| Subject: Travel remembrances |
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After an exhausting day hiking through the jungles of Thailand, where
we had slept in bamboo huts on stilts in a different Tribal village every
night for 4 nights, we arrived at the highlight of an 8-day hiking trip
- a clearing in the jungle - our hotel for the night. Our guides had
constructed
bamboo tables and benches and a mug for the hot tea which was awaiting
us. That evening they cooked our dinner in bamboo receptacles which they
made and wrapped the rice in banana leaves and steamed it. A treat was
cold beer they had buried in the ground a few days earlier to keep cool.
They had also constructed a roof which sloped to the ground at the back
and was propped up at the front by four 5ft poles of bamboo, leaving three
sides open. They covered the ground with banana leaves for us to sleep
on.
For fun my husband and I had planned a dress for dinner night and on arriving at the jungle hotel decided this was it! I had taken along a floor length pink spaghetti strap dress and matching stole. My husband had a black long sleeved T-shirt which had a tux painted in white on the front. At the jungle call for dinner we emerged from the trees dressed for dinner to much mirth from the other hikers, but the faces of our guides, who were always dressed in their native costumes, was priceless. An unforgettable night lying in our sleeping bags looking at the sky and stars as we'd never before seen them. Barbara Toronto, Canada |