Day 14 - Saturday, February 26 - Travel to Pai

Woke up and packed my things - paid my bill, said my goodbyes to Libra (for now) and waited for the mini-bus to Pai.

Pai - population 3000 - pronounced like the English word "bye", not "pie". "Attracted by easy living and a small live music scene, Pai nowadays also features a sizeable collection of long-tern visitors - mostly farang and Japanese - who use the town as a place to chill out betwen excursions elsewhere in Asia".

Pulling away from Libra and Chiang Mai was like pulling away from camp after 8 great weeks. In just one short week, Chiang Mai became a temporary home. With friendly people, a great scene on the river, and the "big city but at the same time small town feel", it has been a remarkable time.

While only 134km from Chiang Mai, it takes about 3 hours due to the steep and winding road. Great views and scenery the entire way. While sometimes a bit vomitatious, beautiful nonetheless.

Near the midway point, the driver explained to us that we were going to pull off the main road and get off the bus for a toilet / snack break and wait for another bus to take us the rest of the way. Apparently, this was the norm and it just wasn't told to us prior. No big deal. As we pulled off the main road and got off the bus, we clearly were not in Kansas any more. There was a little hut on the side of the road with an old man selling drinks and some snacks. In order to make your way to the counter, you had to watch your step as to not get in the way of any chickens, pig, or a few other unidentifiable animals.

It was at this point that I wasn't sure if I was on my way to Pai or if I looked around hard enough, I would spot Jack Colton and Joan Wilder heading to Cartegena with a drug lord following them.

I got a cup of tea as I was feeling a scratchy throat, and sat with a young couple from Switzerland and made some small talk.

Sure enough, the next bus arrived and we boarded. We drove through more winding roads up and down again and again. As we made our final descent, we entered the town of Pai. This place is TINY. It looks like an old Ghost Town but inhabited rather than abandoned.

As the mini-bus was driving down the main road, who did I spot sitting at an outdoor restaurant.....Francis and Marie. I guess that answers the question in yesterdays entry. It has only been 3 days and yet I've run into them already. The bus let us off in the center of town and I walked over to say hello. We chatted for a bit and I walked across the street to see if Charlie's House had any rooms. One left. I'll take it.

It seemed to be very basic but with a HOT shower and toilet in the room, along with a fan (everyone says you don't need Air Con in the mountains)all for 200 baht a night, how could I pass it up.

Put my things down and joined Francis and Marie for a drink. After about 30 minutes, we parted ways yet again and joked about running into them in the south in a few weeks.

I walked around and realized that Pai only has about 4 streets and something was missing. Somethng I had grown to love and hate at the same time for the past 2 weeks. No tuk tuk's, no taxis, and not many cars either. Everyone was walking or driving motorbikes (motorcycles) or regular bicycles. Not many beach cruisers here like you see in Santa Monica or Venice. These bicycles were salvaged from the cold war and brought to Pai as the basic mode of transport. I found the place that rents the motorcycles and asked it they had any mopeds. Just motorcycles. I guess I was going to learn how to ride a motorcycle in the northern parts of Thailand if it was the last thing I did. I made all the plans for renting the bike for tomorrow. It cost 180 baht including all the insurance. The only insurance it doesn't cover is the cost of flying you home to the states in a coffin after trying to navigate the winding roads outside the town. These roads were a must if you wanted to see the waterfalls, hot springs, temples, or anything aside from 4 or 5 streets of the town.

I had some lunch at the restaurant on the corner (the name escapes me).

I walked around some more and ventured down a litle alley (these are where you find the hidden treaures in Thailand cities / towns) and stumbled across "Ice House Thai Massage by Auntie U-Rai." This was quite different from the air conditioned storefront I went to in Bangkok. It was an open air bamboo hut with a few thin mattreses laid out. I explained I was interested in a foot massage and she led me over to a bench where she proceeded to clean my feet with a little soap and water using a little sponge that I'm sure was passed down to Auntie U-Rai by her own Auntie U-Mai who passed away in 1960. After feet were clean, or as clean as they can be, she led me to one of the mattresses and proceeded to work on my feet. At the end of the hour, both legs from knees down were massaged and rubbed and re-energized. I paid my 150 baht and ventured on.

By this point, the faces around me were all familiar. I had walked past the same locals as well as tourists multiple times. I had now seen everyone I was on the mini-bus with at least 2x with the exception of 2 german girls who I was sure were in their guesthouses resting and vomiting from the ride up here. They were both a nice shade of green when we finally arrived.

As I made my way back to Charlies House, I wandered across a market that had since set up on the main road of town. One small chicken skewer later and I arrived back at my room. I plopped down on the bed and realized someting - this room was no more than a painted (about 35 years ago) cinder block room with a few hand made thai curtains and blood stained walls from squashed mosquitos. It may be "secure" but not so sure it's "clean". Who writes for Lonely Planet anyway? I'm going to make that my mission to find out when I get back. While livable, I made the decision to stay the night and find a better place in the AM. Francis and Marie liked their place, "The Blue House", so I'll check to see if they have any rooms tomorrow.

I had all intentions of showering and heading to BeBop Cafe to get a few drinks and hear some music but decided to rest and read a little first. HA! I woke up at midnight and properly tucked myself in.