Had a Hangover 2 inspired night in Bangkok to farewell the NZ ladies, buckets, cheap beers from the asian version of the 2-4. It all got messy. Error not booking a bus earlier, all full, so train it was up to Chaing Mai in North Thailand. Bit more coin spent but you get a bed and it feels cool training. My six60 songs play as we travel into the unknown. Quite a fitting soundtrack. Arrive in Chiang Mai at 7ish in the morning. The only reason I'm really coming up to this neck of the woods is to visit the much talked about town of Pai, the golf pro from the previous blog raved, have some days to kill so yeah why not. Chiang Mai is nice city with an old quarter surrounded by a mote. People are super friendly and aren't out to scam you. Standard cheesy tourist operations though, jungle treks to not so ethnic villages, elephant rides, trips to see drugged up tigers, all at a price. Yawn. Some people love that stuff, I don't. Pretty much given up reading any guide books now as they all say that crap is a must do and just going off what fellow travelers say.
Arrive at the backpackers, first accom I have booked in 2 months. High season and i didn't want to get caught out missing a room in a dirt cheap place. Top place recommended by a Canadian I met. Free Internet so type in Pai, scrolling through the google pages I stumble across the keywords: '700km motorbike loop pai', trip sorted. Rent myself a Honda Wave the next day and head off. National park on the way with the highest point in Thailand. In Edmund Hilary style I knock the bastard off by driving the road right to the top, greeted by Thai tourists, a selection of high quality cameras taking photos of not much and kids on a school trip. Do a u-turn and back down the hill. Switch engine off and coast down the majority, fuel was running scarce. 80km detour, froze my ass off at the top, gets cold in north Thailand. Like sub 5. Shorts were a bad call. It's high 20's at the bottom though. Back on main road and a nice drive to Khan Yuam some 250km away. Thais know how to build roads, and they are super nice. Asphalt smoother than a babies bottom. I'll discuss my bottom soon.
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| View from Khan Yuam |
Up and down through valleys, passing locals in their ethic get up. Smell of herbs and pine in the air, it's heaven to the nostrils. Arrive in Kuam Yuan. Chilled town, chilled people in a picturesque valley. This side of Thailand is what I have been looking for. Find the only place to stay in town and hunker down for the night, unseasonal rain storm over night. The rain increased the beauty of the place 10 fold as mist rolled over the hills and nostrils once again treated to more goodness raised by the rain in the morning. This 750km loop contains over 4000 corners apparently, making for some excellent riding. Off to Pai via Mae Hong Son. This place is famous for the long necked women with the brass rings. Back in NZ it was on my to do list to see them. But when you find out they are refugees that fled Burma, have no access to Thai services, are not allowed to leave even though NZ has agreed to accept them as refugees and that the Thai government is using them purely as a money making tourist attraction it puts you off. I passed signs to the Human zoos without hesitation. Just wrong. Some have even been relocated to Chiang Mai as a tourist attraction. Great work Thailand. Shame people are so ignorant and still visit them.
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| Human zoo inhabitants (google image) |
It's a rough life on your bum doing countless kilometers on a motorbike, vibrations and bumps take their toll. There is a sweet spot somewhere on the seat where pain is absent but finding this is harder than finding that one piece of crucial information from one lecture slide in your folder that is overflowing with notes during exam time. You have to work to find it, usually I give up, pack a sad, pull over and attempt some dodgy looking butt stretches that a child would be scarred for life viewing.
Reach Pai, due to corners completely throwing my otherwise reliable human compass I go the wrong way at the intersection. Realise the f up soon enough and back track to Spicy Pai Backpackers. Recommended by a Dutch girl who stayed there for 3 weeks I chatted to back in Chiang Mai. Pai is chiiiilllllled. Dread lock Thais, opshops, tie dye shops, reggae music, hippie peoples. Salty as. A place for anyone alternative and artistic. Coffee/book/restaurants combo shops line the streets. Every shop you are greeted with a smile and no pressure to buy anything. Hard to explain but the vibe of the place is something else. With a population of just a few thousand, and pretty much a one street town it suited me. Debating whether to give up study and buy a house here was on the mind within 10min. And by the number of expats running shops you can see many follow through with that idea.
Situated in a valley with a perfect day climate, clear skys, lush vegetation, no commercial signs and neons to be seen. I now understand what all the hype is about. Was major opium and pot growing area back in the day, was found by early backpackers and now still has that same mind altering vibe. A drive to a local waterfall out of town and old ladies will see a western face and come sprinting across the rice fields to sell you their 'product' at cheap prices. Seems like some things will never change. Even if the police are trying to crack down on it. Spicy Pai is so sweet, big open dorms in a traditional wooden house with banana leaf roof situated smack bang on a rice paddy just out of town. Small creeks run around the buildings delivering water to the rice. It's cold season now, so before 10am it's nearly freezing which was the only bad point. Hits 30's once the sun burns through the mist. Few dollars a night, would choose this over a 5 star hotel any night. Most people here are solo travelers so talk is easy. All with interesting backgrounds and travel experiences. Meet a German girl who currently works in Christchurch as well. Small word again. Explaining New Zealand slang such as 'on the piss' and how we use the word 'heaps' and that American football is just retarded were just some of many obscure topics discussed. Many have been here for weeks or are here for their 3rd or 4th stint. Tattoos of chillies (the spicy logo) even feature on a few. It's hard to leave. An English man on a world wide trip was all the way down in New Zealand, found it too expensive (which is fair enough), flights booked straight back to Pai for the 4th time. Nightly bonfires and beers from the honesty box chilly bin followed by the hungover chat in the morning in a hammock. Can't beat it. You don't achieve much in a day but that's whats its all about. You just enjoy the atmosphere which I find I'm struggling to explain. Pai = natures heroin. If you come to Thailand, it's a must. 3 days there was not enough at all, having Pai withdrawal already. Had to leave as the odyssey must continue.
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| Spicy Pai |
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| This is how you build bunks |
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| Chillin' |
Drive back to Chiang Mai with some dudes from spicy. Again epic trip through the mountains. Boys and motorbikes don't mix and the speeds get faster and the corners get more dangerous. Lunch stop we decided to cool of the pace a bit. If you ever come to Asia learn to ride a scooter or motorbike. Ignore all the talk that's its dangerous. It's yarns. Opens the doors to so much more. Most hidden gem locations don't have local transport and walking is just not on the cards. You can go where you want when you want and there is room for 2.
Back in Chiang Mai try to book bus back to Bangkok, all full. WTF. So train again. End up next to a wealthy Thai, speaks 5 languages and owns a handcrafted jewelery company and sells all over the world. So chat for an hour. Son studied in Christchurch, once again small world! He visited New Zealand once. Enjoyed the seafood but missed out on seeing a whale off Kaikoura. Guts. I learn some Thai from him, some Thai food to try and some self massage techniques of the legit kind. Who ever thought of pushing some pressure points can relax the whole body. Never really believed in all the hype about massages until now. I've learnt from a master so shall share when I get home. Again perk of solo traveling, always meet someone interesting while transiting.
So Bangkok to get yet another Visa extension (25 cent 1 hour bus trip through Bangkok to immigration, Jew lords are treating me) then back to the islands to bust out an open water dive qualification, catch some rays, Malaysia then back to Quakecity. Can't wait.
Apparently there is a terrorist threat in Bangers at the moment, place has a strange feel to it now. Wait and see what happens.
Ps: visit pai
And also there is a blog below I posted just after New Year which some may have missed, its more of a novel but if you are bored have a read
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| Wish you were here? |
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