First beer free. Second beer 100 baht.

So I've just stepped out of my second hot shower in four and half weeks and tonight I will have a room to myself for the first time since October 8. Wow am I excited. wow.
So I got back tonight from my short 3 day hike/trek in the Chiang Mai province in the north of Thailand. I was pretty skeptical at first about going on a guided tour, because it seemed weird visit a hill tribe village that gets hundreds of backpackers a month. But it was a really good adventure- we were out pretty far in the middle of nowhere, staying in huts next to rice fields and rivers, and the group was friendly as well. The pix are of two of the Karen tribe people burning stuff(aren't i learned?), then a whole bunch from the second day, when we hiked up to a hut on a peak where we ate lunch, and then down to a waterfall area for overnight. This is where I spent thanksgiving. A little different from Tdays past, yes?. Theres a pic of dinner just for kicks- we had rice, chicken, potatoes, and beer. It was delicious! Then I spent probably the coldest night I have ever spent where I couldn't escape to a car (dehaas? dy?), got no sleep, and continued the trek this morning. We joined up with a few other groups and went bamboo rafting, an unpredictable, falling in the river, trying to swamp other rafts kind of activity. Totally wonderful end to our trip. I reccommend. No pix of that because ze camera would have gotten soaked.
So, from here on in, I am on my own. Tricky business, but there are tons of people traveling just like me and so far they have proved a non dubious bunch. The new adventures of beckymonster coming in a few days!