You have got to be fucking kidding me! Where the hell is my credit card? I wasnt too sure whether i had lost it or it was stolen! I was still feeling the effects of the big night the night before and my mind and heart was racing. I immediately went to find an internet cafe and sent a short sharp email off to Mum and Dad asking if they could cancel my card, then went to go find an international phone and try to call the bank to get this sorted. The problem being is that the information desk gave me the wrong international dial out code and any combination of numbers didnt seem to work. So, i had a choice, either i jump on this train which was due to leave in 10 minutes or to stay in bangkok, forfeit my fare and try to keep contacting the bank. I was still not 100% sure whether i made the right choice as i ran to where my train carriage was so i got on the train and decided to ask a few people whether i could use their phone to make international calls. The first few people couldnt really understand me so i got to the point where i was asking people "do you speak english" before i asked them anything further. So the last person who i asked this question to responded with "i speak australian if that will do". What a relief! I introduced myself and asked Jim whether or not it would be ok to use his phone. He said he wasnt too sure how much credit he had but he would have a look. As it turns out Jim was living in Chiang Mai (CM) with his wife and living off the veterans pension from Australia. He didnt have any credit but assured me that the bank should be ok about it and to try not too worry too much. Yeah right! He bought me a beer which i was struggling to drink with an awful sick feeling in my stomach but as the time progressed i felt i little more at ease as i had figured out what i had done with my card. As it turns out, in Australia you get your card, then your money, then your receipt when you use an atm. In thailand on the other hand you get your money, then receipt, then your card and thats where and how i lost my card.
Jim turned out to be a really good bloke as we sat and chatted on the train. He invited me back to his house in outer CM where he said i was able to use his home phone and internet to get my problems sorted out. After a total of 15 hours on this sleeper train we arrived in CM. I have got to admit that through the circumstances and the freezing cold air conditioning it was one of the most unpleasant train rides i have ever had! We eventually got to Jim's house where i met his wife Susan and was able to use the phone to call the bank. Susan made me a sandwich and gave me some water and after i had sorted everything out arranged for me some transport to get into the backpacker area in the old city.
I was exhausted after stressing and having barely any sleep the night before so i ended up just picking any guest house (GH) and staying there. Bad move! Usually i would have a look at the room before deciding to stay there but in a lapse of concentration i paid 300baht and then went up to the room. This room was filthy. The shower had things growing on the walls floor and ceiling, the bed had cigarette burns in the matteress and on closer inspection i saw the remnants of bed bugs in the seams. There was no way i was going to stay here but i needed a shower... so i did. I packed all my stuff up and went back down to see if i could check out without them noticing i had used the facilities. Not so lucky, they picked up on the wet towel and probably the fact i was looking a bit more refreshed. I asked if i could just pay them 100baht and leave it at that which they obliged and i happily went on my way in search of something decent. I had heard Soi 2 was a good place to look so i wandered down that way and stumbled accross a place called Jonadda. Jointly owned by an Aussie bloke and his Thai wife. Jon was out the front so i got talking to him and told him my sob story. He said he may be able to do me a deal on the room if i booked a trek through their guest house. I was keen to trek anyway so i agreed. Turns out i got a pretty good deal as the 3 day trek was 1300b and the room for two nights was 300b with a free night chucked in at the end of the trek. Finally i could let sleep come!
We got picked up at about 9am on the friday to set off for the big trek. Along the way we picked up some germans, a couple of south americans and a guy from the USA as well as a dutchman i had met at the GH. The ride up to the elephant camp was pretty cool where everyone was in good spirits and talking shit amongst each other. I was stoked when i got to have my own elephant and mainly ride it by myself for most of the trip (about an hour). After the ride we joined up with another group and set off. That first day was the most intense uphill mountain climbing i have ever done. There was periods where i couldnt believe i was actually paying money to do this, but by the time we made it up to the hill tribe at about 4pm it dawned on me how much it was worth it! The views were spectacular! Our guide Auf (pronounced Off) cooked us dinner which was a curry supposedly with chicken and a vego stirfry of some sort but both were delicious. The next day i was awake pretty early and went for a walk around the village which is amazingly simple. Bamboo can be used for everything i have noticed. None of the other people we were with were doing the 3 day trek so at about 9am we said our goodbyes which was sad for some reason as we had only known each other for less than 24 hours. It was only going to be me, the dutchie and Auf to head to the next village. As it turned out this was actually a bonus as we basically got the full attention of a very good guide. He took us to a few waterfalls that day as well as a few villages. That night he showed us a card game he called 'salef' which he was actually meant to be saying 'slave' but it was kind of catchy so we just called it salef. It is a game i have played before called asshole but with slightly different rules. We taught him how to play texas hold'em poker and ended up spending the rest of the night playing cards in the middle of the jungle. The next day Auf thought we were ok sort of people and invited us down to his home town of Lampang (about an hour and a half by bus from CM). We were both pretty keen so we got our free nights accommodation back at Jonadda and headed south to Lampang the next day.
Auf was waiting for us with his mate Wai on two motorbikes which was a rare sight to see as you only usually see scooters and we were treated like kings from that point on. The only thing we had to pay for during the two days we were there was beer. Everything else was arranged for us. Including a trip to a national park with the most spectacular waterfall i have ever seen. Unfortunately i had forgotten to bring a spare battery for my camera and as we were on the road to the national park, it died! Auf's family and friends were all pretty nice though none of them could speak much english. It was sad to say goodbye to Auf but we were probably on the verge of overstaying our welcome. Catching the bus back to CM was a bit of an experience as no-one could speak english but we managed to get by and jump on the bus 'home'
The last few day i havent been doing much, just waiting around for my credit card to roll up and trying to not spend too much money. Jon has a motorbike with a side car which he assures me can fit 7 adults in total onto it, so he has been giving myself and the dutchie as well as an american bloke a guided tour of CM. Sidecar is a really cool way to travel around!
Next i will be on the road to Cambodia to catch up with Melf.
