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Published: November 22nd 2014
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Beds at Spicy Pai
Bunk beds with mosquito nets in our hut dorm Why do I travel? I've come to realize that we truly don't all travel for the same reasons. Pai attracts hippie backpackers looking to get off the grid and away from rules. Phuket and Bangkok are the go to places for partying and sex tourism. Chiang Mai is hot for wellness and feeling like you're on vacation. All generalizations of course. On a broader scale, some long term travelers have said they were sick of their jobs and quit to travel. Others are taking a break in education. I'm not sure of all the reasons, but I'm curious about mine because it doesn't seem clear. I'm not sure if I'm running, searching, etc. I like to meet people and be on the go, whereas people like Kristen like to take it slow and be in livable places. It's not that I don't like livable places, but they are ALL real to me and offer different things. Livable places tend to be comfortable and boring to me, lacking adventure or appeal. Eh lots of searching to do for me.
Our mini trip to Pai was very nice. We stayed in a 26 bed dorm hut called Spicy Pai where we slept
Lod Cave
Lod Cave in tree house style bunk beds under a thatched roof next to a working rice paddy. The people there were all very friendly and eager to talk, albeit a bit not aligned with my lifestyle. The people of Pai absolutely love Bob Marley, like idolize him. Lots of dreaded Thais and tye dye. It seemed so far remove from what we had witnessed so far.
Upon arriving we took some time for much needed relaxation in the hammocks in the community area (open air). Met a few nice people and ended up going into town on rented bicycles. Pai and Chiang Mai are both awesome for vegetarian foods and they even offer the northern Thai specialty, khao soi, in vegan. Later that night we visited Edible Jazz, a hostel, bar, and laid back live music spot. Followed it up with a reggae bar, which happened to have the same musicians who had previously played at the jazz bar. With this and the following night it seemed that the town has a lot of musicians content with doing the same things and not really moving out of their comfort zone. They live in an oasis and have thousands of temporary
Lod Cave
Amidst the bat guano in Lod Cave interactions. If I had more energy and tact it would have been nice to discuss that decision with one.
On my one full day in Pai I took a motorbike ride with aCouchsurfing friend to Log Cave about 1.25 hours north along the Mae Hong (?) Loop. The ride was just as exciting as the destination, a super windy road surrounded by a mixture of jungle and rice paddies. Log Cave is a massive system (bigger caverns than Mammoth Caves in Kentucky) with a small river flowing through. Although the water is only about knee deep at most, it's teeming with fish that make it seem as though the bamboo raft is actually just gliding along the backs of the fish. The tour was led by a Thai woman carrying a gas lantern. Typical of the "no rules" atmosphere I've felt here, you can basically wander the cavern as far as the lamplight shines (which isn't very far anyway). Spectacular formations and huge caverns.
After our brief 2 night trip to Pai, we took the windy minibus back to my favorite city. Our last night in Chiang Main was mostly uneventful. Kristen and I did our own things,
Lanterns
Lanterns from a birthday celebration at Sunsets in Pai but both included a massage. The women's prison trains rehabilitating prisoners in Thai Massage, and very well! Getting a massage with them is totally worth the extra 20 baht. You can go to the prison or to another location nearby for the same thing. That night I also took a late night motorbike ride to an area of town I hadn't seen (outside old city I think) where local teens were drinking on the bridge. Serene.
Now we are in Bangkok and my initial feelings are that I am ready to leave. It reminds me of NYC, and I'm not traveling to experience something so much like home, especially a part of home I don't exactly enjoy. Bangkok is massive with no logical layout (grid, circle, etc) so getting around is time consuming, confusing and expensive. Every taxi and tuk tuk really is trying to scam you. The air is disgusting and polluted (huge smog cloud over the whole city) from the thousands of cars. We happen to be staying in the Red Light District and though our hostel is very nice, there's not much for us to do nearby. We are conveniently located 10 minutes from the MRT and BTS though. Bangkok has at least 4 massive malls with 6-8 floors of high fashion.
More on Bangkok later. Time to go out and explore. Hoping to get the sour taste out of my mouth.
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