River Rafting to Chiang Rai

The Kok River flows down stream from Tathon to Chaing Rai and I was joining a two-day trip with an overnight stop at The River Base Camp. I was opting for the deluxe 'motorised barge' which is a steel hulled, bamboo decked, flat bottom craft designed to carry eight passenger. The advantage over the more basic bamboo raft, just poles bolted together at either end is that it cuts down the amount of rafting time allowing more time for the adventure activities and the motor power makes it easier to negotiate the more difficult sections of the river.

And on an environmental note, Shane commented "The wholesale cutting of river line bamboo for raft construction has proven detrimental to the river's Eco-system. When guest do want this more natural experience the rafts are dismantled on arrival in Chiang Rai and taken back to Tathon to be re-assembled. Some tour operators will sell a bamboo raft to the tourist in Tathon from B1,000-1,500 and on arrival will dispose of it for firewood.

Our first stop was at Partai to visit a Black Lahu Village that was first established in 1959 and only had all weather roads in 1996. The villagers are Christian and derive the bulk of their income from rice farming in the valley which is harvested twice a year in May and November. Our next stop is only accessible on foot so after a short trek through the forrest we come to a Lahu Village that was established five years earlier in 1953. Here we were to learn about the local marriage customs. Boys can marry at 18 and girls at 15. When the couple becomes engaged the boy has to give the brides family two chicken and 50 baht to claim his bride. The couple would normally live together for between one and two years before eventually marrying. Before the ceremony can take place the boy must give his bride's parents 30 kg of pork as a dowry.

We return to our bamboo barge and further down river we have a good view of the de-forested hills where the Akha tribes live on higher ground. Their custom is to cut down patches of forrest to create areas for growing crops and opium.

Finally we reach The River Base Camp mid-way between Ban Thaton and Chiang Rai. This African Safari-style camp is set on the riverbank in a narrow picturesque gorge 50km down river from the Maekok River Resort. Perhaps more like a clean guesthouse than a camp though every attempt is made to maintain the 'camp' atmosphere. There are five rivefront bamboo bungalows and a four room traditional Thai-style raised house. Each is supplied with a sprung mattress, mosquito net, sleeping bag or sheets, pillow towel and soap. A wood fired hot water boiler supplies hot water to large rectangular basins, which is ladled over one's body prior to or after soaping down.

The camp has a buffet style restaurant with tressle tables covered and folding chairs. And this where Shane's army background is most visible a Chef cooks meals from the resort in a full military style field kitchen. It may be a river camp but is certainly isn't roughing it.

After dinner guests sit around the campfire enjoying each other's company and allow the deafening silence of a jungle night wash away the stresses of city living.

Sleeping in late is not on the itinerary, breakfast at 7am and break camp by 8 pm. Having had the Full Monty for breakfast we continue down river to the Karen Village at Ban Ruan Mit with traditional stilted houses. This tribe's ritual revolves around living in harmony with the "Lords of the Land and Water" as well as the natural spirits. This explains why they use the ecologically sound system of swidden agriculture. This involves rotating the areas of land used for crop production over a large area and avoids cutting down all the trees when clearing a plot. The Karen is the only hill tribe to built terraces into the hillside to grow rice. The advantage over the traditional paddy method is that digging, planting and harvesting is less physically demanding and there is no soil erosion. The downside is that machinery cannot be used in the cultivation as the fields are to narrow and the height between them to great.

From here we climb aboard elephant for a two-hour safari through the surrounding jungle and along small streams. When you are up there you realise just how much movement there is in the elephants make as he plods along.

We return to the raft to encounter some of the more dramatic rapids. The barge rises and falls may be just a few feet but never the less there is always the fear of falling over board. At all time while on board the barge everyone is wearing life jackets just in case. We finally dock a few km east of the town of Chiang Rai from where we are taking to the International Airport to catch a flight back to Bangkok.