Hello everyone. I dished out a lot money this morning to rent a scooter that hits top speeds of 55 mph. I wanted to go into the mountains and see the flora and fauna first hand. Oh, the scooter was 7 dollars for the day but I had to fill it up for 11 dollars. The trip into the national forest was over an hour on my scooter. The road was nothing but steep incline for 45 miles. There were great views and very little traffic. I will elaborate on this day after my supper tonight. Check back if there is only this little blurb. I took a 12 kilometer hiking trail to appease my need to have tranquility for a day. Birds, rushing water and various animals were the only sounds of the day. The jungle made me think of what the fighting must have been like in the Vietnam War that was fought throughout southeast Asia.
ABOVE: I hiked for three hours and came to this high altitude water fall. I had just been rained on and now sweating profusely, so I decided to strip off my clothe and sit underneath the falls to cool down. I had not seen another soul for two hours. The only one I saw while taking my bath was a monkey, chattering loudly, telling me to go away. The water was cold, but refreshing. I sat there for 30 minutes, just thinking about where I was and what I have been through during this exciting trip to the other side of the world. Many, many thoughts, but I will spare my philosophical views on life. I am reserved but also optimistic that this is a new beginning. It is exciting to think about what's to come and I pondered that thought for a long time while getting my back massaged by the waterfall. The last time in Thailand, a monkey came out of nowhere and stole my hat off my head while hiking in Phuket, Thailand. It was too hot for a hat today and plus, I like this old hat too much to give it to some rude monkey.
The views were beautiful at 12,000 feet. I met a couple of Japanese girls who were also on their scooter bike. They had difficulties parking their bike on a steep incline, so I helped them to put the kickstand down and park their scooter on level ground. I had the girls take my picture overlooking Chiang Mai. I stopped at a rest area and then proceeded up the mountain. I went a couple KM's and I met my two Japanese friends. It appeared they were broken down. They waved at me and I stopped. They said in broken English that they were having problems. I looked over their scooter and put a small twig into the gas tank to check their fuel. I determined that because they had less than a quart of fuel, the engine could not get gas because the tank was so far back that the engine could not get the gas. If they went downhill the engine would get plenty of fuel to get to the gas station. Please email me at handsonlearner@gmail.com. Let me know if you made it back safely.
Please let me know if you made it back to town OK. It was nice to meet both of you.
ABOVE: I met Brian at a rest area. He was from England but lived in Chiang Mai. He was cycling up over this mountain that was 33 miles at a 12% grade. That is hard cycling!!! He is 61 and does it daily. I have cycled twice across the USA and I know what kind of endurance this takes. He was a fit man! Brian came to Thailand in 2010 and never went back to England. He claims it is God's paradise.
The day was quite spectacular in that I was able to contemplate so many events that have occurred in a month's time. It was beautiful in the mountains and I especially enjoyed the people that I met and the sights that I saw. The tranquility was especially wonderful after the stress of appointments, traffic and just the hustle and bustle of being among 9 million people for such a long time. The sounds of the forest cannot be replicated but are transfixed in my memory. It was as close to Nirvana as I will ever come, even if it was for just one day.
I passed many worship areas on my adventure today and the artistry is very unique for every sight that I came across. Many of these sights were miles into the forest. I was told upon my return to the hotel that Monks go there to meditate.
I was happy to find out that the owner of the golf course is not illegal in having Toucans in captivity. He is raising Horned beak Toucan birds that are rare but not protected nor endangered. He is a real entrepreneur. He has fish (Koi), birds and lady caddies.
Fatigue has set in after a long, long day. Further updates tomorrow.
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