...would that I should never leave. And if I hadn't left today, I might have stayed in that hammock indefinitely.

Thursday I left the Libra House with just my small scout bag and my nifty hippie bag made by the Lisu hilltribe. This meant I pretty much had some books, toothpaste and a change a clothes. My "bus"... which was basically a mini-van with more seats with more seats... picked me up and I was off to explore another town.

I got into town and just started walking. There are only a few streets so you cant get too lost. I had decided that I wanted to stay near the Pai river so just started walking this way. There were lots of places advertising bungalows, but I kept on walking. I crossed a shaky looking bamboo bridge and recognized a place that I had seen on the internet. Eh... why not. I walked in. And wouldnt you know, that one of the tribe Libra trekkers was sitting there. Turns out that with my arrival it was a 50% reunion.

I was feeling kind of lethargic and mostly in the mood for napping in the hammock until Steph suggested that I might be dehydrated and that I should go drink some water. So I stood and chugged a liter and felt immediately revitalized. Gotta be more careful of that... it can happen even in the north where its cooler and even when I'm not being very active. So feeling quite improved I set out to explore the few streets of Pai. The first thing I noticed, is that there is no 7-11! While this adds to the small town charm... its a mini-catastrophe in that it means no Betagen for the duration of my stay. Well as I was walking along, ostensibly looking for food, I happened to run into Steph again, so I had dinner at Baan Pai w/ her and an irish girl named Kerrie. Kerrie and I had hamburgers and oh my buddha were they outstanding. From there we went to this little jazz cafe called Edible Jazz for "Banoffe Pai"... a toffe, banana and chocolate pie. Good stuff. But its hard to go wrong when there is chocolate involved. Anyway, this place was absolutely the coolest place I have ever been. Like many Asian places, you have to take your shoes off, and then there is this all wooden verranda with low tables and cushions on the floor. There is a little wooden bar and a radio playing some really funky/jazzy tunes. Simple, yet really elegant and totally cool without trying. I hung out there every day and might still be doing just that if I hadnt left. Why did I leave again?

So after the banoffe pai pick-me-up, we headed to a jazz bar called BeBop, where a good jazz band was supposed to be playing. This is one of the neat things about Pai. The jazz bars and cafes. At first it seems odd and incongruous to find jazz bars in the hills of northern Thailand, but then it just seems like they are supposed to be there. The band was good, but like most bands in most clubs.. too loud. How are you supposed to hear anything? Or can everyone else hear and I am just deaf? I don't know. Exhausted, I headed back to the Yawning Fields where I promptly collapse in my little hut.

The next day I didnt get up until close to noon. I was awake, but the morning was a bit too chilly, so I just chose to huddle under my blanket. Besides, as it turns out... noon is the best time to shower at the Yawning Fields, b/c the
showers are outdoors! It is strange at first, but then showering with the sun on your back is quite nice afterall.

So this day, which I think was Friday (you do start to lose track of the days in Pai)... we decided to go tubing down the Pai river. And the fact that we actually mobilized about 10 people to go do this, was quite ambitious considering the sleepy pace of Pai and the predilection for laying about in hammocks. Mobilized, we marched off to pick up innertubes and then piled into a pickup (quite a feat considering we also had all the innertubes to contend with) and drove upriver. Then we got out and jumped in. Eeeek! The water was cold at first. and eeeek again. "is this water sanitary, b/c it looks questionable to me!" hermanita diabla, you'd better remember that. ;) thankfully i was fairly oblivious to what the other tubers (who were way ahead of me) described. No wonder the locals were looking at us funny. Well I seem no worse for wear. Unlike my compatriots who ended up getting out and hitching back... I stupidly stayed rode the whole 2.5 hours out. The ride really would have been peaceful if I hadnt had this tendency of running into rocks and the river banks. The rest of the troops were going back to BeBop but I decided to save my lungs from further torture and headed back to Edible Jazz for some quality chilling.

Saturday I decided to rent to rent a motorcycle/scooter and see what was to be seen. Again a huge effort, b/c the hammock was really crying out to me. So after my banana pancakes and noontime shower in the sun, I headed up the main drag (there are only a few streets) to find a rental agency. After a few minutes of confusion over what the proprietor had done with my passport, and a 3 minute lesson, I was the proud renter of one Honda dream 125cc motorcycle. Of course I have never driven a motorcycle before and I think I've already mentioned that the drivers in Thailand are insane, but for some reason I thought this would be a good place to try it out. Maybe that river water was affecting my brain after all. First I headed to the gas station for a fill up (turned out to be unneccessary but I was petrified of getting lost and running out of us) and a small shot of betagan. hurray! then I followed the maps and the signs to the Temple on the Mountain. The drive up and down the mountain were actually more interesting (or terrifying) than the actual temple. Another wat... and not even all that spectacular... save for the views. The I went out a little further and found the hotspring . The water was 80 degrees Celsius! Thats approximately 192 degrees fahrenheit. So even though I love hottubs, I had to pass. And since I wasnt all that interested in cooking eggs in the water like some others, I just decided to head back to find food.

The ride back was really awesome. By then I had become a motorcycle adept :) and was really just cruising along enjoying the scenery of beautiful Pai. The wind in my shirt (not in my hair since I was wearing a helmet), the hills to my left (the west
) bathed in the brilliant light of the setting sun and the hills to my right (the east) cloaked in shadow. Really the best part of the whole ride.. and definitely worth the 145 Baht I paid to rent the bike and the helmet. I parked my bike on the west side of the river (I damned sure wasnt driving my bike across that sketchy bamboo bridge) I wandered out to a random restaurant for some unremarkable beef and rice before heading back to Edible Jazz yet for more banoffee pai and hanging out.

When Sunday rolled around I decided I had best leave Pai now or risk not ever doing so (and now I wonder what would have been so bad about that?), so I had one last breakfast of banana pancakes and got on a mini bus back to Chang Mai, where I intended to finish my christmas shopping at the sunday market before heading on to my next destination: Chang Rai.

-pics due as soon as i can find a connection to upload them with