Getting My Adrenaline Fix in Chiang Mai
I hadn't planned on taking on any adrenaline-inducing activities during my time in Chiang Mai. I'd planned a nice, relaxing week as a prelude to my exciting new life in Bangkok.
But when I met a group of Aussie boys who were staying at the same hotel as my parents and I, and they showed me pictures of their "Flight of the Gibbon" adventure (zip lining through 2km of forest), I felt the need for speed bubble up inside of me. When they next said that they were doing an adventure tour that involved a half-day of ATVing, and a half-day of white-water rafting, and would I like to come? I thought, hells yes!
The day of the adventure, we crammed into the little van and rode an hour and a half to our destination. When we finally arrived, we were told that we were going to be whitewater rafting first.
Luckily, one of the Aussie guys was a former rafting guide, so we had a few people who knew what they were doing on our raft. The guide had us sit in the raft and explained to us the basics of rafting: hold your paddle at the top so it doesn't smack your fellow rafter in the nose when you hit a rock, and follow his commands.
We had a few kilometers of calm water to get used to the rafting. The boys kept splashing the guide, and we could see the devious look in his eyes as we approached the rapids. Ryan, the former rafting guide, was in the front. As we barreled down the first rapid, the guide was calling out orders to us from the back: paddle! get down! to the right! to the left! we obeyed and most of us survived...except for Ryan who would up tumbling backwards over the raft and straight into the water. We laughed our asses off at him. The only one to fall into the water was the former rafting guide.
Eventually, we managed to get past all the white water bits, only almost capsizing a few times. When we reached the calm water, our guide had us all sit on one edge of the boat and the two outside people paddle in the same direction. We went faster and faster in a circle, called the helicopter, and of course, all flipped over the back and ended up in the water.
Once back on dry land, we ate a quick lunch, and then hopped on our ATVs for a rather brief lesson. Our guide told us to practice on a little circular path, half of which overlooked a cliff that led into the water we'd just rafted. Not ever having ATV'd before, I couldn't get the hang of turning. Since I'm so used to motorbiking now, I'm used to leaning into my turns instead of physically turning the vehicle. That is why as I attempted to round the corner off the cliff, I was thisclose to flying off the cliff and into the water. Had I not stalled, I hesitate to think what might have happened.
After a while, though, I did get the hang of it, and I started being able to turn. Once I got that bit, it was easy as pie, and I had a great time!!
A few days later, Mom and I decided to go for a different kind of adrenaline rush. This kind involved lying on top of live tigers.
Me and Meatball
The tigers were really tame - the guide told us that they sleep 18 hours a day and since they have grown up with people, they're totally used to us, which is why the above picture was able to be taken. That said, there was one tiger in a cage while we were there, who, the guide told us, had just bit a tourist a few weeks back (nothing too major - three stitches). He would never again get to be with tourists for fear that he's no longer trustworthy. The tiger camp is also worried the Thai government will shut them down if they get any more tourists injured.
Mom rubs Sticky Rice's belly
All in all, it has been a fab week in Chiang Mai. Today, I'm hopping on the train to Bangkok, where I will start my new life!! Wish me luck.....
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 January 2010 06:27 )