I arrived in Chiang Mai 6 days before George would be meeting me and I didn't want him to miss any of it, especially the elephants so I took it easy wondered around on my rented bike checking out hotels for his arrival, got a couple massages, went to the movies, went to a local club with a couple English teachers, enjoyed mango shakes, numberous coffees and Kau Soy, the curry noodle dish special to the north. I spent two nights before I hit the road for the smaller hill town of Pai.
A minivan picked me up and was soon filled with other travelers who all wanted to see the famous Pai. We were told it was only a three hour minivan ride through the mountains. Our van climbed and climbed into beautiful scenery overlooking the valleys. We drove fairly slow around numerous switchbacks and a few of us started to feel a little queasy, if you are prone to car sickness this is definitly a trip to set it off even in the most hardened of us. On my way I met another girl my age traveling as well and we decided hang together.
As we arrived we were given free motorbikes to use for an hour to find a hotel. We were both very excited having never driven one, though they were only free for the experienced. It was only a little white lie.... We got on our bikes and mostly drove around exploring, and not guesthouse, bungalow options. We gave back our bikes after our hour of learning to drive and found a place right in town.
The town town of Pai is filled with cute bars, coffee shops, shops with artisan and artsy sale items and has a real backpacker, artsy feel. It is very small and everyone is very nice. It is a slow paced town and a wonderful change. We spent our night dinning and drinking cocktails at a couple of the low key bars, listened to live music and met a group of four other backpackers who were leaving on a motorbike trip the next day. We decided to join.
The next morning we rented our motorbikes and met up with the other four. We were a gang of 6. We had a quick breakfast and hit the road. Pai is in the northeastern part of Thailand and is close to many caves, waterfalls, and hill tribes. It boarders with Myanmar and has a lot of Chinese influence.
We set off without a true destination but with hopes of crossing into Myanmar for the day. Our confidence quickly improved as we drove our bikes into the hills and down the valleys. The countryside was absolutely breathtaking. Green rice patties in the valleys with beaufiul green hillsides and bright flowers. The riding became relaxing and enjoyable. We saw waterfalls and small towns and eventually arrived at a very small town on the boarder with Myanmar. It was getting to be late afternoon and we were all quit hungry.
The quiet town we stopped in was deserted. Only a couple people about and one expensive restaurant. As we looked for cheaper food a couple school girls pointed us to a big empty restaurant where the owner came running from no where to open for us. As the orders went in food was very slow to come out. Eventually, asian style, orders came out one at a time with a lot of time waiting. As we waited we looked for guesthouses but the others were set on finding something cheaper which meant moving on to another town.
It was already getting late, past four and it would be getting dark. Against my recommendation and better judgement we left for the next big town over an hour away. We got on our bikes as huge rain clouds rolled in. I prepaired myself for the miserable journey ahead. As we drove it grew dark and started to rain heavily. We creaped through the hills and down the roads, stopped for gas and searched for a new guesthouse in the bigger town. Eventually we found one, but it didn't save us much dough, go figure.
By the time we got in it was late and I was freezing. I stripped off my wet clothes, asked the owner for a blanket, I am pretty sure he thought I was nuts, and tried to warm myself. Eventually I got warm and fell asleep. The next day we got back on our bikes and road back to Pai. The drive was equally amazing and enjoyable as my clothes had luckily dried overnight.
My last couple nights back in Pai were spent at a very cheap bungalow with the others. We had to cross a not so safe bridge over a stream to get there. We explored on bikes the surrounding area finding waterfalls and beautiful bungalows, scenery, canyons, ravines, hot springs and elephant camps. Additionally, during one of my bright ideas I decided to try Mai Thai.......
Mai Thai is Thai boxing. When watched it's like a dance. The boxers bounce around to the beat of drums trying to kick the living daylights out of eachother using their hands, feet, elbows and knees. I thought it would be like a kick boxing class for two hours. I arrived at the training facility and was placed with a trainer. We started jump roping then got immediatly into basics, stance, arm position and movement. Then I began to beat him up. Kick, punch, punch, elbow, knee, knee, knee etc etc. The trainer seemed impressed. He kept on me and pushing me and told me one month training and I would be really good. Feeling confident I continued fighting hard.
As I punched and kicked and the trainer blocked I realized my leg was starting to hurt where I had been kneeing and his hand blocking. As I looked down I realized the vien in my right leg above my knee had swollen up far beyond it's normal size. I freaked out and stopped the training. They poked and proded at my vien in my leg and the viens in my arm like a science project shocked. They gave me some rub for my leg and tried to convince me to continue. I went with my gut and took it easy. Within an hour a bruise the size of a soccer ball took over my leg.
Pai: http://picasaweb.google.com/linseypaddock/Pai?authkey=Gv1sRgCL_7jOHs9cLfTQ&feat=directlink
No comments:
Post a Comment