This place!

I could have written tonnes of stuff about my home base in Chiang Mai. But I have waited because I never felt I could do it justice until I let my thoughts mature a bit. And I also knew I were coming back, I wanted to do a bigger general post about the hotel instead of just posting tidbits here and there.

So I’ve had this hotel as a spring board and resting place for my adventures in northern Thailand. At first I had booked a couple of days but as time went and my plans for Thailand solidified I managed to get back there a couple of times for a day or two during my travels. The hotel is in a good location in the western parts of the old town (which I really like by the way). It is close to many things of interest and yet in a quiet alley (except for when the school band right next to the hotel plays in the morning 😉 )

I could talk about the physical quality of the hotel, the amenities, the facilities or the services. But I won’t. I don’t like to write reviews anyway since I always seem to be looking for different stuff than others. I always have to read between the lines and guess if I will enjoy my time. And when I write a review I can’t help to feel that my words won’t help the reader. Anyway, instead I will share some stories and some memories of the people who made my stay what it was.

Jina, the owner, always smiling and friendly. She really puts her soul into this place and she really works hard and tries her best to make you feel at home. She is such a genuine good person and you could tell that right away. She is living there with her husband, Thor who is fun and very kind as well and their almost two year old son. I’m not superduper great with kids but Dham seemed to like me and I did my best to hang around him and play with him a bit. He is very smart and cute. He is kind, fun and curious about everything. He also remembered me when I got back there after a week or so which was adorable.

Then there is Mint, another great addition to the team. She is not living there but she is working there in the reception. She is just as kind as Jina and just as helpful and genuinely good. She is 22 years old and studying psychology at university. We had some nice conversations and the one I remember the most was about tv shows, she also likes Fringe! Blew my mind since not many people know about it! And of course Lie to me, another great show that many people overlooked. She could also recommend places to visit in Thailand which I greatly appreciated.

These people are genuinley good and helpful. I’d like to share a story with you proving this fact.

Before I went to Pai I had planned to be away for maybe eight days or so in total including a visit to Mae Hong Son before going back to Chiang Mai. But I came back a bit earlier from my northwestern adventures. I emailed and asked if there were any rooms available and there were. I could stay in the dorm for one day and then move up to a private room the following day. But when I got back Jina had made a room avalliable for me for all days. That was very considerate I thought.

The story isn’t finished yet though.
My reasons for going back earlier were firstly that I wanted to spend more time in Pai. This meant that I had so little time in Mae Hong Son that it wasn’t worth it. The second reason was that my friends that I met in Vietnam was in Chiang Mai, Caro and Damien. And the third one as a bonus and the important one for this particular story was that Jina had invited me to come by the 19th because there would be an annual celebration for the Dozy House, now turning three years old. Happy birthday!

It turned out to be a good choice to go back earlier because I became I’ll. I had fever and weird stomach issues for a day. It would not have been nice to experience Mae Hong Son like that. And what better place to cure yourself than at home away from home? Jina made sure that I got the rest I needed. But unfortunately this meant that I could not meet up with Damien and Caro. I hope we can find time to do it soon!

The celebration was an honor to witness and partake in. In the morning 5 monks came to give their blessings. They chanted for half an hour or so and it was actually very soothing, moody and kind of mystical in a way. The family sat in the front and we visitors in the back. They finished the ceremony by blessing us all and the house. They got some donations in form of food from the family and then they sat down to eat lunch prepared by the family. Jina had been preparing this from 03 in the morning to make it all perfect. And here comes the main reason why I bring this up in this post. Because of the early rising from Jina they accidentally overbooked the hotel. So she asked me to stay in her sons room!
I am not picky with sleeping arrangements from day to day so this was no problem at all. In fact it was an honour to be invited into their home. And it also showed the kindness and problem solving nature of them all.

They all treated me very nice and almost as if I would have been a family member. I felt that this was a home away from home (remind me to write about what I think of my home during my travels :p). Several times they invited me to come sit with them and eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.

They showed complete trust in me early on. They let me take care of the hotel for twenty minutes! What a responsibility and a fun one!

When I was ill I didn’t plan anything. So Jina asked me to come by when Dham had his last day in school. I did not know what to expect but it turned out to be fun. We went to the kindergarten, Brain School just a few minutes away. The school had a big room where a bunch of kids were hanging around, playing and doing what kids do. It was clearly a good place for kids. All the staff I met were good with the kids and kind people. Mint had also been working there before which actually made a lot of sense because earlier I had noticed that she was very good with kids (unlike me)! Jina had brought pizza, sodas and balloons. I inflated some baloons and played with a couple of curious and cute kids. We then had the pizza (they bought too much so they let me have some for free), put on some kids music and we also had a tad bit of wine. It was fun!

None of these experiences could I have planned for. And none of these have I experienced before. I am very greatful to have been apart of it, to have been apart of their life for just a blink of an eye. It has enriched my life. I almost feel that I shouldn’t though, because these are such everyday things. But the everyday things and events are what fills most of our lives. And if those moments are good. Then I guess life is good!

If this sounds cheesy or overdone, try inserting any other positive philosophical statement about life of your own choice because… I’m not good with things like this 😉

I will not forget Jinas kindness and her smile. I will not forget Dhams endless youtube watching of “the wheels on the bus go around and around…”. I will not forget Mints happy ways and our  discussions about tv-shows. I will not forget the fathers ride with me on his scooter to get some mango sticky rice only to see that the shop was closed and I will not forget the two times I accidentally scared the housdkeeper, Sang Duan in the stairways (sorry!)

I am truly greatfull to have met these people. Thailand has much to offer. And people like this is why I need to come back! Thank you Jina, Dham, Thor and Mint. But also the kind housekeeper and another girl Jha, staying with the family (for free because she has a scholarship and is a very good student!!), both of them always greeted me with a friendly smile. And not to forget the chill driver, always ready to go to the airport to get someone, waiting in the back of the lobby watching videos on his phone.

I hope I can come back some day 🙂

Sa wa dee krap!
แล้ว พบ กัน ใหม่ นะ ครับ

This day I had planned to be a chill one. A slow day with mostly planning my last two weeks in Thailand.

I had only booked a cooking class with the owner of the guest house, Jum around 3 o clock in the afternoon.

So until then I just read up on a couple of places around Phuket, I sent some emails and wrote some stuff. Not very productive at all since I still don’t know what to do in Phuket and my blog is not as updated as I want.

We stoped by the local market amd got the ingredients for Panang Thai Kai (I think), cabbage soup and some kind of coconut banana thing for desert. It didn’t take that much time to cook it all and even though I didn’t do thaat much, I think I can make it all at home 😀 And it was delicious!

Jeff, a retired fire fighter stoped by and we had enough food to share. We had nice conversations and it was all in all very pleasant dinner. He inspired me to learn a bit more Thai since he himself knew much more than me.

And later a german couple, Wald and his wife stoped by as well and we had interesting conversations about Sweden, because as it turns out, they had been sailing in Sweden for many years, around Saltsjöbaden and around all the islands.

In the evening the girls working at the guest house, Ni and Kwam took me out to walk, shop and eat at the night market. Togheter with us was their friend, Boun (I could not get his name right, so maybe it is actually something else :p). They bought me some street food to try out which was very nice of them and we talked about differences between Thailand and Sweden. We also compared animals and fruit and other things we came up with that we could look up on our smartphones (Yay technology). And during all of this they tried to teach me a bit of thai… but I am totally worthless with the different tones, but I really appreciate the effort though. 😀 And I hope I can come back some time and actually be able to speak at least sone thai to redeem myself 🙂

Oh and yeah, I had this fruit for the first time in my life. Sapodilla! Very good 😀

Windy videos but at least videos!

The best thing about riding in rural areas is the greetings you get from other motorcycle tourists 😀 it is like the bus drivers at home greeting each other. It feels very friendly!

Fun fact. I have now been driving more on the left side than the right in my life.
And this is the third time in my life on a scooter. You do the math 😀

I drove about 120 km today.

Yay!

I saw stuff. I saw people,

I talked with some of them.

I found a portal to Sweden, pine cones, strawberries and deciduous forests.

But I was still in the jungle.

?

I found a waterfall

and beneeth it a lot of fish.

And then a banana.

And then tea.

And then noodles.

And a picturesque town at the border of Myanmar.

And a cat!

STARS WAR

So I’ve caught something. I’m physically weak and I have a small fever. Luckily I have no big plans for a couple of days so I’ll just chill.

Today I went out twice. The first time to a big supermarket. I bought a new memory card for my phone and an analog alarm clock! I need that for my upcoming meditation course.

Being ill made me crave some well needed chocolate. So I went out a second time at 9 in the evening and bought some.

Look at this guy. He will surely lessen my cravings!

Mansome Alfie!

So I decided to go to Pai. I actually had no idea of what to expect. The lonely planet called it a party town and the hotel I stayed in said the surroundings were beautiful. So with a recommendation from my hotel I booked three nights in Pai at Baan Pai Village. 800 baht per night, that’s a lot for some people but well within my budget range. So off I went.

I got picked up at the hotel and on the way to the buss station we picked up a couple of other travelers. One of them was Tomas, my to be fellow companion for the time I spent in Pai. On the way to Pai we talked a lot, turns out he was finish and traveling alone, so we had a lot to talk about. We decided to hang around for some days, rent a pair of scooters and go around together in Pai.

The picture above is from a rest stop on the three hour journey from Chiang Mai to Pai with minivan. It was only 150 baht and actually more comfortable than I thought. But the only thing I heard about these minivans was that they were crazy uncomfortable, going really fast and that they were bumpy. Yeah sure they went a bit fast some times, amd yeah sure it was a bit bumpy occasionally. But as I have said in previous post about people complaining… the level of expectation has to be on par with where you are and what you are paying. Whaaaat do they expect on serpenty mountain roads with small minivans?

After three and a half hours we arrived. We did some recon and decided to meet later by the bamboo bridge. The bridge was the first thing that made me realize to where I had come. A small laid back town surrounded by fantastic and awe inspiring scenery. But the bridge felt so rickety the first time I went over it, it was a bit scary. And well across there were actually no roads, although there were roads shown on the map we had gotten. But that map… oh man what a disgrace of a map! Nothing was to scale and and many roads were omitted. But it served its purpose well enough I guess, only twice did we get lost :p. The bridge and the map gave us a hint of what kind of place this was. Laid back and easy going.

The hotel I was staying at was really nice. But I have to give out a friendly warning. If you dislike country music, maybe rethink your choice for a nice relaxing late dinner. Because at around 08 or 09 in the evening they put on the only country record they have accompanied by music videos and some times light dancing. It was wonderfully terrifying 😀 I heard the same songs every night.

But everything else was very nice. The room was a small bungalow amongst other bungalows and a well kept small garden. I had a small porch which we used a couple of times for a relaxing beer. And the location was in the center of town. Close to everything. The staff was very friendly and greeted me nicely every morning and talked to me as I were somone they knew. It felt genuine.

Every evening the town went from a quiet picturesque little town to a crowded one filled with different kinds of food and music. But it was very moody and Pai really has its own thing going on. It is a touristic hippie town mixed with more “modern” tourists and a good chunk of chinese tourists. And don’t forget the many cute street dogs, bandaged knees and elbows (because some people drive scooters drunk or late at night) and extremely expensive cars (for whatever reason) mixed in with this.

I ATE SO MUCH FOR BREAKFAST EVERY DAAAY BECAUSE I ALWAYS FORGOT THAT THEY MADE YOU AN OMELETTE SO WHEN THEY BROUGHT ME IT I WAS ALREADY STUFFED UP ON BREAD, NOODLES, MANGOJUICE AND FRUIT BUT I ATE IT ANYWAY TO BE POLITE AND BECAUSE EGGS ARE GOOD FOR YOU.

The first day me and Tomas did some recon with a beer on my porch, it was kind of confusing so we just decided to get scooters the next morning and go.
We did exactly that and it was actually very fun. I have no driver’s license, I have little to no experience with scooters and absolutely none with driving on the left side. But it was no problems. After a quick introduction (how to start and gas) I was ready. One minute later everything felt just fine. Although I didn’t use the blinkers until an hour or so later. But it was also kind of comforting to go with someone else. It would have been a bit scarier if I would be all alone.

During breakfast we talked to a girl, Pixie who was staying at the same place as Tomas. She had nothing really planned for her day so she came with us to our first stop. The sliding waterfalls, Nam Tok Mo Paeng.

We were there for quite some time just chilling and sliding down the slippery bedrock. At first we hesitated going in. But watching the local kids running around like they had been doing nothing else for their entire life gave us some confidence. But clumsy as we were we still needed their help the first time. They just did a small human chain and pulled us up. It was great 😀

MMMM MANGO SHAKE AND KAO SOI FOR LUNCH!

On our way back to town we wanted to go to a lookout point but actually managed to pass it. We ended up on the highway and just aimed straight for town. After some food, walking around the daily night market and late night chatting we were done for the day.

BY THE WAY I DID NOT LEARN HOW TO REFILL MY INTERNET THING FOR MY CELLPHONE AFTER ASKING ONE MOBILE PHONE STORE AND THREE DIFFERENT 7/11s AND TOMAS COULDN’T FOR THE LIFE OF HIS FIND A PAIR OF SHORTS WITH POCKETS. SOMETIMES THAILAND IS CRAZY.

The third day we aimed for another waterfall, Nam Tok Pembok with a later goal of the Pai Canyon for the sunset. And in between those points we had not really decided upon anything.

We hoped on to our Scooters and went in a direction which seemed right. The way we took was right but we had to ask for directions before finding the right crossroad to turn at.

Driving around the surrounding areas of Pai with scooters was really great. It was a fantastic way to experience the sceneries while getting to another even more scenic location.

This waterfall was different and pretty cool, we could swim around, hide in small caves and climb up higher for a different pool and some nice views. The waterfall is carved into the rocks in a narrow small valley which you can walk up to until a certain point were it actually gets really deep. Because of the high cliffs the place was a bit humid with no sun shining through. But the setting was really cool.

On the way back we decided to try to get a bit “off road” and try to get to another lookout point. It wasn’t really off road but it was a much more challenging local road with potholes and no paving. So halfway through we decided to turn around and go to the canyon because we really wanted to have some time there before the sunset.

It was actually a very good call in a couple of ways, one of them was that we had time to stop by a fantastic fruit farm where they gave you fresh fruit, fresh lemonade and sweet wine. And it was totally free.

They were so nice and hospitable and the place was very cozy. This was one of the places where you really appreciate the human good nature you will come upon traveling in south east asia. The place runs on donations, but they never ask you for anything. We were more than happy to give them 100 baht each before we headed to the canyon.

The canyon was great and there were many photo opportunities. I mostly used my “real” camera there and I don’t have a way of uploading them now :p
The canyon is like a bunch of sandy valleys turned outside in where you walk on the thin ridges. At one point you had to climb a bit and I felt uncomfortable doing that so I stayed behind and took a bunch of pictures instead 🙂 I was fine with that!

The following day we planned for a trek instead. The third waterfall around the town was the goal. Nam Tok Mae Yen. It was about 7km walk away from town. We actually didn’t really know what to expect other than that there were some river crossings and that the estimated time to get there was about three hours.
And luckily enough we acquired another party member, Matt from America. Which made a great addition to the team.

The trek was a nice one. Although a confusing one. There was little to no information regarding the type of trek it was. And along the way there was only information in thai. But we trotted on and kept our spirits high. It really felt like a jungle adventure because we did the trek by ourselves and we met no one on our way until the very end.

We guessed, with no help from the map that we were on the right track, or if we were not, we would at least end up SOMEWHERE. We were fine with that because that would also be cool! Maybe we would end up in a remote village with jacuzzis? We did see a sign every kilometer or so though. It was in thai but it at least pointed us in the right direction for this elusive somewhere we were going to.

Almost at the end, some three hours in to the trek we met a couple of guys saying that we only had about 20 minutes to go. It was just up a steep climb an there it would be! Our spirits (or mine at least) sky rocketed and we went faster. But reaching the top was a disappointment because the waterfall was still a bit further on and the river below was taunting us with its waterfall like sound.

A couple of minutes later though there it was. I its majestic glory with a naked ass greeting us. A guy was standing there and just looking. Later he lit a pipe and walked away. He knew what he was doing. Tomas did the same, not with the pipe but posing in front of the waterfall.

It was serene. Not that super amazing though but nonetheless very cool. You couldn’t swim there but you could get in close to the fall and feel the force of the water. The place was also swarming with flies eager to nibble your salt of your skin or clothes. Luckily they didn’t bite.

We hung around for about an hour eating some snacks and cooling down a bit in the water and then we moved on. We had to get out of the jungle before the sunset. At the waterfall there were two big bags of trash and if you brought one of them back to the starting point the guesthouse there would give you some food for your effort. I almost thought about doing that.. before I saw that they were insanely infested with ants. And ants really hate me. This has been the case all my life. So I wisely stayed away 😉

THRICE ON THIS TRIP ANTS HAVE ATTACKED ME AND NOT CARING ABOUT ANY OF MY FELLOW TRAVELERS STANDING JUST BESIDES ME. I GUESS ALL ANTS HAVE SOME KIND OF CONNECTION AND THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME GOAL OF KILLING ME. I DON’T KNOW WHAT I DID. BUT IT SURE PISSED THEM OFF. (HAH, YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE?…PISSED… UNINTENTIONAL PUN!… BUT MAYBE ONLY SWEDISH PEOPLE WILL GET IT)

On the way back we met two nice Danish/Australian girls, they walked fast and we followed them. They made us sing and it was great! It started out with some easier songs in our local languages, which I by the way had a real problem with in the beginning, I almost can’t speak Swedish anymore and even less so singing! But I got warmer and started to sing some Disney songs. We all joined in with our respective languages and it was a blast.
And soon enogh we were back! We were back in no time because of our “marching” songs and our new Danish/Australian friends.

Thank you Rikke and Mille. Now our party was even stronger! Just like in an adventure game 😀

THESE GUYS MADE THE BEST AVOCADO BURGERS! I THINK I ATE THERE FOUR TIMES!

Later that evening we met again for some dinner, and chit chatting. I introduced everyone to Kao Soi, the northern Thai signature dish and mango sticky rice. I always feel a bit uneasy about giving food recommendations because I am such a NON-picky eater and so many people seem to be very picky. But this time it was a great success. Everyone loved both dishes. Wooohoo!

Later we got some beers at the best place for smelling the sewer fumes! It was all fine becaue we sat across my hotell and had some nice COUNTRY MUSIC to chillax to.

IT REMINDED US OF MINE AND TOMAS “ROMANTIC” EVENING IN MY HOTEL FACILITIES ON A CHILL OUTDOOR LYING CHAIR WITH A FANCY FRUIT SHAKE AND CHEEZY COUNTRY MUSIC. MANLY!!

At some point, I dont really remeber when, because we all moved very slowly and stopped everywere, our party grew even more! We had now acquired our sixth member, Simi! A great American addition!

We hung around all of the evening and met some more nice people. We also decided to go together to the hot springs the day after. And so it was to be! We rented scooters again and went on one of the more scenic roads in Pai. It was actually beautiful.

Well there it was no disappointment, we really didn’t know if hot springs would be a nice choice for a hot day. But it worked out very well and the 200bahts for entrance to the national park housing the springs were worth it. We even got some eggs to boil in the hotter springs! Those springs are about 80 degrees Celsius and the ones you can sit in are about 34-37 degrees Celsius.

Our party was a friendly and encouraging one. We all got along well and Matt even learned to drive a scooter much to the credit of the supporting nature of the party. It was cool to see and my nerdy brain associated this to as mentioned before, an adventure game. But it was even better because it was for real!!

Pai was great. I felt a bit sad to leave. Mostly because of the friends I had made. But also because there was more to see and do. But it is also a chill town to just spend time in going around with a scooter and seeing crazy sceneries. And it is a nice town even if you are not a party dude. I also appreciate the laid back and hassle free nature of the town. It is a small town and you will end up meeting someone you’ve met before!

Together with the party in Pai we had a lot to talk about, music, culture, language and much more. It was a nice gang to hang around with.

And man the mango and passion fruit shakes… ggrrerllllgll *drool*

I’m not looking forward to southern Thailand at all… which seems like the total opposite. A big hassle. We’ll see 😉