Pai

Last weekend we had yet another three-day weekend, this one courtesy of Constitution Day, I think. Or maybe that's next month. At any rate, on Friday night we flew up to Chiang Mai with seven friends, business class by the way 'cuz coach was sold out and may I say it was totally worth the extra 1000 baht. Next morning with dramamine in hand we took a long van ride into the mountains to Pai. Pai is a small town in the middle of beautiful mountains, verdant green valleys, and lush rice fields that people found out about some years ago and ruined. Now its full of dirty hippy backpackers, of which I used to be a proud member not too long ago. Lots of guest houses, cheap restaurants and bars. But still beautiful scenery and we got out of Dodge as often as we could to see it. We did a one-day trek up to a Lahu village and down into a pretty sizable natural cave. We spent a couple days riding motorbikes around the countryside, checking out waterfalls, hot springs, odd canyons and lots and lots of rice fields. The rice was just hitting harvest time so it was high and beautiful. Lots of farmers out making the first cuts in the field.