A view of the Pai River from the nearby mountain

We’ve just uploaded photos from our last two days in Pai. Instead of joining an organized trekking tour, we decided to ride around by ourselves and explore different villages, waterfalls, wats and farmland. It was fabulous.

Check out the photos from day 3 and day 4.

We are now back in Chiang Mai packing our bags and getting ready to say goodbye to each other and to Thailand. Tomorrow morning we both fly out of Chiang Mai – I am flying back to HCMC for 1 night before flying back home (via Tokyo) and Kevin is flying to Malaysia to start his adventure!

Pam Bok Waterfall Near Pai

We’ve uploaded new photo albums from our first two days here in Pai in the North of Thailand. Check out photos of our motorbike travels:

Pai, Thailand – Day 1
Pai, Thailand – Day 2

We decided to skip the included “American Breakfast” as it’s called and cross the street for something a bit more interesting and healthy. We first dropped off our dirty laundry, also across the tiny street, where they wash your clothes for 20 Baht (50 cents) and it’s ready by 6PM the same day. The breakfast cafe was small and charming with statues, flowers and little offerings of food in dishes which the passing dogs seemed to enjoy very much. Tamar had a fruit, yogurt and muesli cup and I enjoyed a mushroom crepe and some very strong and good coffee.

We rented a motorbike yesterday and we’ll probably keep it for the entire week that we’re here. Motorbikes are only 100 Baht here in Pai which is about $2.50 and you can fill up the tank for about the same price so it’s just good to have a bike handy for whenever you might need it. However, the air is so cool and clear in the morning that we plan to go on mini-excursions each morning before the afternoon heat arrives.

Narrow walkway along the Pai Canyon

Today we ventured South past the turnoff to the waterfall we visited yesterday, our current destination being the Pai Canyon. The travel agent we spoke to in town apologized to us in advance that it’s “much smaller than the Grand Canyon” and she told us to not be disappointed. It’s true that if Las Vegas were to create a “Grand Canyon, the Experience” theme park it would be roughly the size of the Pai Canyon but with the mountain view and trees everywhere it was really a nice place to visit. Many narrow natural walkways or dirt paved ridges surrounded the canyon, most of them looking too precarious to even attempt. The view from the canyon was beautiful.

We then continued further South to the “WWII Bridge” which was an old steel bridge over the Pai River. This was actually the same location from which we set out on the previous day’s bamboo raft journey down the river. From the bridge we could see several miles of farmland extending all the way to the surrounding mountains.

Water buffalo in the fields near the Mae Yen Waterfall

We decided to visit another waterfall to the East of Pai and we stopped for lunch along the way. While waiting for our food I set out on foot down the road a bit to photograph some water buffalo. I got pretty close to one who was near enough to the roadside but I think the real camera worthy moment must have been me jumping up and down, waiving my arms and making noises trying to get the buffalo’s attention for my own photo.

We followed the flow of water while driving on a narrow dirt road through fields of crops until the road ended in the shade. We found out that the waterfall was another seven kilometers walk from there. Since this was the hottest time of the day we decided it would be best to return for the hike to the waterfall tomorrow morning when it’s still cool and we weren’t stuffed from eating such a large lunch.

Back in Pai we have WIFI Internet, electricity and a large selection of organic, vegetarian food (and seafood) and fresh baked goods at a nice restaurant called “The Sanctuary” just along the river. It’s the perfect place to chill out during the peak of the day’s heat and to catch up on our blogging!

Tin Tin Up Close

Going to the north of Thailand without riding an elephant is a little like going to Vegas without gambling. Yesterday, on our first full day in Pai, we decided to go elephant riding in the afternoon. For our journey, we got “Tin Tin”, a huge female elephant who doesn’t look a day older than 412. Tin Tin, as we learned moments later, is a moody girl with a serious gas problem (the two are related, I suspect).

We rode on Tin Tin’s back, along with our guide, Chai, and were focusing very hard to not fall off. It is very tricky to hold on to the ropes and balance on top of a huge elephant. In addition to being challenging, it is also PAINFUL. Tin Tin had rough skin and very sharp prickly hair that rubbed against our legs as we were holding on tightly. Our guide was yelling orders at her the whole journey to the river but she was disobeying every single one, my kind of girl!

After what seemed like an hour (but really covered only a few hundred meters), we finally reached the river. This was where the real fun began. The water transformed Tin Tin from a grumpy old lady into a playful little girl. She had a great time splashing water on us, dropping us into the river and turning from side to side dipping one of us at a time in the brown waters. We got a real taste of the rodeo and were both super sore. We could barely walk away when the ride was over and we swore to wait another decade (at least) before the next ride.

Bamboo Rafting down the River

Next followed a special treat – we were met by another guy who took us down the river on a bamboo raft. As this is the dry season, the river was very calm and the ride peaceful. We got to see all kinds of animals on the way and wave to people going about their business by the river. The trip ended with the sunset behind the Pai mountains. It was gorgeous.

First of all, we’re planning on spending a good deal of time in Thailand. A couple days after I arrive in HCMC we’ll take off for some island fun.

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Koh Chang

This archipelago is situated far from the famous islands like Koh Pi Pi and Koh Phangan and the full-moon parties. However, everything I’ve heard about Koh Chang sounds just as good if not better than most of the other more popular islands of Thailand. From beaches to hiking, motorbiking (although reportedly risky for beginners) to hanging out with elephants, this island getaway sounds like the perfect break from the fast paced life in New York City. In addition to the main island of Koh Chang there are several smaller nearby islands to explore and we plan on doing some island hopping just like we did last year in Si Phan Don, Laos.

Bangkok

We’ve been to Bangkok before but only briefly and many years ago. In 2001 we first landed in Bangkok coming from Israel (via Copenhagen). This city was the very first place we visited in Asia. However, three things prevented us from really seeing and experiencing Bangkok.

1) We landed and headed straight for Khaosan Road and sort of got stuck in that backpacker scene.
2) We ran around town trying to get malaria pills at a cheap price and also had to procure visas to Vietnam.
3) We took off to the beautiful island of Koh Lanta while waiting to receive our Vietnam visas.

This time, however, we’re all set to explore other parts of the city and to see how it’s changed over the years. For example, we’ve yet to check out Wat Phrakaew (with the Emerald Buddha) and the Royal Grand Palace as well as the nearby ruins of Ayuthaya, on the road to Chiang Mai.

North of Thailand

photo credit: garycycles2

Thailand, along with Vietnam and Laos, offers a lot of diversity for travelers especially when you compare the northern and southern regions of the country. All three countries feature mountain ranges in the north and have some things in common: gorgeous scenery, indigenous mountain tribes, cooler weather, and lots of great nature and hiking. We’ll have plenty of time to rest on the islands but we’re also planning on getting some exercise in the mountains. It seems like the main place to go is Chiang Mai, the capital city in the northern region of the same name. Many people recommend Pai, another town which is not too far. We’ll probably look into some motorbiking in this region in case we get tired of walking. If it’s anything like the northern mountains of Vietnam, where I did a 5 day motorcycle tour to the border of China in 2001, then it should be an excellent and scenic adventure!

Also on this trip Tamar and I may both visit Singapore (separately) and I’m planning on staying a few weeks longer to check out Malaysia in February. More on that to come! In the meantime, we’re looking for recommendations and open to anything.