North Country

Hello All!
Well, as of the last update we were heading out to go treking in the hills. Soooo much fun! We spent three days and two nights out in the hills. We visited three tribes of hill people ... the Karen, Lisu and Lahu, we hiked through country about 40km from the Burma (Myanmar) border. Incredible beauty and people. On the third day we did some bamboo rafting and had an Elephant ride which were both great fun.

We got back to Chiang Mai and did nothing but sit by the pool for a day and relax. The next we took a cooking class and learned to make seven dishes each and even how to make our own curry paste. The class included a trip to the market and some education about the different types of ingredients that make up the bulk of Thai cooking.... spices, plants, different roots, and herbs. Lots of fun and great eating.

Later that day we had a second go at the Sunday market and were much more restrained...lol We spent most of the time enjoying the excitement on the streets and seing more of the vendors we didn't get a chance to look at before.

Come monday morning we headed North again toward Pai. What a road!!! tall mountains, sheer cliffs, and more curves than kilometeres. We've seen t-shirts here that state "The road to Pai, 136km and 762 curves" How funny, it was soooo true. We arrived in town to rain, the first weve seen since arriving in Thailand. It is also much cooler here in the mountains. Nice and warm in the day, and quite cool at night, sure helps to keep the mosquitos away. We got off the bus and began walking through town looking for a guest house and finally found one across the river that had individual huts right on the river with a hammock and porch, as well as a private bath with a "hot" shower...lol...right... :) It does have a mosquito net but we have yet to use it. Pai is a really quiet little town that wakes up at night with cool pubs having live jam bands, as well as musicians setting up on street corners to play.

Fist morning here and we will figure out what there is to do in the day. Most likely rent a scooter and go look at some of the local temples (wat) I believe there is one on the hill behind and above our Bungalow.

Thinking about you all. Going to post some more photos too.

Love,
John and Justice

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