Well I've been too busy living and have not spent enough time reflecting. A blog update is long overdue and so I will have to so some backtracking here. Ill start with where I am now: sitting in front of a stream in the town of Pai in northern Thailand. I arrived here two days ago and I don't know when I'll leave. Pai is a unique place, situated in the middle of mountains, jungle, and hill tribe villages. It's a magical place, the kind of place where you intend to stay for a few days and then weeks later, you find yourself still here drinking heaps of tea, still meeting new friends.
I left Pattaya after having spent a week down there. Before I left for the north, Monica and I spent a day and a half on the island of koh samet. This island is a popular getaway for Thais who live in Bangkok. We spent the day on the beach and ended up befriending a group of young professionals from Bangkok. You'd have never guessed they were our age, they looked so young and were playing keep-away on the beach, giggling incessantly. They were a fun group and they ended up inviting us to dinner. We had no idea what would ensue. We went to a restaurant on the beach where we sat on mats and ate on low, candle-lit tables. Before we knew it, food started coming to our table, and didn't stop for a solid hour. Dish after dish of delicious Thai cuisine kept coming to our table and we had a family-style, delicious dinner right there on the beach with our new friends. Soon after dinner, there was the most spectacular fire show I've ever witnessed. The fire show would eventually turn into one big dance party. Before I knew it, we were dancing on the beach to "apple bottom jeans" with hundreds of Thais and our new bangkokian friends.
We left koh samet and headed back to Pattaya so we could host a dinner party for some of the bar girls that Monica and her friends had befriended over recent weeks. A few girls that came to the party were supposed to be working but New Love Outeach (monicas nonprofit) was able to pay for their bar fines so they could come to the party. It was a great time together involving a delicious meal, broken Thai-English conversations, guitar-playing, and some Bollywood dancing!
The next morning, I took off to Bangkok and then took a flight up to Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand, near the Myanmar border. I couchsurfed here with an Aussie and left for the mountains on Wednesday morning. I had heard about this town, Pai, and it intrigued from the first time I had heard about it. I had heard that the journey to get here was pretty hair-raising and since I get carsick very easily, I was nervous. It's a three hour bus ride through the mountains with exactly 763 curves. I guess God was watching out for me because I somehow scored the very front seat, next to the driver. I also was able to bum a Dramamine off of a Canadian girl in the bus. Little did I know that this Canadian girl and her friend would be my roommate for the next two nights in Pai! I made it here just fine and was filled excitement the moment I stepped off of the bus. We found a wooden bungalow on the river and the Canadian girls, Heather and Thea, and I took off to explore the town. This town is not only surrounded by beautiful nature, it bursts with flavor and ambiance. It is full of coffee, art, and book shops and the most magical night market. We explored, had dinner at the market, and ended up at a place called edible jazz where we spent the night playing jinga with the owners of the place. Before the night ended, we made plans to explore the area by motorbike with our new thai friends. The next day (yesterday) I rented a motorbike and a group of us took off the explore. We rode through the hills and ended up on a dirt road, passing by hill tribe villagers and incredible views of the valley. Eventually we found ourselves at a hot springs that not many tourist get to see because its so far off of the beaten path. It was quite a trek to get to this place and there was a lot of mud involved. I'm thankful that these new Canadian friends of mine were so cute because these Thai guys were so enthusiastic about taking us on an all-day adventure and I have a feeling they were hoping some romance would ensue. I benefited greatly from their pursuit and so my thanks goes out to the
blond Canadian beauties!
We rode all day on the bikes, stopping by canyons, elephants, and rivers. It was spectacular! At the end of the day we landed at a chai tea shop where a girl with dreds served us the best chai I've ever tasted. Guitar playing and singing would soon follow and before we knew it it was time for dinner...but not before one last ride on the bike at sunset. Heather (one of the Canadian girls) and I hopped on the bike in search of the sunset. It was glorious.
Today I'm taking it easy. I'm hoping to spend the night on an organic farm just outside of town. They allow visitors to stay in their bamboo bungalows in exchange for a little bit of work on the farm. I've always wanted to do something this so I will hopefully find a spot here at the tacompei farm for a few days and learn much about gardening and Thai farming! I am in love with this little town and am excited to see what's in store for the next few days.
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