Over the mountains and through the woods

Our time spent in Ayuttua went slowly as it was so unusually hot, even for Thailand, and it zapped your energy pretty early in the day. We rented bicycles for $1.20 and rode around town visiting the various wats (Temples), the towns only real attraction. In the afternoon we took a longboat tour with tow french girls from our hostel down the river to reach 3 other wats. We climbed the skinny red stoned steps angled near vertically to the top of the last wat and got an amazing view.

The following morning we started what would take 6 days in and out to see the extremely remote Thi Lo Su waterfall waterfall, the 6 largest in the world. We started the trip with high spirits, but they we're slowly broken down each step of the way. With our first 7 hour ride to Tak we missed our connecting mini bus to Mae Sot. When we tried to negotiate with a waiting taxi driver to take us to Mae Sot, he refused to budge one baht, despite his prices being four times more then average. When we tried to talk to other tax drivers about giving us a ride into town to the only guesthouse, it was clear the first driver had told everyone else not to drive us anywhere. We were officially blacklisted and stranded. We later learned that there exist a taxi mafia who we apparently fell victim to that night. When asked at the bus counter for walking directions to the guesthouse, the police officer behind the counter had pity on us and gave us a lift in the back of his truck. Our room immediately reminded me of an insane asylum, and the eerie yellow glow of the single light did little to help the ambiance. We weren't entirely disheartened though, not even when the water from the shower and faucet poured out in a muddy brown stream. Instead, the next morning we had a refreshing cold shower from large seven eleven water bottles and then caught the 2hr mini bus to Mae Sot. From there we'd been previously warned by Dan's brother Matt that this is the hardest part of the trip, at least the vehicle part. We took a Sung Thaw, a truck with benches in the back and a cover, 4 1/2 hours through the mountains on the road of 1,216 curves, and because of the motion sickness spills I gratefully only felt about 500 of them. Dan and I were pleased with ourselves when we arrived in Um Phong without having been sick. We booked a room in the guest house and signed up for a 2 day guided tour to the waterfall. We had hoped to simply get a ride there, but the road does not open until November 4th when the water has dried up.

We began the next day in good spirits as we took a 4 hour rafting ride down the river and straight through pure jungle, complete with monkeys playing in the trees. From the jungle grew so many shades of green that it was brilliantly colorful. At the end of the ride we pulled up onto the muddy bank eager to begin the 5 mile hike to our campsite. Our guide, 15 year old Boss, led us to the path and you can see a picture of me, full of naivety and false hope. The first 2 1/2 miles turned out to be straight up a mountain. Literally. The 2 2 1/2 miles down only brought to life a whole new set of muscles as our bodies arched backward to keep from unwillingly running down the mountain. When we arrived we found our tent and took a bath in the river. The river was actually gorgeous, refreshingly col and the grey blue water was supplied directly from the falls. We hung around camp the rest of the evening with Tom and Pick, our British and Thai friends. The next morning we eagerly made our way to the waterfall 1 km away. We dove right into one of the lower pools and Dan successfully swam behind the waterfall (a smaller branch of the main one up higher). Honestly, after all we had gone to to get to the falls, we had expected to find the meaning of the life there. The waterfall was absolutely amazing, but I had put such high expectations on it that it ultimately let me down a little. Looking back on the trip, it was not the waterfall that held the most value or insight, but instead the journey itself. If i can climb straightt up a mountain then my expectations for future possibilities has definitely increased. At the end of it all we made the trek up and down the mountain, the raft ride, and then the 4 /2 hours down the road of 1,216 curves. I later found out the road is appropriately named "The Death Highway to Mae Sot". The stress of making this long trip back was considerably eased by know what was ahead, and the hike and Sung Thaw passed by quickly. Looking back I am so glad that we made the trip!