It's been a little while since I've updated the blog. Lately, my life has been busy and filled with new friends and new places -although wonderful for experiences, it's less than optimal for reading material! Ah well, such is life.
As for an update -I'm currently in Luang Namtha, a rather small town in Northern Laos. After leaving the southern islands of Thailand, I managed to find a cheap flight to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is Thailand's second main city, after Bangkok, and is known for it's culture, it's temples, it's arts and nightlife, and the beautiful mountainous region where it is located in Northern Thailand. I was pretty happy to find a cheap flight to both save time, and to miss the heat and chaos of Bangkok. I was also rather pleased with myself that I was able to bring my pack as carry-on luggage on the plane -not only did I save the money it costs to check luggage on the budget flight I was on, but it was also great to save some time and just walk off of the plane once I arrived! While on the plane I also made friends with a lovely Thai girl going to University in Chaing Mai who was sitting with her mother on the plane. Although her English was not great, and my Thai was even worse, we were able to have a bit of a conversation during the flight using gestures and drawings. I kept hearing that people were friendlier in the North, and this was a great introduction!
Chiang Mai itself was a lovely city. I was reunited with a friend I had made earlier in Koh Tao, and she introduced me to an American she had met in the hostel. After a couple days of touring temples, checking out the various markets Chaing Mai had to offer, and touring the city in Soorng ta-oows (a type of pick-up truck with seats in the back that locals use to get around -he'll take you there eventually, but he'll pick up anyone and you're definitely not guaranteed a direct route! Very cheap though ;-)) we decided to head further north. Elise and Brandon went to Pai, while I spent another day in Chiang Mai to get in some zip-lining, before I joined them.
Ziplining was an absolute blast. After some thought and chatting with others who had done it, I ended up choosing the most established company in Chiang Mai, Flight of the Gibbons. This particular company was a bit more expensive, but had some of the longest and fastest ziplines in Thailand, and also contributed some of their profits to forest conservation efforts which I appreciated. What a rush it was! The lines were long and fast as promised, and the feeling of just jumping off a platform from some of the highest trees in the jungle into huge ravines below was pretty incredible.
After Chiang Mai, it was off to Pai, where I rejoined Elise and Brandon. I met a girl from the UK on the bus to Pai who was doing a similiar trip to me, and because she hadn't chosen a hostel/guesthouse in Pai yet, she followed us and our little group became four.
Pai is known as a sleepy little town in the mountains, and it was different from other parts of Thailand that I had experienced in so many ways. For one, the temperature was cooler. This was the first time that a pool was available that I didn't feel the need to swim in. I noticed a few items on the menu that had been replaced by different regional specialties, and this was also the first time that I had been in a city where there seemed to be more locals than tourists, which was a rather nice change. Although the south of Thiland is stunning, it is also completely overrun by farang (foreigners, or more specifically, westerners), much to the detriment of the local culture, I think.
Pai was stunning it its own way -the town is nestled in a little valley surrounded by moutains, the plants lush and the weather room-temperature perfect, but it doesn't draw the beach bums and party people in quite the same way. Pai still had plenty of tourists, but it was a noticeable change from the south. We spent a very chilled few days here -scootering around and checking out waterfalls and beautiful scenery, walking throughout the nightmarket (we even saw Thai Captain Jack Sparrow!!) and laughing and continuing to eat when the outdoor restaurant we ate at lost electricity for about half an hour. One learns to be laid back about many things when travelling, and the fact that we were even supposed to have electricity 24/7 was good enough for us! All in all, a lovely few days, spent with some lovely people. Life is good!
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