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
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