Day 101: Lod Cave and trying our luck at driving the turns

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Pai is known for the 700+ turns and steep mountain climbs and descents it takes to reach the small city. It used to be an escape and the recommended location for exposure to the beauty of Thailand nature and culture and avoid mass tourists crowds. In steps Google and Trip Advisor and the secret is out. It still has a small town feel and is surrounded by mountain view points, waterfalls and other outdoor activities, but it is also swarming with tourists as multiple minibus companies bring a van load of people every hour of every day. A common recommendation is to rent a scooter and take the 3 hour journey on your own. However, with my at best mediocre skill set we decided to minivan it to Pai and then venture out from there after getting a feel for the area. Jump ahead to today as we rented bikes from Vespa who must have trained in the US for rental as he required me to pass a test drive, insisted we take 30 pictures of the bikes to show condition later and provided us a map of the city along with where all the cops looking for money are located. Then away we went to find Lod Cave. The driving was a blast through the turnpikes and windy roads. The cave was the most extensive I have seen containing 3 chambers that covered almost just over a 1 mile in distance with a river running through it. To get to the 3rd chamber you go via bamboo raft and face the swarms of hungry fish at your boat side (literally 2 feet long and jump out of the water looking for the food you are suppose to feed them) and bats above you waiting for sunset to go on the hunt (over 300,000 bats reside here). The cave system has stalactites, stalagmites, massive pillars, drapes and human remains from burials over 12,000 BP. The community now controls the cave (because who would let people like me run amok in a cave touching everything and getting lost) and all visitors have to enter with a guide. The community is in charge of maintaining the grounds, building the bridges and structures within the cave, and running the bamboo rafts. This fees generated help to employ the people and decrease the amount of deforestation they need to supplement their income by growing more rice.

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