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Published: October 13th 2007
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Since our last blog, we got the 11am bus to Pai (pronounced Pie), 3 hours along a good stretch of very windy roads. We chatted to an English couple and 2 dutch women.
Pai is lovely, a smaller town with guest houses, bars, restaurants and a river running through, set in lush countryside. We found ourselves a nice wee guest house complex of bamboo huts along the river bank called Baan Tawan, (next to Toady and Ratty), and bagged ourselves a lovely hut with balcony and en suite hot shower and toilet. The huts are set in lush tropical gardens and there is a roofed platform overlooking the river with comfy chairs and a hammock and a light for when it gets dark. We also have a small restaurant here, and all for 400 baahts a night (we took the expensive room!), thats about 3 quid each a night.
We spent Weds 10th reading and loafing, and i discovered the delights of the hammock, which i slothed in for the following day also. We have kind of loafed from meal to meal and totally lazed about. i feel like a wrinkly student and have got the hang of greeting
people with a happy sawadi ka and a bit of a wai. im a right local already, you can hardly tell im not thai. im even wearing fishermans trousers like a pro, and got the hang of holding them up in toilets so they dont drape in the man-wee on the floor and then caress my ankles with a damp delight.
We explored the downtown Pai, which is pretty much a hippy town where all the westerners seem to have dreadlocks (procured in Bangkok where they do it in the streets for you Im sure) and they mostly seem to be blonde. Im keeping my dignity and holding on to my Worzel frizz. i have a headband that seems to sheath it and stop it from sweeping cobwebs from the ceiling as i walk.
There are not many tourists here at all, its low season and just a handful of pubs are open later on. Half the restaurants and pubs are closed or close around half 9 or 10pm. We have been going to a pub called Buffalo Exchange (sheena tried to swap me for a crate of beers but they reneged on the deal when they heard
me trump), over the last couple of nights, there seems to be mostly live music here, mainly played by Thais. Its very relaxed and laid back, there is no hassle here, and you can wander round the shops and stalls without any hassle at all, and the Thais are very polite and pleasant people.
Our fave restaurant is called the Sanctuary where they bake their own cakes and bread and its all organic and fresh food and they do yoga and stuff (not for me - i dont bend, my bones are brittle now - could be a hazard). We ate there on the second night (Thursday) after a hard day on the hammock and then returned for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day! The waiter gave us free cakes to take away with us last night so although it was the most expensive restaurant, it must have been worth it. We sat outside our hut and stuffed ourselves with banana cake, pineapple cake and lemon cake like a pair of bulimics. We were very extravagant having glasses of dry white wine at 100baats a glass, which was very nice, and I had a shot of Baileys in
my homemade ice cream! Lose weight here? you must be joking!!! the food is extraordinarily good everywhere and so cheap you just eat more! It really is a gastronomic treat wherever you go! Ranging from Thai local dishes from 30 baat to a really extravagant meal of 120 or 150 baat. 100 baat = 1.50 (no pound sign on thai keyboards!)
so anyway, ive become a sloth and a glutton. result. beeeeelch.
Today (Sat 13th) we went for a walk up the hill. There are hot springs and a temple and elephant camps up there, everyone else hires a scooter and rides up but we decided after 2 days of pure lazing by the riverside we would go for a walk. We walked uphill about 6km and then 6km back. Very pleasant and sweaty but we feel we have had a good walk. There were great views and we saw elephant camps and found a fab restaurant where i had a papaya lassi (smoothie type thing) and sheena had lunch. I hadnt surfaced til 10am so my breakfast was late! time is totally irrelevant here! its great to have no schedule at all for a bit, and reeeelaaaax.
We've dropped our washing in the self service laundry and blogging while it does! then we're off for a pizza!
Tomorrow we're catching the 9am bus back to Chiang Mai, to get our connecting train at 2.50pm to return to hectic Bangkok for a night, before going off to Kanchanaburi to stay for 3 nights. This will be the Bridge over River Kwai and war museums, a sobering place and then stay in the area in another guest house place. There is apparently some nice countryside and what not to visit. We shall explore.
Not looking forward to the next long train ride back to Bangkok, groan. Ipod and book at the ready.
Hope everyone is not working too hard - it feels like ive been travelling for ages but its only a couple of weeks! we've packed loads in so very pleased about that.
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Marko Koprako
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I'm jealous
Hi Estelle. The pictures you've sent are wondeful, little house is perfect to spend whole life :D It's nice to read what you've been doing these days, maybe you can write a book about (only God know what is going to happened) Im waitining for more stories. x