Pai in the sky

This will be a quickie....

After Chiang mai we headed to the idyllic little mountain town of Pai, and stayed 4 nights. We love it here! Had we any idea how much we'd love it we would have allowed more time. We're begrudgingly heading back to Bangkok to catch our flight to Vietnam on the 8th.

I may just try to make it back to Pai at the end of January for the Pai Reggae Fest. We met some amazing people. One woman we met at the hot springs has recently built a very impressive new wood-fired forno in her front yard, and wants help learning how to bake western stuff in it, so there is the potential for some fun cooking. I really want more of Pai.

Yesterday was the king of Thailand's birthday, and for a country that loves its royal family so very much it's been very festive. It also means it's a long weekend, and the trains are all full, so we have a 12 hour bus ride to look forward to. We tried booking the train almost a week ago, and it was ALREADY full back then.

Pai is tiny, under 6000 residents, but it's a big holiday destination for Thais. Set in a wide valley of lush farmland, the pace is the most relaxed we've seen yet. Great food, lovely people, a vibrant arts and live music scene, it's incredible. I promise to upload a few photos soon.

Only setback - a couple days ago I was completely waylaid by terrible traveler's sickness, most likely foodborne. For nearly 24 hours I couldn't leave our guesthouse. I'm much better now - it's incredible how once you return to health how grateful you are to have it!

We rode an elephant!

I will expand on Pai and upload some photos when we get to Bangkok.

much love!