Motorcycle Diaries Chapter 2: Counter-Clockwise in NW Thailand
Sunday, January 7th, 2007
I’m at the age when it doesn’t seem to matter what time I go to sleep at night as I always wake up early. Througout SE Asia, even in most large cities, the roosters start the process around 4:30 or 5:00 AM. Earplugs can only block out so much.
So, it wasn’t suprising that my eyes were wide open at 7 on a cold and misty new year’s day. I was still in my bunglaow in Pai however and checkout wasn’t until noon. Plenty of time for the sun to cut through the haze and warm the day.
The agenda until that time was coffee and pastry (banana bread instead of a mystery turnover this time), supplemented by a good book and the morning music playlist from the Ipod. The water in the shower had plenty of heat and pressure – a rare double-combination in my travels here. Aside from sleeping alone, the morning couldn’t have been much better.
[read on]
Somehow I found myself in Chiang Mai, Thailand- it gets a lot of hype as one of the best places in this country, but it is just a Bangkok-north. Since it is the town I fly out of when I leave for home in less than a couple of weeks, it made sense to use it as a base for exploring north-western Thailand.
jpb