It was with great pleasure, I read about hiking in the January and February 1995 edition of The Phuket Gazette. We have of cource tried the hiking from waterfall to waterfall, it's a very nice trail, well overmarked, the easiest way to walk it, is from Bang Pae waterfall.
I have to mention , that the real pathfinders on Phuket are hashers, and after that the trails used by the locals to work the rubber, palm oil and pineapple plantation etc. Occasional trails formed by hashers are taken over for local use.
And then some of you probably ask, what is HASH !!! my dear readers, its for sure not a smoking club, but a running club, we are running every Saturday, departure from The Expat Hotel in Patong at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
But what are you doing on those runs ?We have good fun,on most of the runs, in the jungle, seeingsomething, a normal visitor to Phuket not wouldbe able to see. We have 920 members registrered, with approximately 150 out every Saturday, 50% Thai -50% farang.
It must be strong members, running every Saturday? Yes, and no, I have to admit that we have some members - as we are saying - runners with a drinking problem or drinkers with a running problem. Yes ,here I have to admit again, You are right, of course we have that problem, especially with the antipodeans, members with a drinking problem as well as a running problem.
Now its time to present myself, and my two pathfinders (or as we are saying in Denmark "gang"leaders).
I will start with my two "friends". Dubai, thats his hashname (and I will only - as a loyal hasher - usehashnames) he is from U.K. and the founding hash Grand Master on Phuket, then we have White Pointer, he is the present G.M. and from Australia, and then myself,I am Popeye, a normal thinking hasherfrom Denmark. We are together160 years old, and total weight are app. 510 pounds !! White Pointer the youngest, but his weight is counting heavily.
What in the hell are you trying to say ?Oh, you see, my mother and younger brother went down to visit me in November 1994 on a two weeks holiday, they told me,they would like to go for treking up north in Chaingmai.. I told them of course that they could join the hashrun, and they did, but they still wanted to go up north. OK they went up, but after that, I asked myself,why not do treking on Phuket,why are we sending tourists up north, it must be better to keep them down here.Thats why we started up with treking.
We have now been working - walking - nearly all over Phuket for the last three months,we are out four days per. week, finding trails, if we can'tfind trails, we make them ourselves, weare outevery time for 3-4 hours. Holy Moses, you must get tired ? Yes,you are right, its a hard life, and we have only two days for playing golf,the last day in the week,we are relaxing on the normal Saturday hashrun.
We\I have a lot of fun, and we\ I have our rules.
When we are going out, its normally Dubai orWhite Pointer who are in front ( before they read this they don't know why), its not the snakes or spiders, and wesee lots, but red ants I am afraid of. Its good to walk behind, and when one of them is "dancing" around, because he got red ants all over himself, I know,I have to walkpast very carefully.
It reminds me of a hashrun in January 1992 near Chalong, White Pointer and myselves were the two last runners, I had to wait, and suddenly behind us, we heard a girl screaming "help help", I, with White Pointer a long way behind me, ran back, just to find a young girl from Canada covered in red ants, I did what I had to do, but White Pointer, that bastard, told her to take all her clothes of, so he could be sure he could kill all the ants !!!!!
Once we went out from Choeng Thale near Bang Tao, to find a "trail to Kamala" we were walking up and up on a nice trail for about two hours nearly straight to the top of the mountain, and suddenly, no trail,to be honest, thats normal, I back in the packshouted "checking", its the same on a Saturday run, there its normally the Dutchmens who are shouting .Of couse Dubai went to the right, and White Pointer to the left, I was well pissed from the day before, so I was just standing listening to the wild monkeyshowling. Well after have been smokingtwo pipes with good danish tobacco, drinking nearly all thewater (I had to tell them, don't take it out, I will take care) . I was suddenly well going, I made a few burpes as they went back after 45 minutes out on there own, they where tired and dehydrating, but I succeded totake them down.
And as you all knowAustralians enjoing nature. Another time we were out, I once again was taking care of the bottles with water, White Pointer was laying down in the creek, drinking heavily, and told us, that this water was the best he ever had tasted, 10 yards further up in the creek I was looking at Dubai, pissing in the creek. I am sure that this is the closestWhite Pointer will get to be English.
My dear readers, if there is anyone left, this was a little abount treking and hashing.
We will in the near future be able to offer tourists, and locals, treking trips around on Phuket. What do you think ? A treking trip from Patong, up in the mountains into the jungle and straigt out to Laem Sing, a3 1/2 hours walk. Relaxing on the beach,and a longtailboat back to Patong !!!!!!
It will be something like this, we will be able to offer.
But first of all will we make a four days treking trip on Phuket in April, we will be treking throughreally close jungle, where no white man has ever been before, this trip will only be available for hashers, and onlyfor hashers we know can make it !!!!!!!!!
ON ON / GO FOR IT
POPEYE
FOUR DAYHASH WALK!!!
TEMPORARY PROGRAM
Day 1 - Wednesday 19th. April 1995
Meeting at noon in front of Expat. Transport by car to Kalim.
Kalim, up and over to Kamala, further up and over to Ban Na Tit
(the pig).
The walk will take app. 4 1/2 hours and will
include 45 minutes walk in water.
Transport to Bang Tao
Bungalows where we will stay for the night.
Day 2 - Thursday 20th. April 1995
We will start 10 o'clock, walking from Bang Tao near the
beachfront out to the 350 laager, further on and up in the
mountain (khao Muang), down to Nai Ton Beach where we will have
lunch and a swim.
This walk will take 3 hours.
After
have being relaxing for 1-2 hours, we will walk from Nai Ton up
over Khao Rugh and down to Nai Yang where we will stay for the
night.
This walk will take 1 1/2 hours.
Total walk
for the day 4 1/2 hours.
Day 3 - Friday 21st. April 1995
We will start 10 o'clock, walking from Nai Yang up and over at
part of Khao Sai Tam Kliang ending up near Ban Pa Khok,
transport by car to Bang Pae Waterfall where we will have
lunch.
This walk etc. will take 2 hours. Note !!walk in
water.
After lunch a walk from Bang Pae Waterfall to Tone
Sai Waterfall, waterstop, and a walkfrom Tone Sei out close to
the Monument.
Transport from the Monument to Phuket town
where we will stay for the night.
This walk etc. will
take 3 1/2 hours.
Total walk for the day 5 1/2 hours.
Day 4 - Saturday 22th. April 1995
Under preparation !! start 11 o'clock from a place near Phuket
town, walk up and over to Karon, The Little Mermaid, where we
will have lunch etc.
This walk will take app. 2 1/2 hours.
After
lunch, transport near to the laager for the Hash run, 30 to 60
minutes walk into the laager.
Total walk for the day 3 to
4 hours.
It is possible to join for 1 or 2 days, and you
don't need to stay out, there will be transport to Patong.
Price,
you just have to pay for lodging, food and drinks and for
transportation.
Our luggage will be transported by car
from place to place. You should carry a rucksack, for water,
extra shirt, socks and shoes.
A good advice - you need a
stick, and footwear in very good condition.
Grade of difficulty.
Day 1 -Mauraud
Day 2 -Saturday hash
Day 3 -Tinman
Day
4 -Saturday hash
White Pointer Dubai Popeye
FOUR DAY HASH WALK !
TRANSPORT PROGRAM
DAY 1 - WEDNESDAY 19TH. APRIL 1995
AT NOON (12 0'CLOCK) IN FRONT OF EXPAT.
TRANSPORT
TO KALIM.
AT FIVE (5 P.M.) IN THE AFTERNOON, YOU
HAVE TO BE AT BAN NA TIT, (THE PIG) THATS THE ROAD BETWEEN THE
MONUMENT AND SURIN, FROM THE MONUMENT TURN LEFT JUST UPPERSIDE
THE PIG, FOLLOW THE BLACKTOP OVER THE LITTLE WOODEN BRIDGE AND
FOLLOW THE BLACKTOP ROAD TO THE RIGHT, MEETINGPOINT, THE END OF
THAT ROAD !!!!
TRANSPORT TO BANG TAO BUNGALOWS.
DAY 2 - THURSDAY 20TH. APRIL 1995
9.45 MORNING AT BANG TAO BUNGALOWS.
11.15
NEAR THE 350 LAGER.
12.15 TAKE THE NEW ROAD
AGAINST NAI TON, MEETINGPOINT WHERE THE NEW AND OLD ROAD ARE
CROSSING THE FIRST TIME !!!
2 P.M . IN NAI TON,
YOU ARE STILL ON THE NEW ROAD, WHERE YOU ARE GOING IN TO NAI
TON YOU WILL SEE THE SCHOOL TO THE RIGHT, MEETINGPOINT, THE
SMALL TABLES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD, JUST UPPERSIDE THE
SCHOOL. MOGENS WILL BE THERE WITH LUNCH.
5 P.M. IN
NAI YANG, MEETINGPOINT, ON THE BEACH IN FRONT OF PEARL VILLAGE
HOTEL.
TRANSPORT TO OUR BUNGALOVS.
DAY 3 - FRIDAY 21ST. APRIL 1995
9.45 MORNING AT OUR BUNGALOVS.
11.45 IN
BAN PA KHOK, WHERE ROAD 4027 ARE GOING AGAINST PO BAY.
MEETINGPOINT,
AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MAINROAD CLOSE TO THE TEMPEL..
TRANSPORT
TO BANG PAE WATERFALL.
3.30 P.M. AT TONE SAI
WATERFALL.
5 P.M. WE WILL SHOW YOU, THE
MEETINGPOINT WILL BE 1.7 KM NORTH OF THE MONUMENT TO THE RIGHT.
IMPORTANT !!
AT THIS POINT YOU MUST HAVE WATER AND COLD BEERS.
TRANSPORT
TO MIANO'S FOR DINNER ETC.
DAY 4 - SATURDAY 22TH. APRIL 1995
10 O'CLOCK MORNING AT MIANO'S.
TRANSPORT OUT CLOSE
TO WAT CHALONG.
1 P.M. AT THE LITTLE MERMAID IN
KARON. LUNCH ETC.
3 P.M. TRANSPORT TO RAWAI,
CLOSE, VERY CLOSE, TO THE LAAGER.
3.55 P.M SEE YOU AT
THE LAAGER FOR A COLD BEER.