The final lap, homeward bound

---

Willing myself to conjure one final burst of energy, I managed to get off my rear in Kanchanaburi and have spent the last week and a bit in the north of Thailand, specifically Chang Mai and Pai. Sure, I could have gone a little further, seen a few more places. The body is willing, but the mind is weak. Or is it the other way round?

Chang Mai is a more pleasant city than Bangkok. Significantly smaller, more friendly and less hectic. You feel safe booking days out/activities without fearing that you might spend the whole day being transfered between 30 different minibuses all driven by angry Thais who don't speak English.

I haven't done that much in the city, apart from wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere and then getting several nice early nights. I did go to the zoo, a confusing maze like place. I went to see pandas, on loan from China. Other than those black and white treasures I saw little else as the zoo is designed to resemble some kind of hell, with a layout out that is confusing and soul destroying, not to mention the shitty conditions the animals have to put up with (with the exception of the pandas, treated like royalty, in their aircon (seriously) high class quarters).

I moved on pretty quickly to Pai, a small village in the northern hills of Thailand, once notable for very little, now notable for the number of tourists that go there. A relaxing and scenic place to spend a few days, Pai has an impressive number of really good restaurants, plus many opportunities to trek around the surrounding countryside. Which is what I did.

I spent three days trekking around the jungle, in the rain (it always rains if I decide to go for a walk), scrambling up muddy banks, fending off thirsty leeches. The walking was hard, but we didn't do too much of it. We spent the first night in a 'hill-tribe' village (they are not actually tribes). This wasn't a particularly exciting experience, as it is essentially a bunch of people who live in corrugated-iron roofed huts (not wishing to put anyone down, mind). They were not a mysterious and separate society, unaffected by modern culture, rather a bunch of poor people trying to get on with their lives, unable to afford the majority of modern luxuries. They had electricity, television, etc., and were connected by dirt roads to nearby towns. The kids were friendly, though. They hung out with us until they were ordered to bed, challenging us to arm-wrestling matches and practicing their stilted English.

There were a small number of villagers in traditional dress, though the majority were in t-shirts and jeans. One lady (pictured), in particular, along with her daughter and granddaughter, spent some time sitting with us, despite the fact that she couldn't hear or speak English.

The next night we slept on a covered, raised bamboo platform in the jungle, on which we were hopefully safe from snakes and spiders. We had a good evening, sitting around the fire, eating the tasty food prepared by our guide (food cooked in bamboo, bamboo plates, cups and chopsticks made whilst we waited), and falling asleep to the sounds of the jungle.

Back in Chang Mai I undertook a short Thai cooking course, cooking, amongst other tasty treats, Pad Thai (Thai style noodles), green curry and chicken with cashew nuts (see picture). The next day I headed back down to Kanchanaburi to relax for my last few days. Train full. Cue 17 hour, 4 bus epic. It would have been 3 buses, but the driver of the first one forgot to go to the place I was getting off, consequently I had to get another bus going in the opposite direction to get back to where I was supposed to be. Good times. No really, in no way did I despise that bus driver.

Fully relaxed now, having taken full advantage of hammock, reading material and bed for the last 4 days, soon i will be returning home. Back to reality. Hopefully it won't be too daunting an experience.

---

Photos

Chicken and cashew nuts
Stand well back.

Cooking in the village
Food being prepared in the hilltribe village near Pai

Village people
Not those village people...

The hilton
Accomodation for the second night of the trek

My feet
The only view i had for the last 4 days of my trip