the sashimi was fresh-water fish). The steak was the best though- I have never had such an incredible steak. Ever. It melted in my mouth. Mmmm, I'm smiling just thinking about it. But this story only gets better and better. After dinner we went to the baths that this onsen is famous for. The reason the onsen is built on a hill is because inside the hill are caves with baths fed by a natural hotspring. It was like spelunking naked! The caves go on and on and we are climbing over rocks and sitting under waterfalls and splashing all the time buried in a mountain. It is the longest cave onsen in Japan. Saori (my host sister) and I climbed to the furthest point and scaled a waterfall and were in a tiny little back corner where the water starts. It was pitch black. All I could hear was the splash of water on rocks and I was perfectly content. It was one of those moments that you don't even need to think because everything is so good thoughts are unneccessary. We followed up the onsen by drinking a bottle of wine in the moon-viewing room and listening to the sound of the rain on the roof. The next morning we awoke to snow snow snow! Bamboo covered in snow is a breathtaking sight. After a scrumptous breakfast in a private Japanese style dining room I decided that I would be brave and go into the co-ed onsen. The cave onsen is a co-ed onsen during the day, but between 8 and 9:30pm only women are allowed in. You wear a towel, but they aren't thick towels, they are wet and I'm a gaijin-- so I was a bit nervous. There weren't many people inside so I didn't need to be worried. Saori and I snuck a camera inside and took a few pictures (when people weren't looking) but quickly realized that I had run out of film (drat!). I was ready to move into the inn forever! After a 3 hour drive back to Nagoya I got on a bus and braved a 3 hour bus ride back to Fukui. I wish I could describe the onsen, the whole weekend better. Sometimes (not often though) I find myself at a loss of words to adequately describe the amazement I feel at something.

On another note, the magnolia trees outside my balcony are blooming and filling my room with the sweet scent of spring. The cherry blossoms are just about to burst into bloom (tomorrow perhaps) and I will soon be swimming in pink petals. And as they begin to fall I will say good-bye. The Japanese always view spring as somewhat sad (perhaps even bitter sweet). I am starting to understand that better.