Baan Tawan Guesthouse Pai

... ride, determined to make it something to show for my day. The local waterfalls were a little too far so I set off in the direction of a national park which housed some hot springs and after plenty of hardwork, toil and a mini heart attack or two, I was very proud to finally reach it and gave myself an invisible rosette. It was worth the effort as you could dip in the warm parts of the springs and watch locals boil eggs on the piping hot sections and I had ...

On my way back to Chiang Mai from Mae Hong Son I stopped off again in Pai to go white water rafting. I've never done it before, and admit to being a little bit scared of the water (I can swim but I'm not a strong swimmer). I had an absolutely excellent time - the company who run Thai Rafting are first rate with an impecable safety record (compared to some of the other local rafting companies). I met up with Eric again (he's wanted to raft here for ages) and so we were in a ...

... they are. And you can't squeeze your thighs around their mid-section like on a horse. There is absolutely nothing to grip. And with every step, the elephant's shoulders shift, and the horizon tilts to a dangerous diagonal. I felt like a rag doll tossed about. I looked down at how far the ground was below me and decided I was not going to enjoy a fall, which felt ...

... before you knew it, the three of us were tearing around country lanes on scooters. Well, they were. I was a little more tentative and holding back at about 10km/h, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Thankfully the teachers proved to be terribly British and patient with the pupil.

I’d wanted to do a trek in Northern Thailand but the Gibbon Experience, aka “walk 20 minute, zip zip, maybe” had wiped most of the energy out of ...

... and friendly staff. And cheap as chips! The semi derelict bungalow was nothing to write home about but the place was well located and welcoming so we ditched our gear and had a look around Pai.
Pai is a tiny mountain town about 100km North West of Chiang Mai and according to the book is what Chiang Mai was like 20yrs ago, quite, unassuming place with a few hippies and relaxed locals. A great place to hang out without being pressured constantly to buy stuff and sign up ...

... we suddenly entered a wooded area that was awash with large, evil looking spiders. Sarah, the ickle girl of the group, was most unimpressed as I led and continued to point out large webs sporting nasty looking creatures at their center. We made it through, unscathed, just in time for a lazy two hours of bamboo rafting. Our four man raft was first in the water. Our captain, yours-truly, steered the vessel while James took care of things at the back. Mish and ...