AmyHuang
Hilltribes of northern Thailand: Trek day 2
(continued from pervious post)
We woke to the sounds of roosters announcing the arrival of a new day. Mist covered the area and the cold chill of the night still hovered in the air. It dropped down to around 5 degrees overnight in this part of northern Thailand that I had two layers of long sleeved shirts on and it still didn't feel enough. It was absolutely freezing.
When we eventually picked up the courage to get out of bed to face the morning chill, Sombat had the camp fire going and breakfast cooking on the stove. Sachet coffee and tea were served and we hugged our cups until the sun rose, dispersed the mist bringing the much needed warmth. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, toast and jam and before we knew it, we were packing up ready for another day's adventure.
The day's walk was not as hard as the first day, but our tired legs lacked strength as we climbed more hills and crossed more streams to reach our lunch stop. This was a small elephant camp of many in this region and we were greeted by giant gentle beasts roaming about the trees. While noodles were being boiled for lunch we joined the keepers to give the elephants a quick bath in the river. I have ridden an elephant before but have never been this close up to one on ground and it was both a thrill and a bit scary.
After a quick lunch, we climbed onto the elephants and was delivered closer to our next village in style. Similar to our previous night, we were dropped off at another teak house before we took a walk around the village. The local youth were having a fierce battle on the football field and some of the boys joined in for a kick although was beaten miserably. We then had a dip in the river to clean off the dirt.
Dinner was yet again another of Sombat's feasts, consisted of yellow curry, banana spring rolls and stir fried pumpkin with rice. We've certainly ate simple but well on this trip, and also had the opportunity to try some odd delicacies. When we asked Sombat to join us the first night, he said he was preparing something a little different and a lot more spicer for himself. When I asked what it was, he said it was squirrel curry. I've had some odd things when travelling but never had squirrels before, so I asked if I could try and he brought out of a small bowl for the group. It was a red curry dish and was spicy and excellent, as for the squirrel meat, it was nothing to be squirmy about... it was tough and gamey, almost like a cross between the texture of duck and lamb.
Squirrel is a treat for tribesmen. What we consider as cute creatures are in fact little pests as they steal food and ruin crops, so locals try to get a few a week to make into curry or deep fried chunks.
On the second day, after we've visited the village Sombat brought out a bowl of 'beer snacks' in which he was already happily digging in. These were black bits panfried with chilli and lemongrass and looked relatively harmless. Upon closer look I realised they were bugs.
"Beetles. We pick them up from cow and goat poo poo, we put them in rice hasks and then we eat!"
So, they were dung beetles. For the sake of trying everything, both Will and I took one each and had a chew. To be honest, if you don't think about it, they just taste like chilli and lemongrass peanuts with legs!
(to be continued)
We woke to the sounds of roosters announcing the arrival of a new day. Mist covered the area and the cold chill of the night still hovered in the air. It dropped down to around 5 degrees overnight in this part of northern Thailand that I had two layers of long sleeved shirts on and it still didn't feel enough. It was absolutely freezing.
The trek had been hard but the scenery was beautiful
Crossing bridges
When we eventually picked up the courage to get out of bed to face the morning chill, Sombat had the camp fire going and breakfast cooking on the stove. Sachet coffee and tea were served and we hugged our cups until the sun rose, dispersed the mist bringing the much needed warmth. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, toast and jam and before we knew it, we were packing up ready for another day's adventure.
The day's walk was not as hard as the first day, but our tired legs lacked strength as we climbed more hills and crossed more streams to reach our lunch stop. This was a small elephant camp of many in this region and we were greeted by giant gentle beasts roaming about the trees. While noodles were being boiled for lunch we joined the keepers to give the elephants a quick bath in the river. I have ridden an elephant before but have never been this close up to one on ground and it was both a thrill and a bit scary.
After a quick lunch, we climbed onto the elephants and was delivered closer to our next village in style. Similar to our previous night, we were dropped off at another teak house before we took a walk around the village. The local youth were having a fierce battle on the football field and some of the boys joined in for a kick although was beaten miserably. We then had a dip in the river to clean off the dirt.
Giving elephants a bath
Dinner was yet again another of Sombat's feasts, consisted of yellow curry, banana spring rolls and stir fried pumpkin with rice. We've certainly ate simple but well on this trip, and also had the opportunity to try some odd delicacies. When we asked Sombat to join us the first night, he said he was preparing something a little different and a lot more spicer for himself. When I asked what it was, he said it was squirrel curry. I've had some odd things when travelling but never had squirrels before, so I asked if I could try and he brought out of a small bowl for the group. It was a red curry dish and was spicy and excellent, as for the squirrel meat, it was nothing to be squirmy about... it was tough and gamey, almost like a cross between the texture of duck and lamb.
Local village women help make dinner
Squirrel is a treat for tribesmen. What we consider as cute creatures are in fact little pests as they steal food and ruin crops, so locals try to get a few a week to make into curry or deep fried chunks.
On the second day, after we've visited the village Sombat brought out a bowl of 'beer snacks' in which he was already happily digging in. These were black bits panfried with chilli and lemongrass and looked relatively harmless. Upon closer look I realised they were bugs.
"Beetles. We pick them up from cow and goat poo poo, we put them in rice hasks and then we eat!"
So, they were dung beetles. For the sake of trying everything, both Will and I took one each and had a chew. To be honest, if you don't think about it, they just taste like chilli and lemongrass peanuts with legs!
Squirrel (before it was made into curry) and beetle snack
(to be continued)
