Advertisement
Published: February 27th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Where did I leave off? Oh yeah, heading to Bangkok to meet back up with Adam...Nothing like a smiling familiar face when you step off the airplane & there he was standing there CLEARLY distinguishable among the remaining small Asians...I was thrown in a cab & told that the next day it was an overnight train to Chiang Mai & four days of motorbiking the Mae Hong Son route with Lauren & David. Yep, that's sounds about right giving Adam's affinity for his own wheels. I, secretly, was rather excited as well, but this time, darnit, I was going to do some of the DRIVING! 😉
After lots of coffee, emails, photocopying, ATMS & laughter from the locals of Chiang Mai as to our adventure we set off. Adam & I on our just not quite powerful enough given our size Honda 125 & Lauren & David in their matching Easter egg colored helmets following behind. We were in for a very long day of checking out the extremely dry vegetation in the National Parkk (apparently we forgot it was the dry season) & not believing the poor forestry woman when she told us that the road would go through
to Mae Chaem. So we turned around frustrated with otherselves & I think aggravated with each other. Ah, the joys & pains of travel 😉 We finally stopped in Hot & I got my shot at driving. That definitely lightened my mood at least all the way to Mae Sariang. Okay, so maybe not quite all the way. It got dark, cold...Adam took over & proceeded to keep up my mood by singing renditions of Scottish folksongs. I apparently am "crap" at singing along. Thanks, Adam...I appreciate your support. We finally arrived in Mae Sariang & crashed in a guesthouse by the river. Not too bad for a long day of travel.
The next day it was Lauren's turn to get behind the wheel even after she watched me nearly kill Adam & myself b/c I couldn't quite get the centrifugual force to pull us around the corner. Despite all that, a quick lesson in the AM & David shaking his head across the table from me with serious look of dread on his face. Up & down the windy road, along the river, hoping to make the Mae Surin waterfall before sunset--my only request for the day. Unfortunately
we didn't quite make it & about 1/2 way up the hill we convinced ourselves that the waterfall wouldn't be flowing in the dry season anyway. On the way back down the hill we found Lauren & David pushing their bike with a flat tire. Bad luck. Lauren & I let the boys be boys & hopped on the good bike & headed out to find a guesthouse. And no offense, Adam, but it is much easier to drive minus a 230 pounder on the back 😉
The next morning Lauren & David headed off ahead of us & we set out a few hours later. Not too many miles were made that day & we later learned the we all ended up staying in the same town that night anyway. It was yet another spectacular evening for me filled with stomach cramps & throwing up. I LOVE FOOD POISONING! Thank god I got to sleep in the next day & that morning we headed out to Pai. I had convinced Adam to stay one more night in Pai instead of heading straight to Chiang Mai so we could take in some good music & an elephant ride. Just
outside of Pai we ran in to L&D. Sadly they were, once again, at the mechanics getting their FOURTH flat tire fixed. Unbelieveable. Our bike might struggle with our weight & get passed up by "real" motorcycles, but at least our tires were intact.
In Pai, Lauren needed to satisfy her SoCal craving for Mexican food (I can relate) so L&D headed for chow & Adam & I headed out to see the elephants. Woohooo! And at the Elephant Camp, there he was...our fabulous mount & his trainer who I'm quite certain either drank 10 cups of expresso that morning or was hitting the crackpipe pretty hard. He was wound up. Either way he provided serious entertainment. We soaked in the concrete pools filled with hot spring sulphur water vaguely the size of the tiny teacup ride at the fair & not exactly sized according to Western standards. But then there was the elephant ride...so much fun & I was very glad we had decided to stay the night. Surprisingly it was incredibly difficult to actually stay on the elephant & they aren't exactly built with inflatible cushions for your bum. The ele lumbered on toward the river &
clearly toward the highlight of our guides day--let's dump the funny looking tourists in the water over & over & over again. They think the elephants are cute & cuddly, but just wait 'til the big guy rolls over. After about 5 dumps in ankle deep water I begged or mercy & back on the elephant we went catching a quick glimpse of the sun as it set behind us. Love elephants, love travel & love sunsets. Aw...what a day.
Up next, a safe return trip, back in Bangkok & living like a queen at the JW Marriott...Kevin Dougherty you are a lifesaver!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.079s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0427s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb