Goodbye Thailand, Hello Laos

okay so still no pics, but i will try to post some as soon as i get to laos. i head out of thailand tomorrow and i'm on my way to luang prabang. not really sure why i booked the package that gets me from pai straight to luang prabang...but i did. sometimes these decisions just make themselves.

i was thinking about heading back to chiang mai for a few days, and checking out some temples i didn't get to see b/c i was lost on my bike down by the airport and it took a little while of walking along a highway until i ended up back in the walls surrounding central chiang mai and bought a cool skirt for 50 Baht (about $1.30). the next day was the jungle trek that was absolutely amazing.

four days in the jungles of NE Thailand with a jungle master. We met this guide named Had that is from the hills and has spent the last 20 years guiding tourists around his homeland. We spent the first day driving a few hours into the park, stopping at a market to buy provisions where we were accosted by some hilltribes women and i bought a cool water bottle holder that goes over your shoulder (only moments before i was hoping to have such an item, and $0.90 you can't complain). I wondered how long they last and mine is still functional but Tash's lasted about ten minutes.

we sat by the road and at some pad thai take-away, each boy had two while us girls had one, then headed into the jungle. we hiked about 10km that day, saw a huge cave where a monk has lived by himself for 10 years or so, and he goes down the the village each morning to get his daily food. we stayed at the village that night, our first introduction to thai moonshine, some sort of rice liquor that they call whiskey but is more like vodka or something. anyway it was awesome. we were famished so the food we were given was absolutely delicious. fresh rice, veggies, garlic chicken, and lots of fresh chillies. we passed around the one shot glass and whiskey and played some sort of card game, i don't really remember what it was but we had a blast. the other guide came out and was smoking this huge cigarette made with banana leaf papers so it was really really big. he also sang "no woman no cry" with the added lyric "no whiskey i die." we just about died laughing.

going to the outdoor toilet was fun, tash and i met a cow named Mooella the second. she even had her own song. i was absolutely freezing that night b/c we bathed in the river and my was wet, and i was not prepared for the cold. it's thailand, you don't need clothes! in the south, that is. even in chiang mai it was hot and sweaty. but up in the jungle it was easily 50 (F). my little skimpy borrowed sleeping bag did me not much good, luckily dan lent me his -15 (C) bag the next night, although i bled into it from my leech bite that i managed to acquire while using the real outdoor toilet the next night (i.e. the grass).

day two we began with a strong cup of instant coffee, some eggs and toast, and a pig in labor! i also got licked by a cow...we didn't see any piglets being born, but we squealed like one when the mother stepped on the first one (no broken bones b/c babies are almost all cartilage). i think we were stressing her out so we left her alone.

then we headed up and up and up and up (15km that day).....straight up for so long, by the time we reached the waterfall we needed a break and some more good food. although it was a bit like top ramen, thai style, in awesome bamboo bowls. bamboo plants are good for everything: plates, cups, silverware, weapons, walking sticks, ropes, weaving material. and banana leaves are great seats, tablecloths, and rolling papers. oh and food wrappers! and it's all biodegradable. Jungle Life! the boys went to making a damn, crazy boys are always doing something "manly."

then we went back uphill, me with my sarong being worn like obi won kanobe. we finished up in a little hut by the river (always stay by moving water so mosquitos are pretty rare) that our guide had stayed at the year before, while helping a scientist plant rice. so there were huge rice fields across the river, along with mint, some oranges, limes, chilis, and peanuts. we used them all, some for eating but mostly for making jungle mojitos! that is right folks, i was about two days away from "civilization" but i was drinking the best damn mojito anyone has had in the jungle. we used up the sugar, the whiskey, and the limes, but it was worth it. a game of "i went to the waterfall and i brought" went on far too long. we had a german leather queen, a tricycle, some nailclippers, and the game was finally stopped by some more good thai food.

day three we hiked 18km, with a lunch by the river that consisted of some awesome pumpkin curry and egg fried rice. that night we ended up at another village where the children had probably never seen a farang before, they sat with us and stared at us for hours. we had a great time of drawing pics of and for them, and taking their pics and showing them the screen. some relaxing that night helped me out a lot, i was exhausted and kinda sick. i'm still coughing a bit and we got back four days ago.

the last day we rafted down the river, on bamboo rafts and used bamboo sticks as our paddles. i was sitting at first but quickly grew tired of it, so i helped steer our boat. not much whitewater but it was nice to see all the buffalo everywhere.

we ended up back in chiang mai that night, exhausted and starving. the boys went to an all you can eat steak place and i headed to the best veggie restaurant in chiang mai, blue diamone. so freaking good. i talked to my parents briefly, passed out, and headed to pai the next morning. i've been in pai for three days and love it! i totally see how people get stuck here...i could stay for a month. but i decided to definitely make it to india and hopefully up to tibet, so i need to leave before i spend all my money in thailand.

we stayed at these awesome huts along the river, pretty cheap for our own hut each with a big bed and private attached bathroom with hot water shower. the last night (tonight) they raised the prices b/c of high season and i think it's a thai holiday weekend. i'm staying at another place that is not so nice but i leave early in the morning and my room is really big and the bathroom is right next door and no one else is staying around me.

pai has been really fun, when i've been alone. the first day (halloween) i was so tired i just took a shower, a nap, and went to dinner for nick's birthday. had some drinks at buffalo exchange (the same font on the sign for the store back in the states, but no clothes to be seen) and went to a halloween party at a bar that ended right when dan and i showed up. so we had a quick drink and a roti and went to bed. the next day we rented motorbikes and went to a waterfall nearby (i know i know it was dangerous but i'm okay!) i did manage to fall on the bike and scrape up my knee a bit, but it's totally fine and some people are on crutches and/or seriously scratched up all over their side. so i got off quite easily. don't know when i'll rent one again, i think push bikes are more my style. or bicycles, as we call them.

the next day i hung out, read in my little bungalow for a while in the morning, headed out to this great cafe that has a lounge seat for people to sit around or lay down while eating/reading/chatting. after spending a week or so with four boys (that are total "boys", even the gay one was super testosterone_filled) it was nice to have some feminine energy around me. some artists were there to chat with and then i wandered around, had some tea, some more conversations, bought some books, read while watching the clouds moved across the sky over the intense green of the jungle mountain, all above the river passing next to my deck.... then i had dinner and drinks with the boys again and retired to my room for some more reading and a big fat mosquito...

i'm excited for some alone time. i find that i have a better time when not stuck in a group of people. I love the boys but it was too much for me after a while. We all split up today and I might see them later on (especially Dan b/c he left his trunks outside of my hut). i spent the day arranging tomorrow, finding another room, and chatting with a fellow californian yogi who gave me some great advice/ideas about india. i'm so excited.

oh and i just finished "life of pi" and it was good, thanks ali! i almost traded it for the red tent but ended up with something i haven't read yet, we'll see how it goes. it's funny, i keep reading books about india while in thailand, and now the i'm leaving thailand i'm starting to read "the beach"...

goodbye thailand! i'll be back soon :)