I inquired around Chiang Mai about airconditioned minibuses, but they were all full, so I took a taxi to the local bus station and bought a ticket for the 2pm bus. The bus was packed solid with various locals, travelers, backpacks, and boxes. No room to move whatsoever.
The drive took about three or four hours winding through mountainy roads and pockets of cool fresh air with spectacular scenic views of the jungle covered mountains.
I arrived in Pai and followed the signs posted along the street to Mr. Jan's Herb Garden & Guesthouse. Mr. Jan checked me into a modest bungalow and I was free to explore the streets.
My bungalow in Mr. Jan's Herb Garden
While wandering the streets full of cafes, restaurants, and bars by myself, I recognized a familiar face from Chiang Mai who was also traveling alone. She was an Italian girl named Sabina that had just arrived, so we decided to grab a bite to eat and talk about our experiences in Thailand.
We sat next to a table of two local Thai girls that spoke English extremely well and one English medical student named Louise. They had all been in Bangkok for the AIDS conference and were not happy about the way it had gone, so we changed the subject to suggested itineraries for a day in Pai.
The following morning I woke up and rented a small 125cc scooter for the day to zip around the surrounding areas. Best move ever.
Me & my scooter
I was heading out of town toward the hot spring national park when I spotted Louise and her friends lending a hand in a rice field. I stopped off and pulled rice with some local villagers and learned a little bit more about the rice growing process.
Pickin' Rice
Putting it into bundles
Getting the bundles ready for replanting
All of us then went to the hot springs to sit and relax, but the water was an astounding 80 degrees Celsius. It was much to hot to sit it, but very nice for getting your feet wet.
Later that day I just went driving all over the place, through the rice fields, and around the mountains. I got a little lost, but everything was okay because the roads were very easy to navigate and there was very little traffic. Maybe the occasional cow, but that was it.
For dinner I went to a place across the street from Mr. Jan's Guesthouse called the House of Glass. There was an all you can eat BBQ, but a storm had blown through knocking out all the power in town, so everything was done by candlelight.
Sabini, the Italian, mossied in later and we began playing cards with some of the other patrons. The card games and discussions continued late into the night with various people joining and leaving until I finally called it quits and went to bed.
I woke up early in the morning to catch the first bus back to Chiang Mai. I had left some belongings in my hotel room there (I was already booked into the hotel in Chiang Mai before making the decision to go to Pai), and I was worried the staff might throw them away if I did not make it back by noon.
The overcrowded bus ride back seemed to take forever because of my lack of sleep and hangover, but I made it back to my hotel just in time.
As soon as I walked in the door, the lady at the front desk informed me a minivan was coming to pick me up in 5min. and drive me to the Laos border. Evidentially, it was part of the package I got hussled into while in Bangkok, so I rapidly packed my bags and hopped onto another four hour bus ride.
All the minvan passengers and I arrived at a small border town of Chiang Kong in the north of Thailand around 6pm and checked into guesthouse. Yet another part of the package deal, so I'm beginning to think I didn't get scammed at all.
Goodbye Thailand, for now. Tomorrow I head into Laos.
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