Trekking in Chiang Mai and Angkor Wat!

After a few enjoyable nights in Chiang Mai, I signed up for a 3 day, 2 night trekking tour. Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand, and it's known for trekking although the treks revolve around not just the scenery or the wildlife, but more for the hilltribe villages. Unfortunately, I decided to go out on the night before the trek, even though I had to wake up at 8am the next day. I was meaning to go home at around 11 or 12, due to unforeseen circumstances, I went home at 6am, only to get one hour of sleep. Lets just say that it was not a pleasurable walk towards the top of the mountain, where the Lanu village people lived. Because a large number of tourists come and go from the village, I found the village to have lost its indigenous nature.

On the second and third day of the trek, we went to 2 waterfalls, where we took nice showers, went elephant trekking, white water rafting, and bamboo rafting. Elephant trekking, though it's a bit sad for the elephants, was a unique experience that is special to Thailand.



White water rafting was a bit of a disappointment because it was only about Grade 3, but the bamboo rafting proved to be the most challenging and the most fun. Three of us got on a bamboo raft that is not properly tied together so our feet were sinking every second, and we fell into the water several times before we got the hang of it.



After the trek, the guys in the trekking group and I went out to go see Thai boxing in the sketchiest strip of shady bars and lounges with lady-boys. It was a pretty surreal experience. After that, we went out to a more kosher establishment, where I had a blast. Chiang Mai was one of my favorite towns so far, and I would go back there if I ever came back to Thailand.

After a few days in Bangkok again, I crossed the border to Cambodia via coach bus to a town called Siem Reap, the town closest to the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. I met a group of girls on the way to the town, and we stayed at the same hostel for a few nights. I've met a lot of nice people at the hostel; although it's expensive, it has a big pool, loads of amenities, and a cleaning service. I can't really complain. The first night out, the hostel had a pub crawl, and I got introduced to the relaxing, but fun bar scene in Siem Reap. The next day, I followed 2 girls I met on the crawl to the Floating Villages, which is basically a collection of houses and boats on a lake for people who can't afford to live on land. They have their own schools, churches, temples, hospitals, and anything else that a normal town might have.



The next day, I went to the all famous, Cambodia's 8th wonder of the world, Angkor Wat at sunrise. Waking up at 4am, my friend and I headed for the ruins, only to find that the sun is covered by the clouds. Nevertheless, the ruins were quite impressive, and architecturally truly amazing, considering it was built in the 12th century. I also went to several other temples and ancient walled cities, the most memorable being Ta Phrom, where Tomb Raider was shot. A jungle surrounds the temple, and tree roots and trunks gnarled itself into the stones - an incredible site to see.





I'm going to stay in Siem Reap for a few more days because I like the atmosphere, but next I'll head to Phnom Penh and Sinhoukville in Cambodia before going to Vietnam.

- Ryoji