Leah in the Lod Cave entrance
This is the summit between Pai and the Lod Caves... the roads over here aren't necessarily built to any standards, so the moped that we rented barely made it up some of the switchbacks with us "Fat Americans" on board.
Sunset over Pai... Always beautiful!Updated with a few pics from Pai... Sorry, the Captain Jack Sparrow pics were on another drive that we forgot to bring.
Chang Mai began a new era of our trip. We were finally able to relax and have fun, let our guards down some and didn't feel like such tourists but more like we were here to have fun and learn some culture. The people are really kind in the north and it was just what we needed after the Bangkok rat race. We also ran into some Aussie friends that we met when we were over in Kanchanaburi and were able to hang out with them at night. As a side note, there are so many travelers over here that we continue to meet new people and run into them as we travel to new areas, makes traveling even more fun and you can also exchange information about things to see and transportation methods. Our trek guide (Ping Pong) showed us a great reggae bar (Thai reggae bands of course, entertaining) with live music every night. Across the gravel alley was a rock bar where a live rock band played "American Rock." Also a sight to see Thai guys who don't even speak english sing Kings of Leon and Green Day and the mixture of crown going crazy to the songs. This whole bar scene was almost out of a movie really, it was off the beaten path on a gravel alley intersection that everyone seemend to find and party at. Also the bouncer of the reggae bar was a famous martial artist who looked familiar but he was very modest and more interested in the girls having a good time (giving them shots) than revealing his identity. We found out by a couple of different sources that he was one of Jet Li's trainers and also in a couple of movies. Another character that we keep running into is a Spaniard always dressed up like Captain Jack Sparrow and really looks the part! We've seen him in three different cities now and he always makes us laugh! I finally caught a sneaky pic that I'll post in a few. After our fun adventures in and around Chang Mai, we headed a few hours north to a small hippie town called Pie. (Captain Jack showed up there also, in case you are windering).
Pie was a super laid back, Thai town that you could walk from corner to corner in 15 min. The town is all shops, botiques, massage parlors, restaraunts, resorts, and of course bars with the other necessary tourist ammenities but we were there for three days and never had anyone approach us to buy something like we were accustomed to from other areas of Thailand. Close to town were a bunch of hot springs (which we rode bikes to but were too hot to want to go in after sweating for an hour to get there), waterfalls, wats of course, and the usual elephant riding, bamboo rafting, etc. which we didn't feel necessary to do because we'd done already. There is also a bunch of motorcycling out of Pai including a track. We stayed away from that only because we plan to ride a bunch in Cambodia (although it was tough to). Instead we rented a scooter for $4 a day and rode about 50k to the Lod Cave out of Sapong. The cool cave air was probably the best thing about the trip but the caverns, stalagtites, stalagmites, and formed crystal structures were really interesting as well. The nightlife in Pie was really laid back with all of the bars having a guy or two that played guitar and sang classic tunes; the club in town "Ting Tong" was a bunch of bamboo platforms around firepits. They also always had fire shows going on (a guy spinning a fire stick and throwing it up in the air and such). Fun to watch and where most of the travelers our age went after starting at a street bar or drink cart. The streets of Pai were always changing with the busses dropping off a new group of travelers every hour, street vendors changing, drink carts moving, but always lively, no patter what time of day, night, or morning. We stayed in a nice little teak bungalow by the river, our nicest accomodation so far. Overall a great little active town, the best so far.
Today we came back down to Lampang which is right by the Elephant Conservatory where we will go tomorrow for the elephant camp. We are really looking forward to this and hoping that we will be around the river most of the time as it is HOT down here. That's all for now, we'll post another batch of pics when we return from the camp.
Brandon
Pie was a super laid back, Thai town that you could walk from corner to corner in 15 min. The town is all shops, botiques, massage parlors, restaraunts, resorts, and of course bars with the other necessary tourist ammenities but we were there for three days and never had anyone approach us to buy something like we were accustomed to from other areas of Thailand. Close to town were a bunch of hot springs (which we rode bikes to but were too hot to want to go in after sweating for an hour to get there), waterfalls, wats of course, and the usual elephant riding, bamboo rafting, etc. which we didn't feel necessary to do because we'd done already. There is also a bunch of motorcycling out of Pai including a track. We stayed away from that only because we plan to ride a bunch in Cambodia (although it was tough to). Instead we rented a scooter for $4 a day and rode about 50k to the Lod Cave out of Sapong. The cool cave air was probably the best thing about the trip but the caverns, stalagtites, stalagmites, and formed crystal structures were really interesting as well. The nightlife in Pie was really laid back with all of the bars having a guy or two that played guitar and sang classic tunes; the club in town "Ting Tong" was a bunch of bamboo platforms around firepits. They also always had fire shows going on (a guy spinning a fire stick and throwing it up in the air and such). Fun to watch and where most of the travelers our age went after starting at a street bar or drink cart. The streets of Pai were always changing with the busses dropping off a new group of travelers every hour, street vendors changing, drink carts moving, but always lively, no patter what time of day, night, or morning. We stayed in a nice little teak bungalow by the river, our nicest accomodation so far. Overall a great little active town, the best so far.
Today we came back down to Lampang which is right by the Elephant Conservatory where we will go tomorrow for the elephant camp. We are really looking forward to this and hoping that we will be around the river most of the time as it is HOT down here. That's all for now, we'll post another batch of pics when we return from the camp.
Brandon
5 comments:
Keep the updates coming, these are great. LOL at Captain Jack Sparrow guy showing up everywhere! Sounds like a blast.
A bit of back home news - Todd bought that IH Sunday and will be moving in to our place after he gets back from Canada, so everything worked out.
Sounds like a lot of fun. Next time you see Capt. Jack buy him a Jack for me. I look forward to seeing more pictures of the locals. Take care, love Dad.
Great pix keep posting. Glad to hear you both are having such a good time. Hope your heads weren't too heavy after the moonshine!!
Soo good guys!! Looks like an awesome time, a bit different than I expected. Keep living the dream.
Sounds like a blast! I love seeing all the updates and pictures...keep them coming! What an amazing adventure you are on...
We are headed to the river tonight for some boating and Desert Bar action...we will miss you guys! Talk to you soon!
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