Day trip to Pai and off to Laos

After trekking, I spent the night in Chiang Mai, and headed to Pai the next day by mini-bus (about 3 hr). Pai is a tiny little town of maybe 3,000 along the route of the Mae Hong Son loop that many backpackers like to take but has become a destination in it's own right. I confirmed my booking for the Gibbon Experience on the 27th, meaning I had to be in Laos to check in on the 26th. I was under the impression that there were direct buses from Pai to the border crossing in Chiang Khong which would have given me 2 days there, but sadly I had to backtrack to Chiang Mai first and left Pai yesterday. I must say I instantly fell in love with little Pai, nestled snuggly in a valley between mountains with butterflies fluttering constantly about. It was extremely reminiscent of a little Thai version of Fairfax, replete with vegetarian/organic restaurants and chilled out hippies (Anglo and Thai) strolling lazily along the roads. To boot, they had a great used book store and were it not for the Gibbon Experience, I probably would have lost days there just lounging in my little bungalow by the river (rustic at $6/night) and reading. I arrived in the afternoon and just hung out that day, sharing a drink with a young English couple I had met on the way earlier later on in the evening.

From Pai and Surro...

A snap from my little bungalow (the cottages in the background resemble my accommodations)


This is how I keep my iPod fed

The next day I took the last bus back to Chiang Mai at 2:30, but before that I (sorry, mom) rented a motorbike and rode to the Lod caves about 30km outside of town. The bike ride was a total thrill even though I just had a little Honda Click (about 150cc engine) owing to the serpentine mountain roads and the twin terror of driving a motorbike for the first time and being on the left side of the road. Here's some snaps from the caves which took a good 1 hour to work through with the aid of my "guide." She really spoke almost no English and merely pointed out formations that resembled various animals or the Buddha, but the kerosene lantern she carried did cast a more appealing and spooky glow about than my Japanese LED flashlight.




That cool blue glow is from my light

After the caves, it was a quick ride back to town where I caught my bus back to Chiang Mai. This morning, I caught an early bus and rode an uneventful 7 hours to the boarder crossing town of Chiang Khong and crossed the river into Huay Xai, Laos! Tomorrow morning I embark on another trekking adventure in the Bokeo nature reserve. Depending on how muddy and unsurpassable the jungle is, I'll be trekking from 1-7 hours to the zipline-connected network of tree houses in the Bokeo nature reserve. Look for heaps of pictures in a few days!