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Published: January 31st 2008
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Border crossing
The river separating Laos and Thailand After our crazy night on the rickety old bus, Laura and I finally got across the border and were officially in Thailand.... We got ourselves a 'moto' taxi, huge backpacks and all and off we went towards the bus station. We both knew we wanted to head towards Pai or Chiang Mai. We soon found out that there were no direct buses to Pai.... and that we had to go via Chiang Rai to get to Chiang Mai. So we hopped on another clapped out bus..... got off in Chaing Rai.... waited around a bit, had a green curry (yum) and got back on another bus and off we set again and finally arrived in Chiang Mai 25 hours after we set off from Luang Prabang.....phew! We promptly found ourselves a room, dropped off our stuff and went out to explore a bit.
The next day we went out to explore again and soon realised that this was quite a commercial place.... mainly a central point to go off and do treks etc or cooking courses. On this note, we organised a cooking course for the next day and also booked the bus to Pai and figured we could do a
The border
Entering Thailand trek on our way back through. I decided I should pamper myself so I went to a lovely massage place and had a 2 hour reflexology and thai massage.... excellent. I must admit though that I have been having a few.... god I love them. I used to prefer the softer oil massages but now I think the Thai ones are better, using a bit of force.... cracking you into place... hehehe!
The following day, we got up fairly early and off we went to the restaurant where we were scheduled to do our cooking course. Laura and I were lucky as when we had gone to reserve our places, no-one else was booked so we chose the menu..... once there, more people had joined but our menu still remained and was to be what we would make. The 1st part was a trip to the food market to buy all the weird and wonderful ingredients that we needed. The next few hours were spent cooking up a storm... we all had our own little cooking station, woks and gas hob ready.... We learnt how to make curry paste... always v useful as this is the base of a good
Clapped out bus
Imagine 25 hours on one of these.... we did it! curry. After that, we made green curry, panang curry, tom yum soup and pad thai. Not only did we learn a lot, we also got to eat our fabulous creations..... I promise to do an Asian night as soon as I get back so please get your stomachs ready :-) !! Any takers?
That afternoon, we got on the mini-bus and set off towards Pai. I had heard a lot of good things about this place so I was looking forward to getting there..... I think people had forgotten to mention the constant winding roads and by the time we got there, Laura and I felt pretty sick. On the bus were a group of Brazilians which we befriended.... Laura speaks Portuguese so she was in her element..... On arrival, we went our separate ways. Laura and I found a cheap place to stay and went out to check out the area. Whilst walking down the street, Laura bumped into a scottish girl that she had been travelling with in Lao.... We arranged to meet each other the next day and hire out mopeds so we could check out the area. In the morning, we made our way to the
Chilli-tastic
Spicing it up a bit moped place.... I had never driven one before but was game to learn. We hired a bike each, got a map and decided to head out to check out a canyon, some caves and a gorge. I got myself a manual, figuring that it would be best to get the hang of how to use gears.
Off we went.... It was brilliant.... and I got used to it really well. First we visited the canyon which was really beautiful and then headed to the gorge which was really pretty..... we were a little hungry so decided to buy a papaya salad from a vending lady.... woooh, how bloody spicy. The usual measurements were 5 chillis and a few garlic cloves (bear in mind this is only 1 portion) then she mashed it all up in a pestle and mortar. I wasnt so brave. I asked for 3 chillis with extra garlic (I love the stuff) and even still my mouth was quite hot! The guys who had 5 could not finish theirs..... and I only just managed. Phew! After this, Laura and I had our sights on visiting a cave but it was a good hour or 2 away. What
Herbs and spices
The visit to the wonderful food market we hadn't banked on were the winding roads (which meant a fairly slow speed) and the fast setting of the sun. We had not really thought it through.... I was just high on the views and enjoying the ride...... We literally got to the cave and found that it was quite expensive to get in and that it would take an hour or so to complete the trip. We probably only had another hour or so of sunshine and we didn't fancy the thought of riding on those roads in the dark. It was a race to get back in time, to get to Pai in a reasonable amount of sunlight. Laura had already ridden quite a lot but I was a beginner.... I managed to keep up and we got back in one piece and literally just as the sun had gone down. It was great! :-)
That evening we decided to go out. We met the scottish girl Anne... some other mates and had a nice night.
Unfortunately the next day I really started to feel ill..... bit by bit the stomach cramps were getting worse so I had to retire to bed. This was my 1st real
Cooking up a storm
Me, my wok and my cooking station 'dodgy' tum since travelling... pretty good going after nearly 3 months in Asia :-)
The next day, we decided to head back to Chaing Mai, Laura, Anne, the Brazilians and I all in a mini-bus back along the windy roads.... I only had a few days before having to get myself to Singapore..... and I wanted to squeeze in a trek. At this rate, I knew I wouldn't be well enough..... we all managed to check into the same hotel which was cool......
Initially I had hoped to get myself through Malaysia and down into Singapore in time to catch my flight to Oz.... I had already put the date back 3 times and realised there would be no way I could get to Malaysia. So, I booked myself on a budget airline from Chiang Mai to Singapore. I had 2 more nights in Thailand.....
On one night we went out to a few bars and then dancing... but I still wasn't my normal self... god this stomach bug wasn't giving up easily.......
The next day, the Brazilians and Anne left to head towards Bangkok. It was my last night so I headed to the market to buy presents for
my nearest and dearest as a memento of my time in Asia. It was really hard to believe that after 3 amazing months, I was moving on......
The market was fantastic... bargain central, haggling heaven.... barter galore..... I left with lots of great things.
The next morning, I awoke early with very mixed feelings..... sad to be leaving such an amazing place but very happy to be moving on somewhere new and extremely different. Something more like home....
Asia has been such a learning curve.... full of weird and wonderful things. So different from home.... every day is a constant struggle (in a good way) to communicate, to get to where you want to go, to understand.... I have loved every single moment spent here and I would happily stay longer or come back again in the future.
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Gemsie
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Pai!
I love Pai! oh god...this is almost like toture reading your blogs. You didn't happen to meet a thai guy wearing shades and a tracksuit called 'Joy' did you...? xx