We'll be coming round the mountain...

30th July After waking up early to the sound of the rain hammering on the metal roofs we gathered downstairs to have rice soup, bringing back memories of breakfasts at Makak. Once we all piled onto the mini-buses we headed to Mae sot waiting to see the chaos the flood had caused. When we arrived the devastation seemed like nothing just a few puddles! We all huddled in the bus station while we met Mr. Omph, our trek provider. After stopping for lunch at numerous 7 11, we started our climb up the mountain in tuk-tuk trucks. After several hours of riding the winding, bumpy roads we had a break much to the joy of the people suffering from car sickness and gave the chance to stretch our legs before another two hours in the truck. Once we arrived in Umphang we made ourselves at home in our wooden cabins and introduced ourselves to all the creepy crawlies also staying the night with us. After making ourselves at home, we gathered round a table outside out wooden huts to talk about our trek. We discussed where we would be trekking, where we will camp and what we should bring that would last us the whole duration of the trek. We each made a note of what to pack; such as three pairs of underwear, a wet set of clothes and a dry set of clothes. Later that evening we came together for dinner around a large wooden table as our host prepared our three course meal. The meal consisted of a chicken broth, followed by rice with chicken and vegetables, and ended with watermelon. We all thoroughly enjoyed the meal and were glad to say that we were very full by the end of it. Around the table there were a mixture of smells; ranging from the river smell to the chilly sauce that was provided at diner. Even though we had a full belly, we each helped ourselves to either a cup of Yellow Label Tea or a cup of hot chocolate which smelt very sweet. Mr Omph brought out a big map painted on wood to show us exactly where we would be going. He showed us there we would start out trek by being on boats going down the speedy river. After being shown the map, we each headed back to our rooms to start packing and to get ready for bed. There was the calming noise of the river flowing and the occasional sound of a cricket chirping outside as we rested our heads on the pillows to get a good night’s sleep. Hattie Shaw