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Pain in Pai
In hospital after narrowly avoiding death from scorpion bite. Okay it just hurt a lot. So the best part of travelling in Northern thailand has to be the scorpions. We were in a place called Pai, pronounced "Bye," a helpful peace of information before trying to book a bus ticket there, about 30km from the Burmese border.
We were making our way along a path beside the river toward our bungalow. It was pitch black and close to midnight. We'd spent the evening outside a supermarket in this one horse town talking to a few travellers, listening to their tales of woe. Being ripped off, having money and passports stolen on government buses, seeing balaclava-clad burmese rebels carrying ak-47's, motorcycle accidents and multiple mosquito bites. We were feeling quite superior on the walk home along the river bank. None of those things had happened to us yet. What were we doing right or wrong?
Then it hit. I put my foot down in a regular step and a sharp pain shot into my foot and up my leg. Instantly the foot started to swell. It felt as though I had been given a shot of anesthetic by a very poorly trained nurse. We kept walking to the bungalow but it got harder and harder
Pai Mountains
About 25km from the Burmese border with storm clouds coming in from the west. to walk. My foot was almost numb except for the searing pain of hundreds of pins and needles poking it. Not knowing what had happened we decided not to tempt fate too much and headed for the hospital. Fortunately it was only about a 500 metre walk.
On arrival at the hospital there were a few people on duty. The nurse looked at my foot, she had to because i was gesticulating madly and pointing at it. The great communicator. I tried to explain what had happened in my best english and hand gestures. She nodded sagely and laughed. Not the comforting response I was looking for. It then became clear we needed to wait. With an unknown poison pulsing through my veins that's exactly what I wanted to do. Finally a doctor arrived. She spoke a little english and looked at the foot. Within half an hour it had swollen to twice it's normal size. She looked closer. Listened again to my clear english, "Sharp pain. Ouch, Ouch."
"Looks like you were bitten by a scorpion." Oh good I thought.
"Am I likely to die soon doctor?"
"No," she said, "we'll give you a shot for the pain
Wat Doi Suthep
A busy Saturday at the Temple on the hill. and antihistimine. Should be gone in a couple of days."
A relief despite the anti-climatic nature of her prescription. I was preparing my will. So a shot in the bum, more laughing and off we went for a miserable night of pain and whining. Sure enough it was gone within two days.
That's been the most exciting part of the last few weeks, at least for me. Charlotte had a similar experience with red ants. We were at the swimming pool in Pai. She stood to take a picture and a minute later her foot was covered with ants. no amount of shaking or running about madly would get rid of them. She finally had to hose them off with a shower. Her foot was red and welty for days. So our feet have taken a pounding but we're otherwise healthy.
We've spent most of our time in Chang Mai. It's the biggest city in northern Thailand. It's laid back and cheap, with lots of markets and temples. We've been shopping and shopping and shopping for little trinkets for ourselves and others. It's stiflingly hot these days with lots of rain and heavy humidity. We finally brok down
Flamingos
Pretty birds at the Chang Mai zoo and bought umbrellas, cursing that I'd left the rain gear in Nova Scotia because it was too heavy.
We've spent a lot of time renting motorcycles to get out of town and off the beaten track a little bit. One day we drove straight up for about an hour to a temple on the mountain overlooking Chang Mai. It's called Wat Doi Suthep. We were there on a Saturday and there were hundreds of Thais visiting and praying. It affords a great view of the city. Inside is beautiful with hundreds of bells to ring for good luck, marble floor and intricate carving and architecture everywhere you look. Inside the temple there's a smell of incense and sweat that gets in your nostrils only to be replaced by fruit trees and lotus flowers when you walk out again.
On our way down the hill we stopped at the Chang Mai Zoo for a few hours. It's poorly laid out and only about half full but is a great way to spend the afternoon. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. Most of the animals seemed in good shape and the cages weren't too small. The giraffes were the
Same to you pal!
Looking for a free handout. best. Their necks are long enough that they could stretch over the fence for a bit of grass from those brave enough to stick their arm out.
We also managed to fit a cooking course into our busy schedule. It was a great day. Things have slowed down quite a bit now. The off-season is fully upon us so we ended up the only two students in the class with three instructors. Learned how to make proper pad thai and curry paste along with some good tips on soups and stir-frys. Looking forward to getting home and trying it out ourselves. Not in too big a hurry for that just yet though. There's miles and miles to go before we sleep.
The plan at the moment is to head to Laos in a day or so. We're going to take the slow boat for a few days and then travel as much as we can along the rivers down to Vientianne. From there it's back to Bangkok for a few days. We're going to check out a tailor who comes highly recommended and maybe get some more clothes made for back home. We'll try to meet up with
Big Bells
Ringing the bells at Wat Doi Suthep for luck. our friends Will and Sophie. Had such a great time with them on Koh Chang that we're looking forward to it. Then we're going to go to Phuket and Krabi to kill a few weeks before our flight to Bali in mid-June. With any luck we'll meet the lads from Ireland for a few days. My liver is only now recovering from their friendship. Life is so hard. Hope everyone is healthy and happy.
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