Chiang Mai Saturday Hash House Harriers
Drinking and Running Since 1991
Hash Trash 1550 Grand Master – Skid Mark Haberdasher – Hot Nipples
Historian & Awards Master – Superman Hash Cash – Titty Smoker
Joint Master – Just Cumming Beer Monster – Deep Throat
Religious Advisor – Chuck Wao Hare Raiser – Bushy Tail
Deputy Beer Monster – Sheep Shagger On Sec.– Stumbling Dyke
Run 1551 – 1552
After a great deal of uncertainty and even postponement – thanks, once again, to our old friend Mr Covid – We finally got the go ahead to embark on our long awaited outstation. We packed our bags, got into our cars and trucks and headed for the mountains. The Thai Corruption were in charge of the weekend’s proceedings with Cool Balls and Just Cumming taking up the haring duties for this the second outstation under the Skid Mark regime. The location for CSH3’s latest incursion outside of Chiang mai was Doi Chang in the sub district of Mae Suai in the province of Chiang Rai. An elevation of about 1,300 meters, a full 1,000 meters above that of Chiangmai, provided us with some spectacular views along with a noticeably cooler temperature. The drive to the resort was in itself somewhat of an adventure as steep, twisty and precarious roads had to be negotiated to achieve the high altitude. Some of the bends had no protective barriers which could result in serious consequences for the unwary driver, so supreme caution had to be observed at all times. However, the views were absolutely spectacular. it felt quite literally like being on top of the world.
For the Saturday run most of the usual suspects had made the 170 km journey along with a few visitors joining us from Bangkok and Pattaya. In all I estimated about 40 hashers in total. We all assembled at the Jadai Resort in Doi Chang. Cool Balls gave the hare brief where he assured us we were going to be in for a flat run. This was obviously not going to be the case as the location we were in had only two directions, those being either up or down. The run was a B to A, so we all clambered into two trucks. One of them was a dilapidated old Toyota Hilux which looked very similar to the Toyota they tried to kill on the BBC TV show – Top Gear. If you haven’t seen it, I would certainly recommend you check it out on YouTube – Just type in – BBC Top Gear Killing a Toyota. You will be amazed at the tenacity and resilience of the Toyota and a classic piece of British TV.
We arrived at the B site and everyone started alighting the trucks as we were doing so we noticed someone, about 50 meters behind us, had fallen off their motorcycle. Luckily no injuries were sustained, but it turned out to be Bear Bum a hasher from many years ago and a one time employee of the old Hash Pub. I hadn’t seen her in about 10 years. It turned out Doi Chang was here home town.
As previously mentioned the area we were in had only two directions and we set off in the downward direction of the two options and we kept going down and down. My only thought as we kept descending the side of this very steep mountain through the ubiquitous coffee plants was that at some stage we will have to turn round and start ascending this monolith of a mountain. An inevitable eventuality I wasn’t looking at all forward to. After what seemed ages the trail seemed to level off and we carried on a flat trajectory which was a welcome relief as the trail we had descended on was so steep it had put great strain on my knees. At this point I was at my usual, and actually preferred, place in the pack and that is right at the back. Not long after, I passed Sticky Mango’s son and his girlfriend – sorry, I don’t know their names – who had stopped. I couldn’t make out whether it was out of exhaustion or if they had stopped to admire the view.
Another few hundred meters or so brought us to the very welcome beer stop where we had the option between the Wimp and Rambo. I chose the Rambo and carried on following the dusty trails passing various plantations. At one point I was in an area surrounded by tomato plants. After a while the moment I had been dreading came and the inevitable ascent of the mountain started. Although the incline wasn’t necessarily that steep, it went on and on sapping all my energy. At one point, I stopped to catch my breath and was passed by an old farmer guy who was obviously no spring chicken but seemed to romp up the hill without so much as a by or leave. As Pussy Whisperer remarked later, you never see anyone over weight in this area. After a lot of puffing and panting and the utterance of the odd expletive, I eventually made my way back onto the road and back to the resort. The run was about 6km and one of the best cardio vascular work outs I’ve ever had in a long time. That being said, it was a magnificent run with spectacular views. Amazing job guys.
The evening saw the usual social get together with copious amounts of alcohol consumed. As I said before the outside temperature was significantly cooler than that in Chiangmai. So the resort organized a bon fire in one of the out buildings. This induced a very convivial and relaxing atmosphere. It’s quite paradoxical to think we were all actually enjoying sitting round an open fire in the tropics. This is not an activity I have engaged in before, in all the time I’ve been in Thailand. But it was a very pleasant experience.
Chuck Wao took over the mantel for the hangover run the next morning. This in traditional style was a short run of about 20 minutes or so. Although very much an abridged kind of run, he managed to condense all the elements of a good hash run into a short but sweet event. There was a little bit of shiggy combined with the odd hill or two. He even took us through a swampy area which is very uncharacteristic of him. I’m sure you are all aware marshy ground to Chuck Wao is like a crucifix to a vampire. The run took us through a coffee processing plant where Superman and Juicy Fruit explained the drying process of the coffee beans to me. Proving every hash is an education. A great little run to top off an excellent weekend. Thanks to the Thai connection for all the time and effort you put into organizing this outstanding outstation.
OnOn Stumbling Dyke…