I just spent the most amazing 15 days in Thailand, and it was a vacation that I will never forget. I started in Chinatown, Bangkok, went to Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya, and Chiang Mai. Then, we left Chiang Mai and headed to trek through the jungle for three days. I will share details from the beginning of the trip, but I am skipping straight to the Jungle because that shit was wild hahaha. I will no longer answer to Black Glitter, so call me Jungle Babe from here on out. Hahaha, I don’t know what made me agree to do that shit, but you only live once. It was one of many highlights of the trip.

We were in a private van driving hours away from Chiang Mai up a winding road, and one of the passengers experienced motion sickness, so we pulled over to accommodate her and stretch our legs. Once she was good, we headed to a village store to purchase long socks because tomorrow we will encounter leeches on the trek. WTF! Everyone purchased one pair of long socks, but I purchased two pairs so I could wear one pair inside my pants and the other on the outside. I need to see what the hell is on me before I pass out in the damn jungle hahaha. I was covered with clothing from head to toe, but half the crew was wearing shorts on the first day.

Next thing I know, the van pulls over on the side of the road, and our guide said, “Everyone grab all of your belongings!” My eyes got big because the area was muddy from the rain and there was no trail. The local guide was standing there with bamboo sticks and a smile. He spoke very little English and waited patiently for us to get our backpacks situated. Then, we were off into the jungle. There were eight people in the group, two guides, with a total of 10 on the first day. We were less than five minutes into the trek when we stepped into the river and onto rocks to cross. It is too early into the trek for me to cry because I hate wet shoes, but we are off to a great start. Hahaha, we trekked for 2.5 hours, and lunch was prepared for us. We had rice, egg, eggplant, and bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots looked like greens and were very tasty.  After lunch, we started trekking and headed straight up a mountain. My hiking shoes were slippery; I was sliding, I fell twice, and I wanted to cry. I needed a strategy to get us up this damn mountain! Once the guide helped me and showed me the strategy, I was moving like a pro, but others were still sliding behind me. It poured the entire trek, and my backpack was soaked. When we reached the village, I needed to clean up and rest. The rain took a break, so I headed to the outhouse to “shower” and change clothes. I hung up my shoes and clothes to dry. Once I was up from my rest, I went to the loft area to relax with the others and drank tea. I didn’t have an appetite and passed on dinner. The host only spoke her village language, but her granddaughter spoke Thai, so I was able to translate. It rained throughout the night, and I didn’t sleep well at all.

The roosters woke up the village, and I got up and started getting dressed. I ate a little eggs and rice and was ready to get started. After breakfast we dressed in traditional attire and took photos. ❤️ I had to put on my wet shoes from the previous day, and I wore multiple pairs of socks to prepare for the leeches. It is not very muddy where we start the trek, but the women are anxious about the leeches. We took a quick break and headed to the river, but one of the ladies in the group noticed something on her shoe…A LEECH! WTF! So, everyone is checking their shoes, and we all have them on our shoes, and one lady wore shorts and had them on her legs. SHIT! We are all confused because they look like small worms, and we were only anticipating them in the water. The guide informed us that they look like little worms and are on land and in water, so it is best for us not to stand in one spot for too long. Well, when I realized I had several on one shoe, my ass screamed and took the shoe off when he told me not to. Thank goodness I have great balance because he cleaned off my shoe, I put it back on, and was walking like a speed racer. Then we started crossing the river and noticed more leeches, but we did not have time to stop. We would spray our socks and shoes with bug repellent and keep moving along. Once we arrived at our lunch spot, we all took off our socks and shoes to remove all of the leeches at once. One of the ladies had so many she was screaming, and her husband was there supporting her through the misery. Hahaha. After lunch, the guides changed the route because this year the leeches are more than usual. The mountain was so muddy if felt like my shoes were going to come off, and fortunately our guides had machetes and were able to cut branches while we were in motion. Day two was a success, and this village had a real shower and a store. Everyone in the group purchased snacks and went to take showers. We got a tour of the village and ate dinner as a group. Everyone got along well, and it was a great time.

The final day arrived, and we were in the river the entire trek and NO leeches. The weather was nice, and the water was below my knees, but that was not always the case. There were a lot of loose pebbles and my shoes were slippery, so of course I fell in the river. Haha, it was three hours of trekking in the river, and it was very therapeutic, and I felt one with nature. There were areas with lots of mud, sand, and pebbles, and almost everyone fell at some point on the trek. At one point, we had to cross the river, and the current was so strong that we had to form a human chain to help everyone across. I’m 5’3” and the water was to my waist. WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE! I didn’t want the trek to end because it felt so peaceful and free. At the end of our trek, everyone cleaned their shoes and socks, and we walked to lunch.

It was a pleasure to visit the three villages, and I will forever be grateful to them for hosting us and allowing us in their homes. The food was fresh and tasty! Mopeds were the main mode of transportation around the village; some people had cars, and a large portion of the people had cellphones. It truly made me appreciate community and family even more. Each village had a good amount of dogs and cats, and the animals were so chill. I walked to the store in the last two villages, and when I walked past the dogs, they did not pay me any attention. Hahaha

I am grateful for the adventure! I donated my hiking shoes and socks to bless someone in the village. ❤️

Until next time!

What’s next starts now!