AA Adventure Traveller Southeast Asia: Expert Guides for the Adventure Traveller

Beschreibung:

Leichte Risse. This guide is part of a series for travellers seeking adventure in dramatic and daring locations. It contains an introduction to the country, travel information concerning health, advice for families, activities and contacts and full-colour maps. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers afef90ac-17a4-45db-b86d-47e33f4b226f

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Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.: A Trek to the Northern Hill Tribes, by Ben Davies

The hill tribes, or chao Khao, of northern Thailand live in the lush mountain region along the border with Myanmar (Burma), where they worship the spirits and have traditionally cultivated opium. I spent three days trekking to their villages, river rafting and elephant riding to gain an insight into these fascinating people.

Travelling by elephant

Early the next morning, after a swift breakfast of toast and coffee, three specially trained elephants and their mahouts (drivers) collect us from the village. Now the first thing to remember if you are about to climb on to an elephant is, don't panic. These beasts may weigh a tonne and be kings of the jungle, but they haven't been used for years as work animals without good reason. Elephants are among the most intelligent of animals, and the most sensitive. And even though they may live for up to 100 years, they rarely stumble.

Thailand's long association with elephants is firmly entrenched in history. The kingdom's most famous species was known as the white elephant, a breed so rare that any captured animal would be handed over to the king. With their white eyes and toenails, these albino animals acquired such mythical status that the king would employ special poets and chefs to entertain them in the palace grounds. One distinguished poet described the snoring of the white elephant as being like the sound of bells.

But history has a funny way of disappearing from your mind as you place one foot gingerly on the kneeling elephant's trunk before being hauled up by the mahout on to twin bamboo seats atop this mother of all beasts. When you are on an elephant, the whole world sways from side to side as though you were a tottering drunkard on a big night out. So high up are you from the ground that small slopes suddenly begin to resemble mountains.

From a clearing near the Karen village, the trail meanders alongside the river offering tantalizing views of the countryside. Countless butterflies with wings of white and yellow flutter past into the trees. Occasionally, giant geckos or water buffalo emerge out of the undergrowth, while sunbirds take flight at the sound of our approach. Orchids, too, grow in this part of the countryside, nestling behind clumps of bamboo.

By the time we emerge from the forest, the sun is already high in the sky. Our mahouts strain to keep their animals from devouring every bush in their path. Finally, after two hours of riding, the elephants come to a halt, kneeling on the ground to allow us to climb off- and return to the solidity of the ground.