Pai

 Not a lot to write about, but I have moved on to Pai for a few days.

Said goodbye to our friendly hostel owner Tim, took my last look over Chiang Mai and headed for the minibus to Pai.

Morning over Chiang Mai

Friendly Tim

The bus only took about 10 of us and they'd packed it full. I got a comfy seat by the window and was planning to just listen to music for the 4 hour drive.




A group of French people got on and one started complaining that his girlfriend was going to have to sit up front with the driver as there wasn't enough room. I offered to swap - made no difference to me. What I didn't realise was that I would be on the middle seat between a surly looking fella and the driver. This meant I had no headrest and had to jam my knees in to the left of the radio. I probably wouldn't have offered if I'd known.

Said hi to the grumpy guy next to me  - a Greek fella called Nikos - as soon as we found out we had similar names we hit it off. I didn't really want to chat, but that was okay because Nikos had a 2 hour monologue prepared about his last 5 months of travelling. I sat and listened and tried to stay awake.

It's nice hearing people's travelling stories and it's what everybody here's got in common I suppose, but it gets to be a bit of a drag after a while and I needed a break. After an hour or so I got out my MP3 as a not-so-subtle hint. I even told Nikos that I was going to listen to some music. He then started to tell me a story about when his MP3 player was stolen by a traveller in Mongolia. Musical journey denied.

The road to Pai was very winding and mountainous with stunning views and everyone had to brace themselves for the sharp bends. It was all too much for one girl who threw up and we had to pull over pretty sharpish so she could have a break. She then swapped with Nikos so that she could have her head out of the front window.

So I was now in between the driver and the sick girl. Was bracing myself for a very unpleasant last hour of the journey, but she started feeling better and it turned out she was a TEFL teacher from Perth, so we spent the time discussing mixed ability classes, classroom management techniques and which nationality is the best to teach. Boring for anyone else, but we had a great time.

Pai seems very chilled out. This is clearly where all the younger people have been hiding out all this time. Lots of trekking, piranha fishing and cycling to do. Lots of nice little bars and restaurants, jewellery and clothes shops, all surrounded by lush green mountains - it's a really beautiful place.

Indiana Jones bridge

But the BEST bit is my hut. Over the river on a rickety bridge (that makes me feel like Indiana Jones) is this little group of huts. About 5 quid for the night, so I think I'll stay a few days here as it's really cool. Depends how much I get bitten tonight.

My hut