After that we decided to try and find our friends Vincent and Tristen who had ridden on bikes from Chang Mai to Pai. We found them on a side street sitting with some locals at a table in front of a shop. They hadn't made it far either as they had just walked out of their hotel and stopped to say hello to the locals. 3 locals and the 5 of us started chatting, eating and drinking. 5 bottles of whiskey later we were all hugging, laughing and cracking jokes on one another. Sebastian decided to break a block of ice with his head and I was able to capture it perfectly with my camera (check facebook). Another local dude stopped by with his guitar and the sing-along started. Vincent played some songs and the guy played some songs...we all sang and it was great. Around midnight they said we didn't have to go home but we couldn't stay there as the neighbors were getting restless. We decided to walk to another bar we had heard about called 'Don't Cry'. I was beat and can tell I am getting old because I called it quits first and walked home. I tried to get on the computer when I got home but the connection wasn't strong enough in the room. I woke up when Colby came home and started laughing at me. Apparently I fell asleep with the computer in my lap and hands on the keyboard. When we woke the next morning Colby mentioned that Sebastian had stayed the latest and wasn't sure if he had made it home.
This is a great story. Before Colby left the bar he told Seb exactly how to get home...which consisted of walking across the bridge, down two blocks and hanging a right. Seb forgot that and wound up wandering the streets for at least 2 hours. He was actually walking the streets when the Monks did their morning collection so that is sunrise. Poor kid even laid down on the street at one point to take a snooze, then the rain started. Needless to say he was not in the best mood and incredibly hungover when we finally dragged him out of bed. Colby and I got up early and went for coffee and breakfast. We also rented 2 bikes as they are super cheap here and there is a ton of great cruising. Colby loaded Seb on the back of his and we took off for the days loop. First stop was a waterfall with natural slides...super fun. On the way up and back from the fall there were tons of women on the street trying to sell ganja...or at least what they call ganja. We didn't buy any as it was seeds and stems, no buds. Before I left for this trip, I was hoping to smoke less while on the road and break a bad habit that I got into. I am happy to say that it has been going great. I have been on the road 2 weeks (I think) and only smoked twice. So, after not buying any weed we head to the next stop, hot springs. Super beautiful and free. Natural tubs in the sand with sandbags in certain places. The hottest spring is 80 Celsius and they boil eggs in it for snacks. The pools get cooler as they get further from the main hot spring. So relaxing, so beautiful and so crucial for our aching bodies.
After that we stopped at the Pai Treehouse Guesthouse as I had heard good things about it. They were booked but the place was super cool. You get your own treehouse to stay in for about 30 bucks a night. Beautiful views, great restaurant and tranquil settings. Next we headed to the Wat on the hill to catch the sunset which was amazingly beautiful. After a full day of riding we headed back to the spot for a shower and regroup. We met with Vincent and Tristen and headed to the Walking Street for some street food....meat on a stick and crispy basil with chicken...mmmmmm...
Vincent has been looking for a spot to get a tattoo so we were stopping at shops to chat up the artists. One spot we stopped at had an incredible vibe and amazing art. The artist was super cool and they encouraged us to grab a beer at the liquor store and chill with them for a bit...so we did! We are all talking art, tattoos and life with these guys and they are super cool. We all decide to roll out to a different reggae bar (there are a shit-ton here) and find ourselves at a quiet spot outside of town. Quiet until we realize that there is a complete band set-up in the corner. Pretty soon everyone has an instrument and the place is bumping. At one point, when the live music stopped, I walked over to the computer to put together a playlist. I was super into picking the tracks and didn't even turn around when I heard some bottles toppling over. After I put together the playlist, I walk back to the table and ask where my beer is. Colby turns to me with astonishment and says, 'did you not see that shit?!' He points to a group of kids sitting on their scooters outside the bar and then points to the table with spilled beer. I was so engrossed in the music that I didn't even see the shit go down. Apparently these kids have beef with the tattoo artist we were friends with and they stormed into the place with kitana blades. One kid jump kicked our friend and knocked the bottles over. Colby stood up and stared at the group. About 14 of them with two of them carrying fucking swords...fucking swords dude! Our friend ran in to the back and escaped but the mood was serious. Were we going to step in and help this guy we just met? What was the beef about and who was in the wrong? Turns out these kids are friends with a different tattoo guy who has beef with our friend’s teacher...so the story goes and the hating begins. Luckily for them (and us), they never returned and our friend bounced safely. We headed to a different bar to cool off and talk about what we would have done....pretty cowardly feeling to have totally missed something like that. So, here we are now, packing our bags and getting ready to take the bikes to some caves about 40k away. We plan to stay there for the night and then head back. I might put a deposit down on a tattoo....stay tuned!
You know what they say about plans, right?! After we packed our bags and grabbed a bite we decided to stop by Cross Tattoo and say hello to Mink (our buddy). They were super stoked to see us and immediately started offering drinks, etc. Vincent and Tristen found us there and we all talked about plans. They wanted to do a trek and we did too. We were thinking about doing it after the cave journey and asked what they thought. Then Mink turns to us and says that the shop is going to have a bbq tonight and we should come….so we changed our plans, decided to stay for the Q and then head out to trek the next day with the homies. After the new plan was formulated, Seb, Colby and I headed to a pool just outside of town. We got free passes from our new hotel. Oh, Pai River Lodge is the SHIZ! We each have our own bungalow for 5 bucks a night. Soooo awesome. And they gave us passes to use the pool at this other hotel called Fluid. We never would have found this oasis as it was up a dirt road but when we rolled in and saw the pool we melted. So nice, so relaxing. We chilled, swam, read and drank tea. Colb’s and I headed for a massage after then back to the shop for dinner. The boys cooked up more meat than I have ever eaten and wouldn’t stop feeding it to us….along with whiskey. We actually bought all the whiskey and soda water at the local shop so we had to take scooters around the corner for refills. Such a great vibe, such great guys and so much fun. After a long dinner we all headed to ‘Almost Famous’ for a few more drinks. Again, I bounced first and headed home seeing as we had to be at the trek spot at 8 AM the next morning and I wanted to send a few emails out before bouncing. Turns out nothing is open before about 10 in this town…talk about chilled out!!
We all met at the trek spot and prepared for the voyage. We picked this guy because he seemed knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and also said he would teach us about medicinal herbs. There were 5 of us (Seb, Colby, Vincent, Tristen and Myself) along with another 4 from the East Coast and 1 girl from Holland. We loaded in the back of the truck and drove about an hour out of town. Unloaded on a dirt road and the guide, who I will refer to as Yota since we engaged in illicit activity, started making our path with his machete through the dense forest. After a few hours we stopped at a Karen Tribe village for lunch. Delish soup with egg and noodles. We continued on to a waterfall for a swim and then reached our destination around 6PM that night. 12km each way. Needless to say I was drenched in sweat. The jungle spot was super cool and totally in the middle of nowhere. They cooked us an amazing dinner with jungle cucumber (looked like melons but tasted like cucumber) and soup. Amazing chili on top. Yota kept referring to anything out there as jungle ____...Jungle guitar, jungle animals, jungle shower (which was a pipe from a spring), jungle toilet (which meant any tree or space away for the house) and so on. After dinner, the 10 of us sat down for a traditional opium session. He was meticulous in the preparation and started by making the perfect flame. He created a flame bowl out of a can, some cotton and oil…very cool. He said the flame is the most important part and has to stay steady and consistent. Then he went about preparing the opium. Fresh opium (brownish and gooey), mixed with a little ash, Tylenol (to make it sweet) and aspirin (to make it a little sour)…turns out the guy in the Lao village wasn’t putting amphetamines in the mix but was actually trying to hook us up. The raw opium is very bitter but Yota’s mix was delish. He packed it in a bamboo pipe and we each had a couple pipe-loads. Nothing crazy at all, kinda like smoking weed but your whole body feels high. After hours of him taking care of us by loading, mixing, lighting and coaching he was exhausted so he took a few for himself and busted out the guitar. We all passed out to jungle guitar played by a jungle guide…Beatles, Grateful Dead, Elvis and so on, sang with the twang only a jungle guide can give.
Since we all slept in the same room on the floor, most of us were up early. They killed a chicken for our breakfast and we grubbed on that along with jungle melon and jungle eggs. Loaded our bags and headed up along the ridge. The first day we hiked mostly in the valley. He showed us plants used for blood coagulation, diarrhea and constipation. This day was mostly about views. The summit was 1200 meters and overlooked the valley we had hiked the day before. So beautiful. We stopped in a Lahoo village for lunch and had another great meal. Got back to our starting point about 4PM and loaded in the vehicle. At the first village on the first day we picked up a few volunteers. Two dogs followed us the whole way out and back. Apparently they love backpackers and trekking and we returned the love with lots of scratching and an occasional snack. Once we loaded up, one of the dogs started chasing our car…almost all the way back to the main road. She was so sweet and smiling the whole time behind us. We all thought about loading her up and brining her with us.
Once back in town we headed back to our bungalows (which Tony, host, had saved for us) to shower and clean up. Since it was Saturday night, most of the town was booked so we were so happy that he saved our spot for us. After a long triple-s we headed for another massage and then dinner. After dinner we dropped by the shop to see how our art was coming along. Both Colby and I commissioned Mink to draw us some stuff. Colby just wanted a piece of art from him but I am willing to get it done if it looks good. He wants to free hand it on my but I am little nervous about that. I have seen a lot of his free hand work but just don’t if I can be comfortable with it. So Mink told us that if we stayed till Monday that he could have the art done. He then brushed the worry and apprehensiveness away and told us to sit with all of them and drink. I bowed out for an easy night of reading and sleeping. In bed by 11 and didn’t wake until 9 this morning. Colby’s time is coming to an end and there is a lot we still want to see so the next 8 days should be pretty busy. Today should be chill. All caught up, all calls made and emails exchanged. Off to enjoy the day again…boy I could see how people come here for a day or two and find themselves here 2 years later….so nice and chilled!
Well that day was chill. We took the bikes and went to the hotsprings for some hard-boiled (that were soft because I didn’t let them sit for long enough) and relaxation. The tubs are so relaxing and nice. We headed back to town and stopped by Cross to see what Mink had drawn. The image I commissioned him for turned out ridiculously dope so I decided then and there that we should stay another day and get this done. That was yesterday. Went to bed early last night, woke up early, had a great meal and stopped by the pharmacy for some post-ink stuff (gauze, ointment, lotion, soap, etc). 4 straights hours (with a few cig breaks) and I have a sick new piece of art on my right calf. It is so amazing. He did such a great job. I got the inspiration at a temple museum in Chang Rai. There I saw the statue of Phya Luang which symbolizes strength and is a Lanna diety. Lanna is the old Northern Thailand region which is now split into several smaller regions. I found the exact image online and showed it to Mink. He drew a beautiful rendition and applied it flawlessly. He literally finished 25 minutes before the last bus left so we bounced, grubbed and boarded back to Chang Mai. Here we can extend our visa till Colby leaves and then head to Sukothai. Next chapter!!
I love PAI!!!
Love reading about your adventure. I am looking forward to seeing the art on your calf. Stay health. Love Dad
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