[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 4 December 2016]
Day 3 – 17 October 2016, Monday
It was our last full day in Chiang Mai and an action-packed one at that. We had booked a combo package from 8 Adventures comprising a 31-station Zipline, 1.5-hour ATV ride and 10km river rafting, all for 5,600 baht (S$223). The company offers several different package combos, so you can choose a package with only two activities (trekking is also available) or even an overnight stay at a local village if you wish.
After having breakfast at our hostel, a van from 8 Adventures picked us up at 8:15am and drove us to the outskirts about 80km away. Along the way, we also picked up a few other adventurers who were going for other activities offered by the company. The drive took 1.5 hours and we arrived at Zipline Chiang Mai at about 9:50am.
After depositing our belongings in the lockers provided, we went for a safety briefing and practice session at a mock station nearby, where we practised braking and hanging upside down. Our instructors were Chinese and spoke Mandarin to us. English speaking instructors were available but they were currently engaged, so they assigned the Mandarin speaking ones to us. No matter, our instructors were very friendly and polite.
The 31 stations consisted of zip lines ranging from 20m in length to the longest one at 400m long. We also had to climb up ladders, abseil down from trees and cross a canopy bridge walk in between, so it wasn’t just zip lining all the time. Most of the platforms are between 10m and 20m above the ground. However, it is very safe and secure as you are hooked on to the safety ropes at all times, except on the short stretches where you are walking on solid ground. It’s really not scary at all and it is suitable even for those with a fear of heights.
The lush jungle and the view of the Mae Taeng River created a nice backdrop. The company didn’t offer official photography so I brought along my iPhone and we paid our three instructors a small tip of 100 baht each to help take photos and videos. They took quite a lot of nice shots so we were very pleased with it. They also allow you to bring your own GoPro camera, so if you have one, bring it!
It was my first time Ziplining and I enjoyed it overall. I haven’t tried the MegaZip at Sentosa but I doubt it is even 10% as nice as the one here. The MegaZip is 450m long and at 75m high, but it costs S$45 for that one zip, which will be over in a few seconds. In contrast, we took about an hour to complete the 31 stations here, and besides the longest zip at 400m, there were a few other zips that were more than 100m long.
If you came here just to do the Zipline itself (i.e. not doing the combo package), it will cost 2,400 baht (S$95.50). It is more pricey but overall, it is still much more value for money than the one on Sentosa. The instructors told us that they are building a 900m zip line next year and a few other longer ones, so it will be even more awesome. They have the whole jungle to play with anyway. I highly recommend coming to Chiang Mai to try out ziplining if you have not tried it yet. It’s great fun.
After we finished zip lining at about 11:20am, we were treated to some refreshments of watermelon, bananas, biscuits and cold water. We took a moment to rehydrate and rest before we were taken to the 8 Adventures base camp for the ATV portion.
ATV stands for All-Terrain Vehicle and it is an automatic, one-man operated four-wheeler that can traverse road and off road jungle terrain. It is like a souped-up version of the battery-operated three-wheeler bikes that I used to ride as a kid below my block. It was my first time riding an ATV and I was excited about it. After a short briefing session, we did a few practice rounds in the garden before heading out. It was a little scary at first because many of the paths were muddy and some of the slopes were quite steep so I was afraid that the ATV may overturn, but such fears proved unfounded, as the ATV was well capable of handling such terrain with ease.
After leaving base camp, we hit the roads before heading to the countryside and villages. It was a scenic ride and we got to see how the locals lived. We also went off-road and headed to the jungles before emerging at a clearing opposite a river and an elephant sanctuary. There, we had a view of the majestic animals grazing. Elephants are revered in Thailand and they are considered the symbol of the nation.
I don’t really support activities like elephant riding or having tigers trained to take photographs with tourists because I feel that these activities are not natural. I feel that these animals should be kept in the wild, in their natural habitats. Unfortunately, because of man’s greed and irresponsible hunting of their tusks, skin and other body parts, it is often safer to put these animals in sanctuaries where they can be protected and taken care of. I can understand that the upkeep of these sanctuaries is costly and they have to find ways to generate revenue in order to sustain it, and that is where these activities come into play. As such, a compromise needs to be made between conservation, education and entertainment. That is the sad reality.
After a short water break, we carried on with our ATV ride and our two guides brought us to Sagée Waterfall. It wasn’t included in the itinerary but it was the funnest thing we did. I tried researching on Sagée Waterfall on the Internet but there isn’t much being written about it. Seems that it is quite a hidden gem not many people except the locals know about, so let’s keep it that way!
We got off our ATVs and trekked a short distance, about 10 minutes, to reach the waterfall. There were a few other tourists and locals boys there already. It wasn’t a picturesque or impressive waterfall by any means, but the highlight is a natural rock slide about 10m long at the top of the waterfall. Our guides asked if we would like to slide down the rock slope. It seemed fun but it looked steep, with an angle of something like 50 to 60 degrees. And we weren’t sure if the rock was rough and whether our pants would get damaged from sliding down the rock. It also meant that we would be wet. However, when I asked our female guide if she was going to slide down as well, she said yes without hesitation, and I was game.
After taking off our shoes, we climbed to the top portion of the falls. I told our male guide to go first so that we could see whether it was really safe. He told us that the technique is to keep our legs together and place our hands at the sides to guide us through. He also said that it wouldn’t hurt at all. And so he demonstrated and it sure seemed safe enough.
As I stepped gingerly on the slippery rocks and sat at the top of the slide, I looked down and boy, did it look steep! I got into position as he had told us earlier, and gently pushed myself forward….whoooooosh! I slid down very fast and plunged into the pool at the foot of the slide. I drank a bit of water because it was surprisingly deep and I wasn’t expecting that. I had to tread water to stay afloat, before swimming to the side. AL went next, followed by the female guide. Honestly, I think our guides had as much fun as we did. It was so fun we went for another round. We were so glad we did it and it was the best decision ever. It reminded me of the time YS and I went to a secret waterfall near Ella in Sri Lanka. I love waterfalls!
Being a geography student in secondary school and JC, I think that there is no better way to learn geography than to go out there to experience and see for yourselves how waterfalls, rivers, rock formations, soil erosion and sedimentation etc works. Just from a few seconds of sliding down the rock, I learned about the power of water in creating a deep plunge pool at the foot of the waterfall, and also how water can erode and smoothen rock over hundreds of years.
Not forgetting human geography topics like urbanisation, migration, agriculture and more. All these become clearer and more easily understood when you have seen for yourself how it comes into play in rural areas and less developed countries. Of course, travelling overseas for field trips involves money and not all students or their families may be able to afford it. And parents are increasingly more protective of their kids and may object to sending their precious ones to “dangerous” places and engage in “risky” outdoor activities. Which is a pity because the world is so big and it is the best classroom.
After the short escapade, we went back to our ATVs and drove back to base camp for lunch, which consisted of rice with fried chicken cutlet and salad.
For river rafting, we were joined by a young Dutch couple who had spent the morning trekking for 3 hours. We were transported to the starting point and arrived at about 2:25pm. We geared up in our life vests and helmets and grabbed an oar each. We then went through a safety briefing and demo, where our guide taught us the different commands that would be employed when we are on the river.
At about 3:00pm, we carried our raft and hit the Mae Taeng River. Together with our guide, there were five of us on the raft, plus two other guys on safety kayaks. This was my 4th time river rafting and I have enjoyed it each time. The previous occasions were in Rotorua, New Zealand (2007), Butterworth, Malaysia (2008) and Nepal (2012). The best was still NZ because the water was so clean and cooling, and the river course was sufficiently challenging and thrilling.
The water of the Mae Taeng River was chocolate brown and didn’t look too inviting but thankfully, it didn’t stink. Our guide reminded us that there were elephant sanctuaries nearby. Hmmm…just don’t think about it. According to the website, the 10km course consisted of Grade III-IV rapids.
To be honest, the river wasn’t too challenging and there weren’t any major drops or anything. There were decent sections of rapids and it was fun when we tumbled around like a real life roller coaster ride. There was once when we almost capsized, but otherwise it was quite tame, with long stretches of gentle waters. It was AL’s first time river rafting and he said he expected more, but overall still enjoyed it. I will do it again, but hopefully, it will be a more thrilling ride. After finishing the 10km course at base camp, we showered before taking the long van ride back to the city. We reached our hostel at 6:30pm, as promised.
For dinner, AL was craving for ribs. He had spied upon a restaurant during the past two nights and had kept a mental note of it. It was called The Duke’s Grill & Bar and it is located at 145 Changklan Road, near the night bazaar area. As it was our last night in Chiang Mai, we wanted to end it off with a good meal so we ordered a half rack of ribs to share (295 baht), and I had a Double Bacon Cheese burger (320 baht) for myself. The ribs were so good. It was a very satisfying meal.
After that, we went for some drinks at the pub nearby. Music was banned so there was no live entertainment, but beer was still allowed. After that, we called it a night and headed back to our hostel to wind down.
Day 4 – 18 October 2016, Tuesday
The following morning, I had breakfast at the hostel as usual, while AL was having too good a time on his bed and refused to get out of it haha. I then spent about an hour writing my journal, before it was finally time to check out. At 12:10pm, we took a songthaew to the airport (150 baht) and arrived 10 minutes later. We were still very early for our 2:45pm flight so we had one last meal of McDonald’s before entering the departure hall. After that, we said goodbye to Chiang Mai and arrived in Singapore at about 7:00pm.
It was a short but fun-filled trip because of the activities that we did. I really enjoyed the ATV ride and bungy jump and ziplining too. That’s almost everything! Best of all, the food was really good and cheap. The night markets were a joy to shop at, even though I did the least amount of shopping on this trip. It was the perfect tonic and I felt refreshed coming back. I highly recommend Chiang Mai as a destination for a short getaway. Do consider it for your next trip!