Hannah and I are officially massively skilled peeps....
We have certificates in Thai massage, Thai cooking, trekking, elephant riding, xorbing, meditating, bamboo rafting.
So finally I have something cultural to say rather than wittering on about drinking pretty much ALL the time. Instead now, you could pretty much call us Thai after all the skills that we have acquired. Whether I should really be admitting the completion of massage and cooking courses I'm not sure as I'm worried that the fam may take advantage of these when I get back. Maybe that can be allowed on birthdays and other special occassions... but don't get any ideas!!
Chang Mai is the place where you can learn everything Thai but theres not a lot else going down. We also managed to go watch some Thai Boxing (Han wasn't up for learning that one... I'd sooo win) which was pretty cool but at the same time quite sad. The boys that were fighting were really really young to start with and it did seem a little bit like they had been forced up there. I didn't feel quite so guilty watching by the end however, as we later saw their big
brothers get up and do the same... the boxing matches turned into a bit of a family occassion
as well as a spectator sport and opportunity for some gambling.
The trek was awesome. We did it over a couple of days, starting off with elephant riding, trekking throughout the next couple of days to some waterfalls and tribal villages, and finishing it all off with some bamboo rafting. The rafting was probably the highlight (as well as cracking out a few games of shit head with our group), largely because we got attacked by a group of local kids and ended up having a massive water fight mid journey. Hannah ended up being thrown off the raft completely and another member of our group sported a great big gash on his knee... war wounds to be proud of.
The guides definitely made our time in the jungle highly entertaining. Chang (aptly named after the local Thai beer) was hillarious. That man knew how to party big time. Within minutes of arriving at camp he would always be the first to crack open a beer and whack out a spliff.
On the first night he was literally crazy, I don't know how many times it is possible to say "excellent but not perfect" or "lovely jubbly" but he should win the prize. He also boast a wonderful singing voice and extensive repetoire, particularly with his repetitive renditions of Lady GaGa's 'Bad Romance', yes she has reached the remote tribes of Chang Mai that were particularly tuneful, especially whilst accompanied by another guide Neo (after the Matrix) on the guitar. The pair put together made for a lot of entertainment throughout as they not only taught us how to smoke out a squirrel from its hide away in the tree and eat bark that apparently whitens your teeth.
After all that trekking it was pretty important to get our massage skills sorted. So off to Janes for two days of intensive back cracking and shoulder rubbing lessons. Personally it was just a great excuse to get massages all day because obviously we have to 'practice'. Talking of which I think Han hasn't been utilising her new found skills enough...
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