Villa De Pai

... his ipod.<br><br>He laughed some more and said he was confused and he thought a "Hummer is a real expensive car right, why did they want three dollars for gas?" <br><br>After his story his buddy called him over and he picked up the mic and a guitar and sang some really great music, both English and Thai. <br><br>We also met Yoaan from Switzerland, who we had a lot in common with due to our interest in motorcycle ...

... sense of independence and liberation through covering large distances. (Incidentally I dont feel like this on aeroplanes, they are simply tedious)<br><br>My first few days in Pai will hopefully involve a trip to a hill tribe village. Possibly a moral dilemma involved in this, as there are rumours that this kind of tourism is highly exploitative, I shall have to see for myself anway, and then report back.

... for the foreseeable future. I looked into visiting a famous village where Thai women wear gold necklace bands, gradually increasing their numbers to extend the length of their necks, earning them the unimaginative moniker the &#8220;Long Necks&#8221;, but soon learnt that the villagers earned an extra four quid for every tourist who came along which made me rather suspicious. It&#8217;s no bad thing to earn money from tourism, but quite another when ...

... 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.<br>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 ...

... the town. Matt is a money lender from England who bought a business here and a house and a bike, but is cash poor (???). The list could go on and on, and in fact, does, but it would last all day writing about all these cool people I've met in the past 2 weeks. Lastly, so, is Mayo girl Ruth, who worked with 'disturbed teenagers' in Dublin before she came travelling. She arrived for a few days a couple of weeks ago, loved the place, heard about some guy who owns a coffee ...

... 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 ...

... platforms along the river as the weather is so hot (around 45 degrees usually) that no one can work and you need to roll in to the water every hour or so to cool down for the month. <br>Thep's name is short for Suthep. Only last week I visited Doi Suthep, a temple outside Chiang Mai, and I asked him what it meant. Do I believe him that Thep means God and Su, Good??? Your guess is as good as mine, but he was a brilliant guide and we had 8 hours of seriously ...

... Thailand must have been in it and most were wearing elaborate uniforms and makeup. Unfortunately we kind of stumbled across it and I didn't have my camera with me. I've been bad about carrying my bag with me and will have to do better. <br><br>After the parade I spent some time walking through the actual festival grounds with Moshe, an Israeli guy that I've spent a few days with. The festival was like any that you'd see in The ...