Advertisement
Published: March 1st 2008
Riverside of Pai
I can't claim ownership of this gorgeous snap - a friend at the Collective, Charish was the genius snapper!It's been seven weeks since I arrived in the tiny town of Pai, Thailand. Apologies for not writing this blog sooner but time seems to move at a different speed here. It's the kind of speed that is slow enough to absorb the simple moments of each day but quick enough that a month goes by in a blink of an eye. This is an isolated oasis on a traveller’s journey. An oasis that sees many come in the anticipation of staying a couple of days and seeing weeks go by before they even contemplate actually leaving.
It could possibly be the amount of time it takes to actually get here that deters travellers from springing out of town at any rapid rate, particularly the three hour mini-bus ride over the mountains between Pai and Chiang Mai. This ride apparently has 672 curves - not for the motion sickness-prone! Buses in general are a funny experience here. I did an overnight bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai when I first arrived to Thailand. I had to laugh through the safety video that was shown at the beginning…it featured such hilarious moments as them demonstrating the NUMBER 1 feature of the
Morning Yoga
Green tea after yoga...our instructor, Bhud is the best! bus…(drum roll please)…the fold down cup holder in the seat in front - whoa! Then the demonstration of the fire extinguisher in front of the bus being shown in slow motion for that really dramatic effect. And then the warning of not accepting any drinks from strangers on the bus as they could be spiked - all with the demonstration of a poor Thai girl being harassed by some old guy trying to offer her a drink!
But in all seriousness, what is it about this town? For me it's the yoga I enjoy twice a week in a hatched gazebo overlooking the river with the nearby mountains searing high around us. The contrast of the green and red trees that cover the mountains that look like an artist personally painted them in with his best water colours. It's the lanterns strung up over the streets, the reggae band that plays on the street corner on a weekend with a crowd of revelers in front, the man with a mandolin who plays by candlelight at the end of my street busking for money, the never-ending smiles of the local Thai’s (except for the woman who owns the late-night store
Ahhhh bliss...
Relaxation personified - the swing near the riverside guesthouse where yoga has now moved to... nearby - we don’t think she really likes us “farangs” - the Thai word for westerners), discovering orgasm cocktails (hmmmm, they are SOOOO good!) at a bar that showcases the best acoustic singer-guitarists (another thing in this world that makes me go hmmmmm), the best massage in town by an enthusiastically sweet woman who always gives me a biscuit afterwards, the simple joy of being able to get anywhere I want on foot, the guided meditations above a funky little café three days a week, and that comforting experience of feeling a like a local in such a short amount of time.
I also can’t go by without mentioning the amazing people from CouchSurfing that I get to hang out with everyday. I am enjoying myself so much with this group that I forget I am not actually getting paid for working more hours in a week than I have in years. Within this group of people from all corners of the globe, it’s the norm to have this burning desire to dive head first into life - a true sense of adventure that inspires me even further about the direction of my life and my own motivation to
Mountains and river of Pai
Its not the beach, but it is still pretty amazingly beautiful here keep exploring our planet and its people. Bring it on!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.111s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 9; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0522s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Shay
non-member comment
Wow
hey babe... your adventures sound amazing... im enjoying keeping up with you on your travel blog, you definately have a nak for travel writing!! (maybe your next job huh?) well keep up with the updates... they keep me going during my dreary, boring days at work ;-) Sx