I Just Went Pai

We are now 12-ish days into our trip...who can count? I lost track of time a long time ago! I am currently in a little town in the mountains of Northern Thailand called Pai. It is a hippie town: lazy days, sipping tea, Thai Chi, massages, reading in a hammock. We were going to leave tomorrow, but this place has a way of sucking you in and keeping you here just a bit longer. We decided to stay another day....I just went Pai. Mal and I have been hanging out with an awesome group of people: 3 people from Sweden, 1 from London, and 2 from Australia. The other night we were 12 people deep searching for a bar and stumbled upon a reggae bar in the middle of nowhere, so we decided to start our own party. Before we knew it people were coming from all directions...Rock on Bob Marley!

Mal and I arrived in Pai after a 3 hour bus ride on the curviest road I have ever been on in my life. If you know me well, you know I have terrible motion sickness. Somehow, by the grace of God (and with the help of my iPod and sleep) I did not get sick. Unlike the 5 other people in our van who puked the whole way. Back in Chang Mai before we left, Mal and I went to an Elephant Park. It was so cool to be among them. We were able to walk with them, touch them, and we even got to draw pictures on them! They showed off their skills by painting, tricks, soccer, etc. The best part...making paper out of elephant poo. Yes, elephant poo. I mixed it with my bare hands:) Smells good. Actually, elephant poo doesn't even smell!

We also went to a cooking class in the middle of the countryside and learned how to make traditional Thai food. I will be sure to make you all something delicious when I get back. The last couple days of Songkran we escaped the water fights by visiting a Tiger park, lounging by a pool, and having little fishes eat the dead skin off our feet (weird I know and ticklish like hell, but awesome!) We sent Songkran off right with dancing in the streets and splashing in the water with locals and foreigners alike. Definitely an unforgettable night!

So, once we can peal ourselves away from Pai, we will travel back down the world's most curvy road to Chang Mai for mountain biking. Then, off to Bankok for a taste of the big city and on the infamous beaches of Thailand.

More to come from the lovely traveling ladies!!

Thailand Vacay...The Beginning

Hey!! The trip has been so amazing!! And we are only on our second day! We arrived exhausted at 10:30pm Monday night after 25+ hours of travel. With a little bit of English and many hand signs, we managed to flag down a tuk tuk, a motor bike with seats attached on the back, to our hostel. Our towls and key were waiting for us on the front table with a note welcoming us to Chiang Mai. We unfortunately woke up bright and early at 7am and went down to the hostel restaurant for breakfast. We enjoyed our hot tea and traditional Thai food ($2 dollars each!) on the "jungle" inspired patio. We started the day off right, as any one should...Thai massages...$5. Relaxing while our Thai masseurs were walking on our backs, pulling and pushing our bodies, and rubbing all the tension out. Jealous yet:)

So, as we mentioned, Mal and I arrived the day before the beginning of the Thai New Year, Songkron. This holiday is best celebrated with a city-wide water fight to inspire rain after the drought season. Words and pictures can not describe how amazing this is! We armed ourselves with buckets and water guns against the hundreds of Thais and Foreigners alike who seek to drench us from head to toe. In about .5 seconds you cannot escape be soaking wet!

After a few hours of water fights, we found our way back to the hostel for a blissful 4 hour nap, because that is what you do on vacation...right? Then, went out for dinner and drinks. Met some awesome girls at a rooftop bar overlooking the main street, without shoes and sitting on mats covering the floor. The night proceed with a bucket....yes a bucket!... of whiskey and coke, outdoor dance bar, and reggae band. We danced with our fellow travelers until 3am. And that is our our perfect first night in Thailand ended.

So, today, our second day, there was a massive rain storm in the morning, which Mal and I enjoyed chatting and recapping our first day from the comfort of our beds. We joined the masses in another day of water fights in the streets. Took another nap, and somehow manged to sleep until 11pm. Unable to sleep any longer we went to explore the town at night. We found a night market full of amazing Thai bags, art, food, clothes, etc. We ate traditional Thai noodle soup for dinner ($1 each!) at a street stall...hoping we don't get sick!!

Luckily, we can bide our time till we are tired again at this 24-hour internet cafe. Tomorrow, it looks like we will visit an elephant park outside the city. Who knows what other adventures await us!! Trekking into indigenous hill tribes, mountain biking, cooking class, hot springs on the agenda.

Cheers. This is everything we were hoping it would be. Miss everyone back home!!