Pai and Phrao, Thailand

1:30 am Monday morning.

I’m currently sitting in a bungalow in Phrao, a small farming village in Northern Thailand about 2 hours out of Chiang Mai.
We met Ake (pronounced Ek), a Thai real estate investor, shortly after I posted the last update and headed North to a small mellow town called Pai. The road to Pai is very windy, similar to the road to Hana except it’s wider and up thru the mountains. Oh ya there aren’t waterfalls everywhere either. We arrived at Akes vacation house took showers and left for dinner. Ake took us to a hidden lil restaurant called Farmers House; it’s a guest house and restaurant. We would have never found it without Ake. We sat right on a pond in a gazebo like setting. Tradition table with no chairs, sitting on the ground with shoes off. The food was amazing traditional Thai which ake ordered for us. After dinner we walked through the streets of Pai, however most of the shops were closed and those that were open were trying to close. Arriving home about 11pm I quickly jumped in bed and was fast asleep. Next morning I awoke first at 8:30am and waited for the rest of the group to awaken. We had coffee and hung out at the house while Ake helped his workers do some projects around the property. We stopped in town for breakfast and then walked around the town center. On the way out of town we stopped at another of Akes friends’ houses for lunch, Crazy Kitchen, which again we would have never had the opportunity to eat at had it not been for Ake. Again we ate very traditional Thai food ordered by ake: Red curry, coconut soup, pad Thai. Crazy’s husband is an artist and woodworker so we walked back to see his work. Natalie had been wanting to buy a Salor, traditional Thai instrument similar to a violin. The husband just so happened to make them. He played it for us and then showed her how to play it (see video). Natalie ended up ordering one to be handmade for her, 2000b, and delivered back to Chiang Mai. The trip to Pai was beautiful and I’m most grateful to Ake for driving us up and hosting us at his vacay house, however I wish we could have spent a lil more time exploring the town, people and going on excursions. They have day trips for elephant treks, white water rafting, kayaking and trekking. On the road back home Natalie and I both got car sick, as we did on the way to Pai, however we didn’t throw up. We arrived back in Chiang Mai at 6ish pm and were dropped off in the center of town by the market. Andy, Nat and I parted ways as I went to meet Ploy, a Thai couch surfing girl who lives in Phrao but happened to be in the city. She was had just finished dinner in the Temple with Jan a elderly couch surfer from England and the three of us walked around the Sunday Night Market for an hour together. Ploy and I then headed to Riverside Bar and Restaurant for some drinks and live music. (Tuesday 11:33pm at Internet Café in Phrao)Around midnight we took off for Phrao a small farming village about two hours away. Ploy is currently working with the Warm Hearts Foundation up here. Yesterday morning we woke up at 8:30 and I dropped Ploy off at work, she allowed me to use here truck during the day. I went for breakfast and coffee and then got trapped at the internet café uploading pictures and playing on the internet. I pick her up for lunch and we went to “secret noodle place” for the most amazing noodles ever!!! After lunch she took me to some hot springs just outside of Phrao. The outside pools were too hot since it had just rained the night before so we soaked in one of the private bath houses. I felt soo sedated. It was nice to feel warm water again and especially nice to be able to soak in it. We then went into town for traditional Thai Massage. Ploy told me this that it was special massage, they use acupuncture points in the massage to heal your body. We were both going to get an hour massage for 120 b but by the time it was over I ended up getting a 2 hour massage with herbal healing. The lady was amazing and found damaged nerves on both my shoulders and both thighs. I thought I was going to die; the massage definitely was NOT relaxing. I was squirming the whole time and she made me ‘tap out’ twice. She worked awhile on each damaged nerve and the pain was excruciating! We then met some co-workers of Ploy’s for Thai BBQ. There is a clay pot of coals on the table with a medal basin sitting on top, similar to fondue. They bring raw meat and you cook it in the soup or on the hot medal dome sticking out of the middle. This morning I took Ploy to work again then went driving in the country to take pictures of the rice fields. It’s almost time for me to pick Ploy up for lunch, after which I’m going to hitch hike back into Chiang Mai, 90 Kilometers away. They have a bus for 85b, a lil less than 3$, but I want to hitch hike for the experience  A Hui Ho.