Before we start on the actual hike there is the small matter of crossing the river via a wonky cage on ropes!
Wind it up and then release us!!! Cue some girly squeaks as I whizz along the wobbly rope.
After arriving safely at the other side we faced a good few hours hike up some fairly challenging trails.
Of course, this couldn’t be straight forward with me experiencing my first ever panic attack before setting off! Truly terrifying – I thought I was dying!
My throat closed up and all that came out of me was an odd high pitched whistle whenever I tried to talk! Tears streaming down my face, the other half was rather perturbed and thought I was having an asthma attack . . .
However, after composing myself (really did need a paper bag to breathe into) we set off.
Here’s some photos from our climb up the mountain!! Occasionally stopping to look at icky insects, remove icky insects off ourselves (Neil) and run away from icky insects (me).
I might not look exhilarated but believe me I actually am!!!
It really is a spectacular journey.We climb higher and higher as the day wears on.
Thank goodness it is a relatively cool Thai day, probably a nice 25 degrees, any hotter and it would have been very uncomfortable!
Late on in the day we briefly take a break in one of the smaller village settlements.
We get a chance to really appreciate the stunning views from our high up vantage point.
Slightly vertigo inducing however. Just don’t look down.
As the light was fading we pressed on upwards towards our night time accommodation.
Our home for the night was a communal wooden hut in a picturesque Lahu village situated about 1,200 metres above sea level on a mountain top!
Here’s our first glimpse of the ramshackle collection of wooden huts that would be our resting place.
Here we’d eat, shower and all seven of us would sleep in one communal wooden bedroom.
Here’s our bed for the night, the eating area and the “facilities”!
Unfortunately for us, it was one of the coldest periods they had experienced for quite some time, (in fact they actually declared a state of emergency in several areas and had to send blankets to the hill tribe people!)
It got to about 4 degrees at night and we had to sleep in the fleece coats that luckily we still had in our bags from the airport!
However, the amazing views and serenity of the village more than make up for any trivial complaints I might have had!!!
Here’s the man having a chillax outside the hut. I don’t think we’ve ever had such a spectacular view from any accommodation we’ve ever had!
Next up, a brief exploration of the village before a second day of trekking.