4
Akim Retuer -
a month ago
So, this is going to be a bit different review.
We had planned to do a 3-day 2-night trip. 2 weeks before our planned trip I tore one of my ligaments, so my participation was very unlikely.
We still went to Piroon, since we had already paid a deposit and wanted to get a opinion if I could do da 2-Day 1-night trip since it was communicated as a child-safe trip.
At the office they said, it wouldn't be a problem to do the hike, it would be easy and I shouldn't have any problem, even though I was limping with a splint on my ankle. So we agreed to do the trip and were excited to do this "easy" hike of 2 hrs...healthy people without problems would do it in 1,5hrs.
Unfortunately, on the day it was mixed weather with some rain. We drove first to the market about an hour from Chiang Mai, to get some stuff that we needed for the trip. Cha made some stops additional on the way for us too since we wanted to have some coconuts as refreshment.
Due to my condition, I was given a bamboo stick to help me walk. Soon after we started, we noticed that it was deadly slippery (due to the rain). It was even hard for people without limitations to get on top of the first slope since the mud was so wet.
Cha helped me up and I could continue the hike. Soon we noticed, that the path in the jungle was much harder to walk than we had imagined. It was very narrow, slippery, and needed full attention with mindful steps. Other groups passed us but had difficulties getting forward due to the slippery conditions.
I only could use the bamboo stick and my other foot to walk and was really biting my teeth together. My GF and Cha had big problems descending the path, not to mention other groups. I won't ever forget Cha mentioning every now and then, that I was even faster than some other persons with healthy limbs.
In the end, we needed like 4,5 hours for the 5-6km hike. The arrival on the porch in the village was the best feeling ever. The descent from the plateau was like a slide with soap water. Cha was a great help, and another guide from another group too since they gave their best to make the ground have more grip. They used bamboo sticks to stir up the ground and gave a helping hand every time it was needed. Without Cha and his motivation, I probably would have given up. Even sometimes I noticed, that he was kinda clueless too. The conditions were really bad.
Then I want to mention the food. Cha cooked us probably the best Thai dinner that we ever had in Thailand. Hands down. The food was awesome and there was so much of it. The breakfast was great too. During the dawn, the bamboo rafts were done and we saw all groups departing from the village. We got a private raft and Cha even made us some seats on it.
The rafting was really fun. Due to the higher water level, we didn't need to get off the raft at any point. We actually witnessed some cantered rafts on the way. Cha explained to us, that these guides were from another company and that they didn't know the water and river well. So you should look at what company you use!
Summary: we had a great trip, with a lot of emotions and impressions. Still, I would have liked to have a better consultation on the difficulty of the trekking path. Even in dry conditions, I would rate it as advanced to pro. nothing you should do, if you haven't done trekking before. In rain, it was more or less a suicide path due to the extremely slippery road.
I would like to give Cha 5 Stars. He was great. He taught us so much about food, politics, culture, etc. At some point, we had gotten a little bit too much information since he is a very extroverted person. But still. Love that dude. For the consultation on Piroons side, I would rather give a bad review. Since they knew, I had a broken limb and they said, it wouldn't be a problem. I got a little bit of an impression that since we had paid the deposit, they didn't want to lose the money.
Book Cha. Give him a great tip. He is worth every penny.
*shortened version
