Pai, Thailand

The 3 hour journey to Pai consists of 762 turns, so definitely isn't for the travel sickness prone backpackers. We got off the bus in the centre of Pai and were hit with the oven-like heat instantly. It had jumped up to a massive 41 degrees and we automatically regretted our decisions to stay in a non-air conditioned bungalow. After dropping our bags off, Jake went off to rent another motorbike as our mode of transport during our stay in Pai. It was edging on sunset time so we got google maps to navigate us to the canyon. It was busy full of travellers with the same idea as us. I sat and watched the sky turn from clear blue to rich orange while Jake had fun pretending to be bear grylls and climbed up the slippy canyon walls.

After the unsuccessful day we had trying to do our own tour of Chiang Mai, we thought it would be sensible to book a tour for Pai then the rest of the time we had could be spent chilling and revisiting anything we loved. We booked one for the following day and then strolled along the main street, treating ourselves to any street food that took our fancy.

Our first night in the bungalow wasn't exactly a cool one but it definitely drops down a few degrees overnight and we managed to get a bit of sleep. Our stay included breakfast so Jake went and got bananas and Nutella on toast for us to enjoy in our hammock before we made our way into town for our tour. The first stop of the day was Thom Lod Caves. The journey was another windy whindy one again, I was glad we had chose to sit in the comfort of the air conditioned back instead of the pick up truck style seating. We wandered around the caves with the guides as they gave us a running commentary of what all the rocks looked like 'looks like curtain' and 'looks like popcorn' were some of the faves. We boarded the bamboo rafts as we floated around to the outside of the caves. The next stop was the hot springs - we all wondered why we would want to sit in boiling water when it was so hot anyway. Our guide ensured us that the springs were about 30 degrees and were like a warm bath. It was lovely to chill in the natural hot springs as we got to know the others travellers in our group. Skimming stones soon became a competition - Jake with 25 years of practice living by the sea side, clearly came first. Second to last stop was a waterfall, we were happy to get there and actually see water after the Chiang Mai one. Jake and one of the lads from our group joined forces to come up with the least safe ways to slide down into the natural pool of the waterfall. The final stop of the tour was back to the canyon for sunset viewings. 

With the Thai New Year fast approaching we were preparing ourselves for the 3 day national water fight. We got a couple of water pistols, left our electronics at the hotel and head into Pai town to experience the festivities. It started pretty tame with a few kids with Hello Kitty water guns heading our way. But it soon turned into ice cold buckets being thrown from passing trucks with up to 20 people in the back. It was definitely a refreshing way to cool down in the 40 degree weather. It quietened down in the evening and you could enjoy a meal without getting soaked. 

The following day we went back to Chiang Mai in the morning and tried to avoid the Songkran water buckets as we strolled to the bus station with our backpacks in tow. Luckily we had our rain covers on for anyone feeling mean enough to soak a traveller and all their luggage. Someone threw a bucket on me but only on my dress, saving my bag from getting damp. We were a bit more worried about the water once we arrived in Chiang Mai as we had heard this was the place to be for Songkran. We jumped in an open tuk tuk (not a great idea) and drove back to Battery Park to drop off our bags. The driver was giggling to himself as he saw groups of people with buckets on the side of the road. He would slow down and then beep to let them know to drench us. We didn't bother drying off before we head out again to meet some friends at a pool party. The centre square of Chiang Mai was gridlocked with cars and bikes and you couldn't see from the amount of water flying about. We stopped to refill, and managed to grab ourselves some ice water. This was the best weapon, someone would point their gun on us and once we got them with a nice lashing of artic water, they soon backed off mwahaha. Once we arrived to the pool party at deejai backpackers, it was safe to say we weren't exactly bone dry, but nor was anyone else. After a few hours of solid water fights we all wandered over to a nearby restaurant and got ourselves a delicious Thai feast for only £2 per head (this is including beer.) The pals we had met up said that we had to experience Zoe's corner - a cluster of bars where everyone pretty much partys in the street. It was SO busy because of Songkran but once it started getting lary we decided it was time to make a move and head back to our hotel before our flight to Phuket in the morning.

Pav & Jake

xxx

Chiang Mai, Thailand

The 10 hour bus journey up from Bangkok to Chaing Mai actually went pretty smoothly. The overnight buses have super reclining seats and we even got blankets and snacks. We were glad we managed slept pretty much the whole way but still got in a little nap upon arrival to our boutique budget hotel, Battery Park. We had a lovely stay there, it was clean, modern and located in a perfect location right off the old town square.

Chiang Mai is a great place for travellers to rent motorbikes and explore around the city - something Jake was super excited about. After our power nap we did a bit of googling and found a lovely restaurant a short bike ride away for an early dinner.

The next day we went over to Doi Suthep Pui National Park as Jake was keen on visiting the waterfall. We got there and there was no water, dry season doesn't cater for backpackers. We then decided to head up to the mountain, it was a pretty long windy whindy road to the top. Once we reached the point of no more bikes, we went on foot for what we hoped was an amazing view. It was a bit of a trek and when we reached the summit, we were just surrounded by trees and a sign. So we had a waterfall with no water, and a mountain with no view, successful day all in all. On the way back down we did see a sign for the view point and headed over to see what we were missing. Turns out it wasn't much, the view was okay but definitely not worth the mission. We made our way back down and we're hoping to go over to the Grand Canyon, a massive canyon filled with water - perfect for cliff jumping. But it was getting a bit late and we would have got there in the dark which we figured wasn't such a great idea.

I did a bit of pinteresting and we made our way over to Dash for dinner. A really lovely restaurant located just off the square with delicious Thai food and live music. On our way back we stumbled across the Sunday market, full of traditional Thai street vendors, and dressed up dogs to draw in the travellers. It was a great alternative to the overly tourist Koh San Road of Bangkok and we spent a bit of time just browsing the street before we made our way back to our hotel, to get a good nights sleep before our next journey further up north to Pai.

Pav & Jake

xxx

Bangkok, Thailand

I'd heard so many bad things before we visited Bangkok - 'it's mental - fly in and then get out!' they said. But we were pleasantly surprised when we were met with a busy buzz mixed with interesting culture and by the end of our stay in Thailand's capital, we actually had a bit of a crush on the city. 

We booked our hotel in what we thought was  central Bangkok. Our taxi driver greeted us with 'Why you stay in Bang Na?' which is when we realised we were on the outskirts on the city. We dropped off our bags and went straight down to the cafe below to get some food. After all the Sri Lankan rice & curry you could dream of, we were happy to welcome some new flavours. We both went for the classic Thai green curry with a ice juice on the side. I can handle my spice but my god, am I glad I got that ice juice, my mouth was literally on fire. Jake said the chillies must have been grown in a volcano to be that hot! 

The following day we used google translate to ask the receptionist how to get to the Sky Train. We quickly realised that not everyone can speak fluent English - we were spoilt with easy translation in Sri Lanka. It was about a 20 minute walk to Bang Na station and we had no idea where we were going from there so just headed to the station that looked central on the map, Siam. The train was pretty cool and felt like a futuristic version of the tube, flying through the sky whilst everyone was glued to their phones. Once we got to Siam, we figured we were in the perfect spot for shopping, with 2 big malls located right next to each other. We had a wander round and got tempted by the westernised feel of it all. We treated ourselves to a few updates to our backpack wardrobes and then finished it off with what was labelled 'the best chicken in the Thailand'. 

We decided to move hotels on our third day, as Bang Na was proving to be a bit too far out of the city. Our taxi took about an hour and a half as there was SO much traffic, and we had to change cars as the first one broke down due to the overwhelming heat! Once we settled in, we head out to China town, and being the sensible pair that we are we thought it would be a good idea to walk there - a 20 minute walk in Bangkok heat is just unbearable. We managed to find our way there and directed ourselves down the windy whindy streets. Trying to make your way through whilst dodging the bikes and vendors bringing stock through the thin roads is a difficult task. We decided to stop for a drink in a lovely air conditioned bar to cool down and we chose not to head back into the madness. 

The following day we made our way over to the Grand Palace, another 20 minute walk away. Again being super sensible, we went at midday - it was swarmed with people and I don't think I've ever been so hot in my life. It was a really beautiful place, but I couldn't help thinking how much nicer it would be if there wasn't so many tourists there. They should have a capacity limit. The heat got too much and we decided to chill in the afternoon and visit the famous Koh San Road in the evening. We had heard a bit about it through friends and blogs, and the general consensus was that it was pretty crazy. We got there around 8pm and it seemed quite tame. It has that 18-30s European holiday type feel, (aka Magaluf) but still was quite cool to visit with scorpions and spiders on sticks and all the elephant printed clothes you could dream of. We had a wander round and as my feet were killing I treated myself to a foot massage while Jake got a back and shoulder massage. I didn't know so much force could come from a little, petite Thai girl - she literally beat me up, slapping and punching my legs and feet. At one point she had this stick she was jabbing into the bottom of my feet and when she asked if it hurt and I replied yeah, she just laughed and continued. After the 30 minutes of abuse was up, I was glad to hear I wasn't the only one who experienced the violence. Jake's massage sounded much worse than mine and he explained it as 'I think she thought she was doing origami and trying to turn me into a swan!' 

We packed our bags and made our way to our overnight 10 hour bus up to north to Chiang Mai.

Pav & Jake

xxx