A Slice Of Pai

After a hectic Thursday night at a reggae bar in Chiang Mai we headed up, bright and early, to a place called Pai in northern Thailand which is a little hippie town up in the mountains. Yesterday was spent recovering from the windey mini-bus journey which made everybody feel pretty green, but it was a good plan as we conserved our energy for today which was an absolute blinder.

After a morning work-out in the guesthouse garden (Suzie- a girl I have met here is a personal trainer) we headed out on rented mopeds. They cost around #2.50 for 24 hours. We drove out to a couple of waterfalls, a canyon and up a very steep and windy road to the highest point in Pai where the views were incredible.

I had my first experience of a full Thai massage. Apparently she stood on my back but I fell asleep in sheer bliss and missed it. I can highly recommend it- especially for #2 a time...

Beginning the journey in to Laos tomorrow but it is going to take a while with a bus to two different towns, a night at the border and a 2 day slow-boat down the Mekong in to Luang Prubang.

A Whole New Meaning To The 'Wet Season'...

I finally managed to get over my jet lag and the last couple of days have been superb. I spent Wednesday exploring the town. It was the final day of Songkran and everybody was armed with water pistols and buckets ready to soak any passers-by.

We waddled on down to the temples in our soaking clothes and visited the main Wat (temple) in Chiang Mai. The celebrations meant they were all beautifully decorated and the atmosphere was buzzing. The perfect opportunity for an introduction to Thai Massage. I decided to start cautiously and only go for the feet (full body thai massage involves a lot of bending, cracking, slapping, pounding etc etc). My thirty minute foot massage cost a mere pound... Although the lady deserved a tip for getting anywhere near my feet.

We finished the day off with a visit to the Night-Market. There were endless stalls selling bits and bobs from Pad Thai to (strangely enough) heamerhoids cream...

My dinner was a whole BBQ'd fish and a plate of Pad Thai literally cooked in front of your face for peanuts.

On the subject of food- today I went on a Thai cookery course. It was a day of complete glutony. We made six dishes in the space of 5 hours and ate every single one. Mum & Dad- I will be making a mess of the new kitchen on my return home but I will allow you to sample some of my expert Pappaya Salad, Tom Yum Soup, Green Thai Curry, Chicken with Cashew or (my personal favourite) Sticky rice with Mango.

So with a full belly and a truck load of energy I'm off for a night of Kareoke. One of the girls I have met since being here turned 30 today and we are celebrating Thai-Style...

Lots of Love

Jos. x

A Not-so Bon Voyage

I finally arrived in to Chiang Mai at 7.00 this morning after 3 flights and an incredibly boring 13-hour wait at Bangkok airport. Bangkok is apparently complete mayhem with tanks on the roads and buildings burining- so I'm pretty lucky to have avoided it.

It is the Songkran (Thai New Year) here in Chang Mai. Thais celebrate with a five day holiday and by pummeling each other with water on the streets. Everybody walks around drenched and the cars and minibusses are covered in clay. Tomorrow, I suspect will be the grand finale...

Four of us lone female travellers came together at Chiang Mai airpoirt to get a taxi in to town and have stuck together since.

I wasn't up to doing much after the 36-hour journey but this evening has been a good laugh. We went to a local restaurant with some lads who have been working in a hospital here for a couple of years and live in the town. A few beers later we headed on to North Gate, a jazz bar where the owner just keeps instrumens on stage and people can help themselves, improvise and join in. I didn't punish anyone by getting involved, but the music was brilliant and the fruit punch for 50p a glass was top notch.

The weather is grand, the sun is shining and after the daily afternoon downpour things freshen up for a perfect evening.

Hope you're all doing well.

Jos x