Disoriented David : North Thailand

I write this post, the penultimate one of the series, from the (highly familiar) departure lounge of Kuala Lumpur airport, en route to London on hour 14 of what is due to be a 32 hour door-to-door journey. I think I'll write a brief summary of the last week and a half and then post some pictures. I'll follow up with some thoughts and conclusions in a separate post. M'kay? M'kay.

From the moment I arrived in Chiang Mai, I connected with the north of Thailand more than I did with the south; I enjoyed Bangkok and the islands, but the slower pace and mountain air of the north won me over. Chiang Mai itself is very pleasant and not too busy considering that it is a fairly large city. There is an old centre with loads of temples, surrounded by a moat, and in parts by the remnants of a wall. I was lucky enough to arrive in town on the same day as the weekly night market (Sunday) which takes over one of the main streets. There was also one in a running series of free live music events - I saw a Thai didgeridoo band with a bit of a rasta slant whose defiant genre-bending is surely the bane of every record store clerk in the land.

I spent the remainder of my four days in Chiang Mai, among other things, on a day trip to some minority villages and the highest point in Thailand, a visit to a beautiful temple that overlooks the whole town and flossing, because dental hygiene is important.

From Chiang Mai I took a winding three hour journey to the small riverside town of Pai, nestled in a valley not too far from the border with Myanmar. Ah Pai.. Pai is my favourite pair of sweatpants. I had heard glowing reports of Pai for months, both from friends at home and from travelers I met along the way, and it has the reputation of being a place where people repeatedly extend their stay (with some even moving permanently). It seemed like a fitting destination in which to spend my last 6 days in Asia. Nevertheless, I've been burned by high expectations before (cf. Hoi An) and I was concerned that nothing could live up to such hype. I was wrong. Pai is just the best. The real joy of Pai is just staying in town and whiling the hours away in conversation with the fantastic souls that populate the various hostels and bars. That said there are great attractions within an enjoyable scooter ride of town so it's not difficult to stay active too. Some of the most interesting and enjoyable sights were the Pai canyon (see picture below), the 'Land Split' and the Lod cave, which has a eery Styx-like river running through it with creepy dark fish swarming in the water like lost souls. The Land Split is a field in which a giant rift was formed by seismic activity back in 2008. The farmer who owns the field now runs it as a tourist site. The chasm is cool to see, but the real charm there is in the rosella juice, tropical fruits and chillout area complete with hammocks, all provided by the owner for free, with a donation box in which visitors can leave as much cash as they see fit. Suffice it to say that if I didn't have a flight I had to catch, I'm certain I would have been among those remaining in Pai indefinitely - I certainly hope to return.

From Pai it was back to Chiang Mai from where I began this odyssey back home.

Like I said, I hope to still post some general thoughts separately, but anyway, it's been a blast - thanks for joining in.

I love each of you more than the next.

David