And so, the trek begins...

Trekking was quite the unexpected adventure. To say that Anthony and I were unprepared is an understatement. Essentially, we both expected an easy, touristy trek through some trees and then a campout at a village - the kind of stuff you find back in the States. Maybe some long walks, but nothing arduous.

We were wrong.

We left the hotel at 9:00 AM. We were introduced to several more travel companions. The group was a fairly respectable representation of the Western world - a Brit, a Dutch couple, a German couple, Anthony and I representing America, two Peruvians, and Rony, our zany Thai guide. We drove to the base camp, which took a little more than an hour. We were sitting in the back of a truck and naturally, I got very sick and threw up out of the back of it. I can't handle Thai vehicles very well.

When we got where we were going, we discovered that we started the trek with an elephant ride. I rode with Daniel, the Brit, and we fed the elephant some of the apple I had in my pocket and talked for a bit. He was a very likable guy, as I have found most British people to be. Never complained about America or our President or our politics. Just kept it friendly. The seat on the elephant was a little wobbly and I had to resist the temptation to hurl.

I decided to push through the feeling and bust ass up the mountain. I decided to chat it up with Rony and was very glad I did. He told me some stories (WARNING: NOT FOR CHILDREN. SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH). He told me many stories from his 47 year life. Rony loved sex more than most people loved breathing. His sexual appetite was insatiable and he claimed to have had sex with "at least 1000" different women. His personal preference was for light-skinned 16 year old girls (which, as disturbing as that may sound, is legal under Thai law as the age of consent is 15 in Thailand) for reasons I won't get into. Despite his preference, he wasn't picky and had even been with a few ladyboys, "but only when drunk," which apparently makes him in the clear, or something. Rony knew every club in Chang Mai where a man could fill his lonely hands and the cost to fill those hands in each club. Most of the time, when I hear stories like that, I take them with a grain of salt, but as far as I can tell, Rony was as close to a real-deal man-slut as possible.

Rony was an experienced trekker. Keeping up with him was harder than I thought it would be. We eventually got to a little hut in the middle of a corn field. Everyone continued on, but I stayed behind and relaxed. I twas incredibly peaceful, despite the strange flying bugs and my vomiting (at least 7 times so far in the Chang Mai trip!). I then made my way slowly up the trail to the village, going at my own pace and taking lots of time to take in the sights of the surrounding, beautiful area.

Once I got to the village, I took a cold, incredibly refreshing shower. Anthony and I explored a bit and got involved in a game of soccer with some locals. They were much better than me, but that's not surprising. We walked through the village and I felt like an American G.I. in Vietnam, wandering through an incredibly strange and foreign place. Then a little girl jabbed me with a stick in the leg and I snapped out of my daydream.

We went back to the hut where village ladies gave us incredibly cheap massages. We then ate a feast of chicken with yellow curry and rice. Rony played some games with us, but by that point, we were all ready for bed. We set up our mats on the hard floors of the hut and settled in for what promised to be a rough night. I fell asleep fast, but I would awoken soon...