Chiang Mai Saturday Hash House Harriers
Drinking and Running Since 1991
Hash Trash 1529
Grand Master – Skid Mark Haberdasher – Juicy Fruit
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 # 1530
Today’s run was in celebration of Chatterbox’s 15th birthday- another year closer to becoming a true hasher; a drinker with a running problem, that is. The location for today’s event was at G & M’s sausage factory out in Sankampeng, and Chatterbox along with Skid Mark were the hares.
Skid Mark gave the hare brief, the usual sort of stuff , the only point of interest being it was going to be a B to A affair. Meaning, we would have to be taken to the B bucket by some means or other. This shouldn’t have been a particularly notable event with a lot of the hashers going in the songteaw, so many in fact, that it looked as if the front wheels of the truck were going to leave the ground. The rest of us, about eight in all, were destined to travel in Titty Smoker’s truck. The only problem with this arrangement was that Titty Smoker was going to run too. Consequently, Skid Mark ended up driving. It didn’t start at all well, literally, with Skid Mark being unable to turn the key in the ignition also another point of contention was that Titty Smoker’s truck has a manual transmission and it became immediately evident that Skid Mark hadn’t driven a manual car for quite some time. This became particularly obvious as we arrived at the B bucket where I think he must have stopped the car without depressing the clutch giving all of us, traveling in the back, a practical demonstration of Newton’s First Law of Motion as we were all sent flying forward by the abruptness of the stop. We, thankfully, all alighted the truck in one piece albeit a little shaken.
A hallmark of runs set by Skid Mark is that they are generally pretty flat. Today’s run was no exception. This area of Sangampeng is about 90% rice fields and at the hare brief we had been informed that we would be running on the perimeter of these fields, but at no point would the trail take us directly through any of the lush green cereal crop. About twenty of us in all set off and it wasn’t long before we came to the first circle check. When the correct trail had been located I found myself towards the rear of the pack accompanied by Turkish who had decided to take a leisurely stroll and give the FRBing a miss for the day. We passed a beautiful example of an authentic Lanna style house with Turkish and myself taking a little time to appreciate the aesthetic charm of the traditional architecture. We carried on a little further passed a few cattle.They all looked pretty sedate, so I don’t think anyone had startled them that much. We then came across the Frbs who were just returning from a false trail excursion. So there we were again in the thick of the action.
We went through a wooded area and came to a steep ditch which we needed to cross and the only means of getting over it was a semi submerged, dodgy, wobbly plank. As I crossed the ditch I slipped slightly and my one foot sank deep in the abyss of the shitty, murky, horrible, water. I didn’t think anyone saw my stumble only to clamber up the other side of the ditch to find Snowballs videoing the whole event.
At this time of year the rice fields are an amazing spectacle in their own right with that almost florescent hue of green radiating across the countryside that seems unique to the rice crop. But for the rice to grow an awful amount of water is needed and that is exactly what we have been having for the past few weeks making the ground treacherously slippery, so great caution had to be observed at all times as we made our way around the field. Again I found myself at the back of the pack when I happened to look behind me to see HRA. He is not usually someone you find among the rear runners. He informed me, as he passed, that he had had to answer a call of nature, so adding a little more fertilizer to the fertile countryside.
We carried on passing many rice fields squelching our way through a constant quagmire of mud. Also we seemed to be passing many cattle along the way, but there didn’t seem to be very much cow shit to be avoided on the trail which was very good. We finally got back onto a firm asphalt road which took us back to the A bucket.
In this rainiest time of the rainy season the weather conditions for the run could only be described as perfect. Even in absentia our illustrious RA, Mr. Wao, once again came up with the goods. I wasn’t aware of any mushrooms collected which I find quite surprising given the fertile nature of the area we had been running in. In all I clocked up just over 5 km and it took me just over an hour. A very pleasurable run through a nice area, thanks guys.
OnOn Stumbling Dyke…