all roads lead to Pai.....

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After serious debate, alot of lonely planet researching and a 2 hour hot rock thai massage..we (me and Daniel) decided to head farther North to Pai and then to Mae Hung Son....with just a little over 15 minutes to spare. We literally walked into his guest house, changed our ticket from Bangkok to Pai, took the gifts we bought for people back home out and the mini van was there.

The ride was nothing less then nostalgic to Pai. There is something great about curving in and out of the steep mountains, with the window down listening to "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac. With just 4 people in the van (two Thai girls and us) there was plenty of room to spread out. As it turned out one of the girls was a bartender in Pai and was able to set us up with a really cheap room.

Always nice to be looking at bracelets on the street, only to turn to a friendly Thai with a huge smile and a little ganja ready for your taking.

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Arriving in Pai, its exactly like I had imagined it. A small mountain town that was discovered and made popular in the 70's by hippies looking to get away from the cities. Walking down the main street you see Thai's with long dreads wearing Rastafarian shirts, a blunt in one hand, and a guitar in another. Everyone is super friendly, laid back and just there to enjoy a little peace, love and maybe a narcotic from time to time. Always nice to be looking at bracelets on the street, only to turn to a friendly Thai with a huge smile and a little ganja ready for your taking.

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That night we met up with our bartender friend (which was a mobile bar btw....cause who wouldn't want to be able to drink on the go?) and started what was to become a fairly long night. Jumping behind the bar I started making drinks for me and Daniel as well as attempting (to no avail) to talk Thai to foreigners that passed us by. After Daniel realized that our friend was still running a business and marking down everything I was making, we made a quick getaway with a promise to meet up later. Finding a friendly open bar with a fire that was blaring bob marley, we opted to oblige to the calling of girls inside yelling over the music to come in and enjoy. After a few drinks we hopped on the back of some scooters and headed for some live music just outside this small hippie haven. After getting my ass handed to me in pool a few times (by one of the Thai girls from the bar) I headed home while Daniel stayed out to make his last second efforts.

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After letting Daniel attempt to sleep his hangover off, we rented bikes and headed out to explore what Pai had to offer. Funny story. Its always a nice suprise to realize that the first waterfall you visit is the imfamous motorbike ride where Thais will come running out of the field to sell you weed, opium and anything else you might want to get into that night. After seeing the waterfall, making a small deal, we headed off to explore a chinese village, pai canyon and a hot springs that we didn't feel like paying 400 baht for. With it getting late and having an empty tank, we combined our intelligences (haha...is that a word) and went exploring on fumes for an elusive waterfall. An hour later, with darkness approaching...we found our selves 45 mins deep into the jungle with no flash light or idea of where the hell that damn water fall was. Jumping on rocks through streams, up hills, through brush and eventually back to our empty bikes..we puttered our way back into town. Knowing we where heading out early and looking for an easy going night, we grabbed some thai style pizza and watched "The Departed".

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On to Mae Hung Son.....