Trip 'off the rails' renews adventure
Mon 02 April 2007
Jenny Hammer, Journalism
Many women have travelled solo throughout the world, but often after having children, a woman’s travels become a beautiful yet distant memory.
The advent of motherhood changes a woman. She selflessly allows the daily routine of loving and nurturing her children to take precedence over her own needs, which in turn somehow allows her ‘self’ to become lost. And sometimes she needs to find that ‘self’ again, if only for a little while.
So making the decision to trek through the hills of Northern Thailand was not easy. After all, I was a 43-year-old mother of two boys who needed my constant care and attention. So who was I to just go off on my own for two weeks leaving them in the capable hands of their father?
But I had begun to feel restless and in need of different challenges, not just by raising my beautiful children, but as an independent woman who has a passion for travel. So after reassurance from family and friends I started making plans.
Searching the internet for companies specialising in small group travel to off-beat destinations, I settled on an eight-day trek with Intrepid Travel. The trek would take in the sights of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the surrounding hill-tribe villages. It sounded perfect.
However, the moment my trip was finalised, I had a major anxiety attack. What have I done? I was throwing myself in with a bunch of 20-something backpackers who would probably think I was an old piece of mutton trying to be a lamb.
But I needn’t have worried. Our group of 11 was fabulous. They were mostly in their 20s (three of us were over 40), and seven were women travelling alone, like myself.
By the time we boarded the train in Bangkok for the overnight trip to Chiang Mai we were chatting like a bunch of old friends.
Regardless of how you travel, train journey’s are always interesting; particularly in a foreign country. This I discovered as I attempted to shut my window just before we left Bangkok.
I began searching the darkened crevice below the sill for anything resembling a window, but after five minutes realised why I was not having any luck. There wasn’t one! Well that’s not exactly correct, for the frame was still in place, but the glass had long since departed, leaving nothing but balmy air to separate me and the Thai countryside.
Managing to gain the attention of a passing steward I explained with sign language and a broad smile my window predicament. Clearly from the rapid and animated discussion my window dilemma was a problem, or so I thought. Until I heard “special for you madam, yes special window just for you”. Hmm..special indeed!
We discovered the following morning a broken window was the least of our problems, for an hour out of Chiang Mai, with a rather neck-jerking jolt, our train derailed.
Thankfully no-one was hurt, but we realised any further travel did not look promising.
How wrong we were! As one of the locals who had joined many others to inspect the train that went ‘off the rails’ had kindly offered to take us to Chiang Mai.
We arrived safely in Chiang Mai five hours later than planned, a little battered, but energised from the fact we’d had a unique experience.
The following day we began the serious business of trekking. Heading deep into the hills of Chiang Mai Province, we trekked through crystal clear streams and followed meandering tracks that weaved alongside the edge of the Mae Taeng River.
It sounds very dreamy, but after a couple of hours the meandering track disappeared and we soon found ourselves fighting the forest that had overtaken our track.
We made suggestions to Sammi, our local guide that we may be lost. But no, as he continued to slash the deepening forest with a rather threatening machete, he replied, “no not lost, just special track for you”. Hmm think I had heard that somewhere before.
Later, as we entered the village of Lasu, we were greeted by giggling children wearing an array of colourful clothing. At the markets in Chiang Mai we had bought bubble makers for the children, and watching the children play with these simple toys was a humbling experience.
Their infectious laughter and look of wonderment in their eyes as the bubbles floated through the air will forever remain in my memory.
The next part of our journey was taken on rafts made by local villagers. 
With our packs attached to makeshift poles, these solid floating structures carried us along the river as we listened to the sounds of the tropical jungle. The next few days we rode elephants, slept on bamboo mats and endured the horrors of hill-tribe toilets. With small candles our only source of light, we ate delicious Thai curries with small children who delighted in our company.
These experiences broadened my mind and enhanced my life in many ways. For they offered opportunities to encounter beautiful people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe.
But more importantly, travelling again offered the chance to renew, refresh and re-energise. In deciding to take that trip, I was able to show my children the meaning of independence and on my return, pass on my experiences, thus offering them a wealth of knowledge that could never be read in books.
My children now look at their “brave mum” in a different way and fully embrace my love of adventuring into the unknown.
My next trip, in the not too distant future is to trek the Himalayas, but this time I may not go it alone, as my 10-year-old now yearns to don a pack and travel with me to see Mt Everest! Now while we will not attempt to equal Sir Edmund’s feats, trekking the Annapurna Range is on the cards. With a 10-year-old? Well at least it will bring yet another dimension to the beautiful blend of motherhood and travel.
Image(s) designed by Jenny Hammer