Thailand

Thursday 7th July 2016 – After a late night cheering on Wales in the Euro semi finals we rented a motorbike and went to explore around Pai. It’s a great feeling to be able to just climb on a bike and go wherever you want. We stopped at the memorial bridge for photos with some giant robot sculptures then continued to a canyon where it began to pour with rain. We took shelter in an open sided hut and watched the world go by for a bit. One chap slid over in the mud trying to get a good photo of the view into the gorge and barely avoided plummeting over the edge. His girlfriend went mental. The rain showed no sign of abating so we drove home for a siesta and some lunch. Things cleared up late afternoon so we drove up to the big white Buddha who watches over the area. On the way down the hill we stopped at a little restaurant to enjoy the spectacular sunset over a drink and enquired about the Thai cooking class advertised deep within their menu. Nat the quirky middle aged owner was really nice and a few minutes later we had booked a class for the following morning. The five dishes we wanted to learn were: pad Thai, noodle soup, green curry, massaman curry and chicken with cashew nuts.

Friday 8th July 2016 – Another late Euro night (France vs Germany). When we arrived at Nats place all the ingredients were beautifully laid out in little dishes – all we needed to do was chop a few vegetables. Nat took us through what all the ingredients were and then showed us how to cook each dish while we furiously took notes. An hour later five delicious dishes had been prepared – our only job was to eat them! In the afternoon we drove to a waterfall up in the hills near Pai. On the way we were stopped by the police and searched for drugs; it became clear why from the number of people who offered us hash and opium as we drove further up the hill. At the waterfall we ran into an English guy we had first met in South Africa. Judging by his appearance he had seen a fair amount of partying in the last four months.

Saturday 9th July 2016 – Today we decided to have a bit of adventure on the bike. First we headed north to Lod cave. Before long tarmac roads gave way to dirt ones and running low on fuel we stopped at a coin operated pump in one of the small villages. Alysa went to sit in the shade and while I tried to figure out how the pump worked four tiny kids eating a packet of crisps gathered round to watch. After a couple of minutes I realised the little horrors were chucking their crisps into the fuel tank whenever my back was turned! It was brilliant fun pretending to conk out a few minutes later and watching Alysa panic. Lod cave was interesting; you were conveyed via raft through dark subterranean waterways, stopping to view collections of stalactites, stalagmites, strangely shaped pillars, bat colonies, swift colonies and ancient burial caskets. At the exit to the cave we saw a young swift trying to fly but not quite able to. Hoping it would be OK we carried on northwards towards the Burmese border. Approaching the top of one hill we passed something that looked nearly but not quite like a stick in the road. We went back to take a closer look and found a small snake, just over a foot long sunning itself on the tarmac. I went to take a photo of it while Alysa, worried it was going to get run over wanted me to save it. Her fears were well founded as a few seconds later a huge truck came round the corner and flattened it in a scene reminiscent of the Great Bumble Bee Incident of 2014. Alysa was really upset and would only be mollified if I promised that next time I saw a reptile in danger I would save it. As we went further the hills got steeper, the villages poorer and the scenery more spectacular. About a mile from the border the surfaced road ended and became a muddy track. I didn’t want to turn back and convinced Alysa we should try to carry on. We made it about 100 yards before sliding over in a defeated, muddy pile. On the way back a midge flew into my eye so I pulled over to the side of the road only to discover a dead dog writhing with thousands of maggots lying half hidden in the grass next to us. Back in Pai we cleaned the bike and went to bed feeling it had been a strange day.

Sunday 10th July 2016 – Today we would head back to Chiang Mai. We checked out of our hotel and returned the bike (neglecting to mention the crisps in the fuel tank). There were no buses until lunchtime so we hung around in a cafe for a bit. That evening we stayed up late watching the final of the Euros and Wimbledon from the comfort of our bed.