We only had a few days left on our SEA excursion as we were flying back to Melbourne on February 1st. Since we had bought our tickets originally with little actual travel planned (and since we used Air Asia), we had booked roundtrip tickets out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Although not convenient for us now, the tickets were pretty cheap when we bought them. We also had found cheap plane tickets from Bangkok to KL, when we discovered that we would be in Thailand before we needed to leave. Now since we were in the north of Thailand, we would need to find a way to see everything for a few days, and then be in Bangkok for our flight to KL for our flight to Australia...exhausting just talking about it now!
But before all of this craziness, we planned to arrive in Chiangmai, take a look around that night, and then we booked a bus for Pai for the next morning. We had heard from so many of our traveller friends (but especially Dom and Laure) that Pai was a place that we must see. Our night in Chiangmai was really low-key, and I wished that we had some more time to explore this place. We ended up going to the hospital in Chiangmai so that I could have a doctor there look at my burns, and they ended up changing my burn dressings for me. They at least had a better idea of what they were talking about, but they were not burn specialists by any means! It was really painful when they removed the gauze that I had put on my legs, but it only took a few minutes. I cried the entire time! They re-wrapped my legs in this bright blue-colored gauze, and I was sent on my way.
We decided that since we had had a long travel journey to get back to Thailand, that we would treat ourselves to a nice dinner and then go and get some massages. We loved the Western food of Laos, but also had been craving the delicious curries of Thailand, so we found a place not too far from our hotel. We had originally planned to stay at a hostel recommended by our friends, but they were fully booked by the time they got there. The lady at reception actually said to Nashy and I that we should have gotten there earlier - if she only knew the journey we had been on to get there! We ended up finding a pretty nice hotel that had free internet and breakfast though, so we were happy. It was a little bit more expensive, but it was kind of nice to have our own room instead of sharing a dirty dorm with a bunch of other people. Since the burns, my first priority when looking at places to stay was cleanliness since I wanted to avoid infection.
Dinner was amazing as usual for Thailand, and then we went in search of a good place to get cheap massages. We found a place, and since they assumed that we were a couple (as most people did), we were put into the same room for our massage. First though, they soaked and washed our feet, and it was really nice to relax. We had been talking about getting massages forever, and we were both so glad that we finally got around to it. After carrying around our heavy backpacks, our necks and shoulders definitely had lots of knots that needed to be worked through. It was definitely one of the most intrusive massages though that I had ever gotten. Besides where I had bandages, I was literally massaged everywhere else haha!
The next morning, we woke up and ate our free breakfast at our hotel while we waited for our bus to pick us up for Pai. Laure had warned us that the drive to Pai was brutal, with lots of twists and turns, so we were thankful that we actually were not hungover this day. The drive was approximately three hours, and you stop halfway to get out and stretch your legs. It was more of a minivan than an actual bus, and every single seat was taken.
I think it was on this bus ride to Pai that confirmed that I am not a big fan of Canadian backpackers. No offense to all of my Canadian friends, but backpackers abroad are not being good representations of your country. Not to say that American backpackers are much better, but luckily, I did not actually meet many Americans on my travels thus far. On our bus in Thailand where we went across from Koh Tao to Koh Phi Phi, there were two Canadian girls that talked loudly throughout the entire night. As if it was not hard enough to sleep already on the wooden top deck of the boat, we had to listen to their nonsensical conversation. there was no way to ignore it! And that same day, we were joined by two Canadian guys on the minivan to Phuket, and they were completely wasted drunk, loud, and rude. I was embarrassed for them! Well today on this trip to Pai, there were two Canadian girls (one of them was especially annoying). She had a very raspy voice, was coughing up a lung (but still chain smoking cigarettes), and talking loudly the entire ride. I put in my headphones and blasted my iPod, so that I would not have to listen to her nonsense!
The actual drive to Pai was not nearly as bad as we had expected, and luckily neither of us got carsick. Evne though Nashy was still not fully recovered from whatever was bothering him, he was feeling well enough to travel. When we arrived in Pai, Nashy and I decided to walk with our backpacks to find someplace to stay. The entire town of Pai is pretty tiny, so we figured it would not be too difficult. Laure and Dom had recommended a place called Family Hut that was supposed to be right next to the bamboo bridge, overlooking the river. It was easy to find the river, but there was more than one bamboo bridge! We were growing tired of carrying our backpacks and it did not seem like anyone knew where this Family Hut place was! It was a warm day, and both of us were dripping in sweat by the time we finally found it and were able to get a room. For only like $3USD a night, we got a little bungalow right by the river and the famous bamboo bridge of Pai. (Even though there is more than one, one of them is more famous than the others.)
We had not eaten since breakfast, so we were both hungry, so we walked around Pai and looked for a place to eat lunch. Like I said before, the town of Pai is tiny but adorable. We instantly recognized the attraction of the place and loved it. Not more than a tiny hippie town, the little community of Pai is very welcoming and friendly. Lots of backpackers make the journey to this small place to enjoy delicious food, relaxation in a beautiful surrounding, and to meet interesting people. We found a really nice, tiny restaurant where one girl was making everyone’s orders as they were being ordered. She was in plain view of all of the tables, and she was using fresh ingredients. Needless to say, the food was delicious and we would eat there again during our short stay in Pai.
That night, we walked around the little market that appears each night, with vendors selling everything from t-shirts, jewelry, and souvenirs to ice cream and home decor. We found another cute little restaurant (that actually served Western food but we did not realize until after we had already sat) and we met the owner while we were eating. He was Australian I believe, and he and his partner had gone to visit Pai a few years before and just ended up staying. This was the first time they had ever owned a restaurant, but they were loving their new lifestyle. I could easily imagine being able to stay in this place for a long time, and Nashy and I joked about intentionally missing our flights back to Australia. Earlier in the night, we had started to notice that there were signs around town saying things about not serving alcohol that day, and we were curious as for the reason. We asked the restaurant owner, and apparently there was an election in Thailand the next day. Before elections, they do not allow bars and restaurants to serve alcohol, interesting! We did think this odd though, because we went to a place later in the night that ended up serving us alcohol, but that is Thailand for you! Find a rule and then break it! Nashy wanted to watch some big soccer game that Australia was playing in against Japan that night, but I quickly lost interest. I went back to the hut early and fell asleep, looking forward to the next day.
Since we had arrived in Thailand, I had wanted to take a cooking class to learn how to make some of my favorites like green and red curry and pad thai. Nashy and I had found a place that offered cooking classes in Pai, so we signed up for an afternoon lesson. And in the morning, we had booked in to ride elephants through the jungle for a few hours. I felt really bad, because there was this really cool option of riding the elephants where you could take them into a river and help bathe them. But unfortunately because of my burns, I could not get wet still, so we had to do the other option where you ride the elephants through the jungle. It was still pretty fun though, and Nashy and I enjoyed it. We were a little scared at times when we thought we might slide off the back as the elephant climbed some pretty steep hills. A lady followed us around and took about 100 pictures of us riding the elephant, but do not worry, I am only posting a few here!
And in the afternoon, we went to go meet our cooking teacher and to learn how to make ourselves some Thai lunch. Nashy made pad thai and I made holy basil and chicken, and then we enjoyed eating both. And for dessert, we learned how to make one of my favorites, mango with sticky rice and coconut milk. It was yummy, but Nashy did not really like it so I ate his share too! I had never realized that sticky rice is a completely different grain of rice from normal rice, but it is!
After lunch, our cooking teacher took us to the local’s market in Pai so that she could show us how to pick the freshest ingredients. I was glad she was there also, because she explained to us what a lot of things were that we did not know. And she made us feel better about all of the flies that were congregated on the meat, eww! There were some weird things since it was the local market, like frog pieces... And one of the secrets that I remember from that day? When picking out pineapples, it is important that all of the eyes on the outside are the same size. This means that the pineapple is ripe! Helpful, I know!
As part of our cooking lesson, we would also be making our own dinner, but we decided to take a break after the market and go back to our hut to rest. It was tiring making all of this delicious food! And my friend Patrick (the same one who I met in Melbourne on St. Patrick’s Day) was coming to Pai with his friend Robert that day, and we thought we might be able to find them. Robert is a famous actor in England, and I had actually watched the show where he got his start. Besides that, he has been in a couple of movies, and apparently he is really well known in Europe. As a matter of fact, while he was traveling around in SEA, a few people approached him because they recognized him. His character on the show, The Misfits, is this crazy, funny guy who is just really random and outgoing. Well we did end up running into Patrick and Robert, and for the few minutes I met him then, he was just like his character! They would also be staying at the same place as us while in Pai, so we made plans to meet up with them when we were finished with cooking school.
We headed back to cooking school after a quick rest, and for dinner, we learned how to make a few dishes such as green/red curry, tom kha soup, sweet and sour chicken with pineapple, and chicken with cashew nuts. It was so much food that Nashy and I could not eat it all, but we asked if we could take our leftovers for the next day.
We were so full as we headed back to meet up with Robert and Patrick at our huts. While we were waiting for them to come back, we started talking to a German guy who was staying in one of the huts by himself, and we felt a little obligated to invite him to come out with us that night. He was nice enough, but as the night went on, the other guys got really annoyed with him. I felt bad for Patrick and Robert, because after we left and they stayed, he continued to hang out with them I think!
We all decided to rent motor scooters so we could explore the surrounds of Pai. We had heard that there are hot springs nearby, and we were excited by the fact that they might even be closed at night. We thought it sounded exciting that we could break in and swim in the hot springs, but unfortunately we found one that was open. I still could not get wet, so I just hung out while the guys enjoyed their little soak. I was so jealous!
Nashy was still not feeling well, so he ended up not coming out with us that night. I headed out with the boys, and a couple that Patrick and Robert had met on their ride up to Pai also joined us. For some reason even though the election was over, none of the bars were serving alcohol until midnight, so we decided to go out to dinner first. Even though I had already ate all of the food from cooking class, the boys convinced me to eat again with them! And then we went out to a few bars when they opened and were having a great time. We met the most random mix of people that night, and at one point, we were sitting at a table with an American guy who had moved to Thailand to learn how to give Thai massages and his Filipino girlfriend.
At some point in the night, I decided to ask Robert how he felt about girls with scars, and he answered with a long-winded story. Basically, his story had nothing to do with me or really anything relevant, but what I got from it, is that scars are disgusting. Since I was feeling really sensitive about my bright blue bandages, I ended up going home and was really mad about that conversation! Patrick was also mad at Robert at this point, because I was mad.
In the morning though, Robert came over to my hut and apologized. I told him that I did not really think his apology was necessary because I was just being over-sensitive the night before, and he did not really do anything wrong. But I was glad to see (as was Patrick) that even though Robert might be some big celebrity, that he is still a really good friend.
Since we had rented our motorbikes for 24 hours, Nashy and I decided to go and see some more of the Pai surrounds before we would have to leave and go back to Chiangmai. The others planned to join us later to go see some waterfall, but it was too far away so we never ended up going. We found some really great lookouts over Pai, and then we prepared to leave.
We had booked a flight from Chiangmai to Bangkok when we found out that the train would not get us in in time for our flight. But before we went to the airport, we had time for one more meal in Chiangmai, and so we went for burritos of course! They were actually really good (and California-style!) which was a surprise for both of us. Then we crammed into a tuk tuk with our backpacks, and headed to the airport. We had a long journey ahead of us - we would be flying from Chiangmai to Bangkok, from Bangkok to KL, then KL to Melbourne, and we would not be landing until after midnight. I had loved SEA and was sad to be leaving (probably my favorite traveling thus far), but my body was definitely ready to be back to a place with proper doctors...
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