215) Thailand 6 (Pai country-side)

I rented a bike today and headed to another waterfall I heard about that was supposed to be pretty good. On the way to the waterfall I met two other guys on bikes as well heading to the same place.




They are both a little older and traveling solo as well. One is from Switzerland and the other Canada. We stayed together the rest of the day and had dinner together back in town.




It was nice to get on a bike and cruse the country side. The road to the water fall was all up hill, which meant we were hot by the time we got there- luckily the water was cool and nice to jump in. It was full of local kids sliding down the rocks and jumping and playing in the water.



Needless to say the ride back was great as it was all down hill- hardly had to peddle at all!

(my hut ^)

214) Thailand 5 (Pai)

Pai is a city (town) in the far north of Thailand near the border of Burma (Myanmar). I got in yesterday afternoon via mini-bus from Chiang Mai. It was only a few hours ride, and much of it beautiful.


Pai is a very relaxed little town and it has a great countryside feel and appeal to it. When I got off the bus I was just standing there looking around and a guy asked me if I was looking for nice cheap place to stay. Of course the answer was yes, and he gave me directions to the place he was just leaving. (Pictured above are the huts I am staying at, and below are the bridges that cross the river)



The place is called Twin Hut, it’s a little out of the town, you have to cross the Pai River over a bamboo bridge and walk a little bit. All of the huts are bamboo and very simple. They have a balcony with a hammock, one light inside and one outside and a mattress with blankets and pillows and a mosquito net. At night you can hear frogs and crickets and at day you can hear the birds singing.


I took a walk/hike today to a waterfall. I think I got to where the falls should have been (because the trail stopped after that) but it was not very impressive. I went a little further and found some nice rapids, but didn’t take too many pictures. It was nice to be out in the forest. On one occasion the sound of the cicadas was nearly deafening. Another time I heard was sound like light rain on the ground, but was actually a lot of spiders, that looked similar to daddy long legs. The sound was them running through the leaves as I approached.

213) Leaving Chiang Mai

The sunsets and rises have been interesting lately because of all the fires burning. I am pretty sure they are controlled burns being set by the locals.



I'm just getting ready to head out of Chiang Mai and up to Pai today. I am looking forward to getting further north and more remote.





I guess these will be the last of the Chiang Mai pictures. I have not taken nearly the amount or quality of pictures I was hoping to by this point, but I think it will improve as the trip goes on. I am anxious to get to lest touristy areas.






The old quarter of Chiang Mai is surrounded by water and it has a few fountains in some places. Pretty nice to walk along at night.




The view from my guest house. ^


Thailand has tons of temples all over the place. They are usually very beautiful and very detailed.

212) Thailand III (pans)

I love pan shots. I met two people today and we went walking around the city all day and went to a market. On the way back as the sun was getting low I found a spot and tried getting some shots. Pans are fun but hard to get a good one- I really only expect to get one or two good ones per 100 shots.



I recommend clicking on the pictures to enlarge them. The magic in a pan is the fifteenth of a second moment of motion that is caught- and the expressions that you would otherwise never have realized- it’s a fleeting moment.



Chiang Mai is living up to the hype. I heard a lot of good things about it- and so far I am really enjoying it. Tonight is a great example- I am just sitting in a great little open air café/bar (called Yellow Bird) drinking fresh fruit juice, smoking a cigar, listening to some good music and writing this blog. I couldn’t really ask for more.

211) Thailand II (Chiang Mai)

Day 10 in Thailand and day one in Chiang Mai. I took the sleeper train from Bangkok late last night, which was nice. The train was fairly comfortable and I slept for the majority of the 15-hour trip.


So far I like Chiang Mai a lot more than Bangkok- it seems a lot more relaxed and it has a pretty cool groove. The guesthouse I am staying in tonight is a lot nice than the places in Bangkok and cheaper (and it has air con). I am looking forward to spending some more time here, and it looks like it will be easy enough on the budget.

210) Thailand (1)

Got into Thailand on March 1st. After the first night in Bangkok Laura and I went down to an island called Koh Samed. We got in at night and found a bungalow that was ok by my standards, but over priced. I found another bungalow for half the price the next day and we stayed there for the remaining 3 nights.



I enjoyed the bungalows- they were simple and not too bad. Every night I fell asleep to the sound of tree frogs, crickets and perhaps cicadas. The bungalows were set on a hill about a minute from the beach.



My days were filled with walks on the beach, swimming and just laying in the sun. It was a pretty relaxing few days and a great thing to do strait out of Seoul.




On the way to the Island we met some other travelers and one night we all partied on the beach.



While on the island I met a guy named Garret and he showed us a cheap and reasonable guest house in Bangkok. The first night back in Bangkok the three of us (Laura, Garret and I) shared a triple room, and tonight Garret’s girlfriend is coming back and I have a single room. It’s just a bed, fan, window, mirror and stool but it is enough.


I am hoping to get up to the north soon and spend some time in the mountain and jungle areas. I have heard a lot of great things about Chang Mai. Bangkok is exciting and full of things to do, but I would rather move out of the city for a while. And things are not as cheap as I thought they would be, because I am converting from Won to Baht- and the Won is horrible right now!