Trekking in Chiang Rai

We went trekking from Chiang Rai, just myself , and Hannah and Laura (2 English girls I met on the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai) and the guide. It was so much fun, though pretty tiring at points, especially as it was monsoon season so the mountains we were climbing up and down were incredibly muddy and slippy, as ably demonstrated by Hannah following a 12ft fall down an area covered in sharp bamboo sticks and other nasties! Fortunately she was absolutely fine - a bit shaken up and muddy but she's lived to tell the tale!
We stayed overnight in a Lahu hill tribe village which was a brilliant experience - everyone in the village was really pleased to have visitors (mostly since they got special 'farang' (tourist) food, I think) and it had such a nice community feeling to it. The house in the photo above was built by one man in a week - pretty impressive, eh?!

A waterfall we trekked up to.

Before we set off we had to put on these attractive 'socks' to protect us from leeches when we were going through the many rivers and also to stop our legs getting too scratched as we walked through the grasses.