I returned to my guesthouse after writing the last blog entry and proceeded to become slightly ill. I spent the night suffering from nauseau and a very upset stomach. In the morning the upset stomach was mostly gone, but I was still dizzy. I had thought about postponing going to Pai ,but decided to give it a try anyway. I left most of my bags at my guesthouse since I was coming back anyway and set off walking to the bus station with my small backpack. I had plans to get a lift, but as with everywhere in Asia white face means overcharge and I was halfway to the bus station before I finally found someone to take me for a reasonable price. I could have finished the walk myself, but as I said, I was feeling a bit ill. At the bus station I bought a ticket for the 10:30 bus. The bus wasn’t crowded and I had a seat to myself. We left on time and much to my head’s delight we went to Pai along what must be one of the windiest roads in Thailand. The trip was pretty, going through lots of mountains and forest but I saw only bits of it as I tried to sleep as much as I could. The 130 km trip took about 4.5 hours due in no large part to all the stopping. Sitting in the seat in front of me was an Australian lady named Dominique. We spoke a bit but I probably wasn’t the best company. By the time we got to Pai, I was feeling better, somewhat due to the sleep I had gotten on the bus. Dominique had some recommendations on where to stay and since I had left my guidebook behind I went with her. We walked down the main tourist street of Pai which ended at a small bamboo bridge over the river. Across the bridge were many bamboo and leaf bungalows. Most of the ones directly on the river lacked porch hammocks, so I immediately ruled them out. We found some a bit further back set around a large circle. They had their own bathrooms. We checked in and laid about on the hammocks for a while before going back into town to eat. [read on]
