When I first arrived in Pai, I didn’t particularly like it. The surrounding mountains and trees were beautiful though they would’ve been even more so with a little rain. The town was small and manageable but outside of hiking in the mountains, which it was too hot to do there was not a whole lot to do. I had thought that there would be more yoga opportunities then there were. It was very new agey; every other store front was a thai massage shop. There were an inordinate number of white people with dread locks mulling about town.

While I met nice people and had a good conversation inspired by Noam Chomsky, I didn’t really connect with anyone. Everyone seemed to be just sitting in the restaurant by the river. There were a couple of what I call ‘big fish small pond people”. They like to settle into a small place and speak loudly using the locals names and interjecting some sort of information that only someone who has been around for a while would know. They like to attract the attention of the newbies and dispense information about the area that is generally not all that useful.

What I think really prevented me from finding the good in the place was that I was in the most uncomfortable bed of my travels. To date, my beds have almost always been thick foam mattresses that are even more comfortable then my bed at home. This bed was a much of springs without much padding and it was wrenching my back and since I wasn’t getting a satisfying nights sleep, I woke up groggy and never managed to get out of bed until it started to get really hot.

Now those of you who know me well, think nothing of my sleeping late, but I have been really good at getting up at a reasonable time here because my body just wakes up and the cold shower beacons me. In Pai, I wasn’t even getting up early enough to change rooms.

When I finally did, it was for what I had determined would be my last night. I had told a friend of a friend that I was going to visit him in Nong Khai. This was probably the 3rd time I had told him I was coming and I kept changing how and what time so I really felt obligated to go and be a woman of my word.

My new place was right next to my old one and my bungalow was in a beautiful garden that I had not had any idea was even back there. The room was nicer and the price was cheaper then my old place. If I had noticed the garden and bothered to inquire sooner, I surely would’ve found a way to switch earlier and perhaps I would’ve stayed longer.

As soon as I switched rooms I felt better and I decided to make the most of my last night by having a good meal and going to sleep early so that I could catch my early morning bus.

I headed off to Na’s kitchen which was reputed to have the best food in town. The namesake of the restaurant stands in the middle of her open air kitchen which is at the front of the restaurant. The tables are inside and along the counter of the kitchen is a low narrow table ideal for those eating alone.

I was busy perusing the menu and commented to the guy sitting there that there were just too many choices. When he looked up at me, I discovered that my dining companion was quite attractive in a piercing blue eyes, chiseled features, pretty sort of way. He also had the posture of someone who is committed to his yoga.

I was quite pleased about this because I had recently been in the company of two rather attractive and interested men. One was Swiss and I met him in Sihonoukville and the other was Israeli and I met him in Bangkok. Due to some circumstances and bad choices, my potential for romance was short lived.

But here I was with the opportunity to redeem myself. My dining companion was named Dicken and he had ordered something vegetarian and I was going to do the same so we shared our meal. This was a good sign. No one ever wants to share with me because I usually order vegetarian or don’t want what they are ordering.

Dicken was a 32 year old Englishman who had been living in Amsterdam. For the past four years, he had been in the process of making a career change from corporate American to a life focused on health and wellness. He was in Pai taking the second week long massage class of his trip. We had one of the more meaningful conversations of my trip.

At the beginning of the meal, I had mentioned my intentions to have an early night to one of the aforementioned big fish who had stopped by our table. At the end of the meal, he said he was going out. I would’ve gone out for a bit, but he didn’t ask me though he obviously wanted to. I would’ve offered to walk him where ever he was going and stay for a drink, but at that particular moment my mind was focused on the fact that I really had to go to the bathroom. Instead of asking him to wait, we said a quick and very awkward goodbye.

Suddenly the reason for my status as a single woman is becoming quite clear.

I walked away from a very attractive, intelligent English bloke who was taking massage lessons.

I’m an idiot.