We were picked up from Chiang Mai by a taxi (not really a taxi, a pickup with bench seats down the outside) along with an American who had been travelling for over a year, 3 English lads at uni on holiday, and 2 English sisters who were proper slappers, having been out all night but ominously, neither having stayed at their guesthouse that night, so had got in the taxi still in tiny dresses but looking dog rough with makeup smeared everywhere. This little group plus a quiet French bloke made up our little minibus ride up and around the mountains to the chilled out little town of Pai. Having arrived and given a map of the town and realised that the places to stay were well spread out, so we picked a few in our price range, rented a motorbike, dumped our bags and went off exploring. A few miles later, we had a really nice place to stay. We left the bike, went for a walk and a couple of drinks, got some BRILLIANT pad thai from a night stall and went back to the room to eat it out of the sudden downpour.
At breakfast the next morning, we realised that it didn't justify the higher price for the room, so we checked out and moved our bags to another place, then set out exploring for the day with a pretty crude map as our only guidance.
We first rode toward a waterfall. We started on road, then dirt road, then track, until we were stopped in front of a bend in a stream. I looked around and walked up the stream a 100 yards, but could see no track or any evidence of a waterfall, so we turned around and rode off in search of natural hot springs. We passed a few elephants, and came to a private place that pumped the hot springs into pools in their garden, but they were pants and not what Jo was after, so we carried on and found the state run pools. There were about 7 of them in all that you could sit in, one flowing down into the next. We got in the third and it was really hot. I managed to get in, but Jo took about 10mins, so we moved to a slightly cooler one further down. There were also two pools where the water bubbled from the ground which was 80degrees, and you could buy eggs in little bamboo baskets to drop in and boil for a snack. After chilling out there for a while we got peckish, so we rode off back to town via the WW2 bridge... Which wasn't actually built in WW2, but in the 1920's and then dismantled from Chiang Mai and shipped to Pai to replace the WW2 built bridge under Japanese occupation after it had swept away in the 70's. Still a nice bridge though!
We spent the evening and night eating and drinking and being merry!
The following morning we got up to make the most of the bike for our last full day. We first rode out to another waterfall, where Jo made friends with a puppy that must have had a bit of mountain goat in its genes judging by the way it was jumping all over the rocks. We rode for miles around the stunning mountainous scenery, and eventually reached another waterfall, this one with a lagoon at its base. Jo wasn't in the mood to strip off, but I couldn't let the opportunity pass, so I got down to my boxers and went for a refreshing swim under the falls. We walked back to the bike, I tied my soaking boxers to the back to trail in the wind, and we headed towards town. En route we came across a cafe called 'Coffee in Love'. This was a charming little place with views all over the valley and the hills, and pretty good coffee too. We sat for quite a while until the bike was due back, dropped it off, and went back to our guesthouse, where we sat in the gardens by the river. Jen had given me some blank postcards and some paints, so armed with these and some felt-tips and crayons, we made up our own postcards to send home.
That evening was clear and dry, and a lot more market stalls were out than the previous nights, and for some reason every douchebag, hippy-wannabe, dreadlock-wearing westerner was also out in force. I find it strange that of all the out of the way places, where life is truly different to that of back home, that we've been, none of these people settle or even go, but in Thailand, where every convenience of home can be found, these people settle and play at being so different and ethnic despite doing the same sort of job as home with the same luxuries as home. It makes me wonder what they are running from.
Anyway, I had pad thai again (it was just that damn good) and we walked around all the little stalls, a couple of beers and played some cards, then headed back to our room as places closed up.
Next morning we were up pretty early, walked into the centre, had breakfast and hopped on the minibus to take us back to Chiang Mai and from there onto the nightbus to Bangkok.
At breakfast the next morning, we realised that it didn't justify the higher price for the room, so we checked out and moved our bags to another place, then set out exploring for the day with a pretty crude map as our only guidance.
We first rode toward a waterfall. We started on road, then dirt road, then track, until we were stopped in front of a bend in a stream. I looked around and walked up the stream a 100 yards, but could see no track or any evidence of a waterfall, so we turned around and rode off in search of natural hot springs. We passed a few elephants, and came to a private place that pumped the hot springs into pools in their garden, but they were pants and not what Jo was after, so we carried on and found the state run pools. There were about 7 of them in all that you could sit in, one flowing down into the next. We got in the third and it was really hot. I managed to get in, but Jo took about 10mins, so we moved to a slightly cooler one further down. There were also two pools where the water bubbled from the ground which was 80degrees, and you could buy eggs in little bamboo baskets to drop in and boil for a snack. After chilling out there for a while we got peckish, so we rode off back to town via the WW2 bridge... Which wasn't actually built in WW2, but in the 1920's and then dismantled from Chiang Mai and shipped to Pai to replace the WW2 built bridge under Japanese occupation after it had swept away in the 70's. Still a nice bridge though!
We spent the evening and night eating and drinking and being merry!
The following morning we got up to make the most of the bike for our last full day. We first rode out to another waterfall, where Jo made friends with a puppy that must have had a bit of mountain goat in its genes judging by the way it was jumping all over the rocks. We rode for miles around the stunning mountainous scenery, and eventually reached another waterfall, this one with a lagoon at its base. Jo wasn't in the mood to strip off, but I couldn't let the opportunity pass, so I got down to my boxers and went for a refreshing swim under the falls. We walked back to the bike, I tied my soaking boxers to the back to trail in the wind, and we headed towards town. En route we came across a cafe called 'Coffee in Love'. This was a charming little place with views all over the valley and the hills, and pretty good coffee too. We sat for quite a while until the bike was due back, dropped it off, and went back to our guesthouse, where we sat in the gardens by the river. Jen had given me some blank postcards and some paints, so armed with these and some felt-tips and crayons, we made up our own postcards to send home.
That evening was clear and dry, and a lot more market stalls were out than the previous nights, and for some reason every douchebag, hippy-wannabe, dreadlock-wearing westerner was also out in force. I find it strange that of all the out of the way places, where life is truly different to that of back home, that we've been, none of these people settle or even go, but in Thailand, where every convenience of home can be found, these people settle and play at being so different and ethnic despite doing the same sort of job as home with the same luxuries as home. It makes me wonder what they are running from.
Anyway, I had pad thai again (it was just that damn good) and we walked around all the little stalls, a couple of beers and played some cards, then headed back to our room as places closed up.
Next morning we were up pretty early, walked into the centre, had breakfast and hopped on the minibus to take us back to Chiang Mai and from there onto the nightbus to Bangkok.
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