The alternate title for this post: “There will be mud”. So much mud.
In the middle of July, we embarked on a 2-day jungle trek in northern Thailand. We left early in the morning on a Saturday from Pai, and drove about an hour and a half on windy mountain roads through Soppong to a small hillside village where our journey began. Soppong is very near to Thailand’s border with Burma, in the incredibly lush Mae Hong Son region which is full of jungle, farmland, and quaint, hillside villages.
Shezaad and I on the trail on Day 1 (Photo credit: Pai Adventures).
The first day’s trek was moderate and mostly a nice hike – but we were in a group of about 18 people, which is just far too many for a truly great hiking experience (and very far from my ideal). It started with a steep incline and we immediately were introduced to what jungle trekking in rainy season really entails: trying hard not to slide through the mud on any sort of incline or decline.
Day 1 Trek Views.
We learned some pro-tips from our (hilarious) guide, Pol, like walking in the creek is less slippery than around it, don’t step on bamboo, and, of course, avoid stepping on wet leaves or branches because you will almost certainly slip. We also figured out pretty early on that the grade on our hiking boots didn’t matter so much in a jungle trek; after only 20-minutes or so they became so caked in mud with leaves and branches that it kind of cancels out the nice tracking on the bottom.
Loved this view just before reaching our lunch spot on Day 1.
Overall, it was a 5-hour hike of about 18km distance with our highest point being around 1 km above sea level with nice views. We walked through a great deal of farmland of varying terrain and crops, and through a small village. It was fascinating to see the different types of lush jungle and try to take it all in while trying not to slip.
Trekking, Day 1, as captured by Shezaad.
So, obviously, I did slip. Three times. But nothing terrible and somewhat inevitable.
Views near the end of our Day 1 Trek.
We luckily never got rained on and got back to the small village where we’d stay the night, where I immediately made friends with two little girls who wanted to walk with me, hold my hands, and skip. We communicated by giggling and it was wonderful.
My new friends.
We were one of two couples staying in the village with Jako, our trekking guide for the next day, and his family, who were very welcoming and kind. They cooked a great dinner for us with chicken curry, stir-fried vegetables, and rice, and breakfast the next day was similarly hearty and good.
Jako’s village, where we were welcomed for the night.
The roosters woke me up at 4:45, which was to be expected! It sounded like they were directly underneath our hut.
Jako explained to us that in his village, they used to build their huts up high on stilts because they’d keep their livestock underneath, like pigs and cows. While they’ve of course stopped that practice due to hygiene and animal-borne diseases, they still build their homes on stilts for the most part because it’s what they’re used to and how they’ve been doing it for years – but Jako did point out a couple of newer homes that are being built with a foundation on the ground.
We also learned from Jako about the way his village believes in “cleansing” the village and the home after a death, and after the village councilman has a bad dream. They basically create circles and different dream catcher-like things woven with bamboos and use them above doors and outside the village entry, as well as along the entrance archway to the village.
Jako leading the way on Day 2 of our trek.
Day 2 of the trek was almost entirely through untouched jungle in the animal reserve, which was amazing and much different than the first day – and challenging! It was just us and one other couple on our trek, and we were joined for most of it by another couple with another guide – a much more enjoyable sized group!
It rained on us steadily for a couple of hours in the morning but the hike was doable – a steady incline. It felt like we really had mastered the art of managing the mud for the first two hours or so.
Then we really got into it and when i say “got into it”, I mean I literally turned one part of the path into a mud slide and took Shezaad down with me and was caked in mud for the remainder of the day. It was pretty fun honestly, but not advisable.
Battle scar from one of my slips in the mud! (It didn’t hurt.)
There were quite a lot of stretches with super steep declines where we had to use branches and roots to try and steady ourselves and find our footing. One section was rappelling down a muddy descent using roots and branches to hold onto, and varying footing techniques. It was quite a scramble but lots of fun.
And it was immediately followed by an ascent that was basically climbing up mossy boulders, which was awesome. We were met at the top by an incredible cave opening where we stopped for lunch.
Our lunch spot in this amazing cave.
We ended a couple of hours later after some more incredible scenery – bamboo forests, lush jungle, walking along the top of one of the mountains – at a bridge where a couple of monkeys (called “gibbons”) put on a show for us. We ended the day at the massive Suza Waterfalls which were a very fast-moving rapid thanks to rainy season. While we couldn’t swim, we were able to rinse off a lot of the mud which was really much-needed. Our truck driver drove back to Pai like a champ driving over a few stretches of road where we were literally just driving though the river because the falls were overflowing so much.
My shower when we got back to Pai was arguably one of the highlights of our entire trip. And, yes, I found mud basically everywhere including caked in my hair.
Shezaad tried to capture all of the mud on my face.
Overall, it was an amazing experience and we’re so happy we did it!
Lesson learned: when you go jungle trekking in rainy season, get ready for at least one mudslide (and likely more) but incredible jungle terrain, sights, lush greenery, and a jungle symphony of awesome sounds.
River at the end of Day 2 of our trek.
We did this trek through a fabulous company called Pai Adventures. Check it out if you’re in Pai or traveling through northern Thailand! They also lead rafting excursions, which we heard are fantastic as well.
Anna Logs It 