Hiking up the Mountain in Koh Chang

The only part of my body that doesn’t actually ache at the moment is my fingers which is why I am able to type this post. This morning Kevin and I got picked up at our resort and drove to the northern tip of the island for a full day of trekking in the jungle. We sat in a back of a pickup truck while the driver took us through steep mountain roads. As we were driving north, we had a chance to meet the other members of our small group (a French couple and a Scottish couple) and I noticed that all but me were wearing professional trekking shoes. Hmm. I definitely have a pair somewhere at home in New York where I will never ever need to use them.

Twenty minutes later, we were in the jungle, ready and excited to start the day. Our guide, Mr. Tan (who came highly recommended by my friend Keren), gave us each a walking stick, two bottles of water and a lunch box to take with us. At first, we walked through an orchid where Tan showed us different fruits (Banana, Rambutan, Eggplant, Durian, Lime) and spices (Chili, Basil, Lemongrass) grown locally while explaining how they are used in Thai cuisine.

That concluded the easy portion of the day and we quickly started climbing up the mountain.

Tan walked the six of us through thick vegetation, narrow trails and sometimes scary pathways. It definitely reminded me of my favorite show “Lost”, I was just hoping “The Others” were on a different island this week. We stopped every once in a while to see interesting trees and animals and admire the view from up high. It was gorgeous!

A 500m climb is definitely not part of my daily routine in New York, it was rough! We were both covered in sweat (and mosquitos) for most of the day. After four hours of hiking up the mountain, we reached the summit and stopped for a much needed break at a waterfall. Jumping into the cool water was exactly what we needed after exerting ourselves. We all had lunch by the waterfall and relaxed for a while.

The worst part about climbing up is definitely climbing down. This proved to be more challenging than I had expected since the strap on my new shoes broke within the first 30 seconds of our climb. I guess that’s what you get for 200 Baht. With torn sandals and achy legs, I started descending. After about an hour (kinda felt like 3), we were back in civilization and ready for a cold beer.

We figured we got a really good workout and can treat ourselves to a “naughty rotee” which is what we have nicknamed the super fattening banana rotee (banana crepe with condensed milk). It was a really fun day and I’m glad we got to see some of the beautiful mountainous terrain of Ko Chang.

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