Relaxing days in Pai

A little bit more to the north of Chiang Mai, there is something similar than the Paradise.

Imagine an small town of 3000 inhabitants in the mountains. The town itself can be discovered in half an hour. But, around the village, there are brilliant waterfalls, a big canyon, small villages and when the night arrives is time to start the hippie parties.

I came here with Dave (from the trekking in Chiang Mai) and here we met a lot of people that have been here for weeks. Pai is quiet, its people are very nice, too hippie sometimes... in the hostel they didn't even ask me for my name and they told me to pay at the end of my stay.

During these days I just hired a motorbike and I could discover by myself the great landscapes and sunsets in northern Thailand.

At night there was a music festival these weekend until late with several bands playing, some were thai tradicional, and later at night more rock/reaggie concerts.

Last night we ended around a fire with two argentinian guys playing guitar and chilling out. There I met more catalan and basque people...

I think I could stay here for weeks, but tonight I have to move and go to Laos. These days here in Pai were funny, but also sad. Here I had to say goodbye to many people that I've met during these last two weeks but they are going back to the south.

So tonight I take a bus that will bring me to the Laos Border, where I will take a boat during two days to get to Luang Prabang.


The full moon in the mountains:



Here you can find different Satay, that are like a brochette of usually some meat balls or tofu! I really love it.




A traditional musician in the festival



Some evening landscapes in Pai



The song that you listen all the day in Thailand

3 days of amazing trekking in Doi Inthanon

Hi!

Yesterday I arrived from 3 days of trekking in Doi Inthanon National Park. In the West of Chiang Mai. Despite being a very touristic trekking it has been very nice, surrounded by nature all the day, sleeping in small villages in the mountains and enjoying of waterfalls and nice landscapes.

The first day was very quiet, we didn't walk too much. We left Chiang Mai in the morning and after stopping in regional market, we ended up in a very nice waterfall were we had lunch. Then, we started to walk till we get in a Karen people village in the mountains where we spent the night.

The Karen are an ethnic group that lives mostly in the eastern border region of Burma, they have fought for independence from Burma since 1949. Up to 120,000 Karen have been driven from their homes during decades of conflict with Burma, living in refugee camps on the Thai side of the border. Actually, they live in Thailand but they have no rights there.

During that night, we met them and we spent some time with them. They showed us how they were living and even I learn some magic tricks from them!

The second day we split the group in two, 4 greek girls, an australian guy, an english guy and me. The second day was almost all day walking and walking, while the guide was showing us some secrets of the jungle.... how to make a hat from leaves, or another plant that can be used as a pen, different kind of insects, spiders (huge spiders)... we were stopping to rest in different waterfalls where we could have a break and refresh from the sun. We ended the day in another Karen village were had dinner, some fun playing with cards and went to sleep.

The last day was the touristic day, riding elephant and bamboo rafting. It was funny but was too warm, I finished with a sun burnt. We arrived back to Chiang Mai in the afternoon, but we met with all the people of the trekking for dinner and some beers around the city. Was funny but sad, so after enjoying a lot these 3 days, most of them were going back to the south while I am planning to go to the north.

Tomorrow at 9:30, I take a bus to Pai. A small town in northern Thailand near the Myanmar border. I'll keep you updated!

Karen Village on the way:



Children waiting for us in the village we spent the night



Our 5 stars hotel



landscapes





Having some lunch



refreshing on a waterfall



Playing in the street



elephant riding

Chiang Mai

Hello,

so after 12 large hours in an overnight bus I arrived in Chiang Mai last morning. I am staying in a very nice hostel called Malak where a single room with bathroom is 150 Baht (3 euros), a good recomendation from a guy that I met in Bangkok

Chiang Mai is very different than Bangkok, I am really enjoying it more here, it's very quiet. The old town is surrounded by canals, so it is like an island. There there are a lot of temples. But this is a place where you can buy almost everything, it is plenty of markets! And when they close when the sun sets, then the Night opens until midnight and it's huge. You can find there all the handcrafts and clothes and it's really cheap. But it's a pity that I can't buy anything. I don't want to be carrying different too many things in my tiny backpack.

Yesterday, I spent almost all the day around the city center, nothing special, just walking and relaxing after the 12 hours trip from Bangkok. At night I met some people in the hostel and we went to the night market and to chill out in the terrace of the hostel. It's amazing I met people here that have been travelling for two years!

Today I've been in the Doi Suthep, a hill where you can see all Chiang Mai and there is temple, too. It took me one hour of bargain with the sawngthaew (pick-up trucks where you sit behind and they bring you where you want) to get there. They wanted me to pay 500 Baht. Finally, trying to get a reasonable price I met there an American girl, an Argentinian girl and an a guy from Israel, and we've been together for all the day.

Tomorrow I am going for a trecking in the mountains for 3 days. I'll be sleeping in a tribe village, riding elephants (I am a little bit scared...). I hope it will not rain, these week is raining a lot here! I'll keep you udpated.

And how are things in Cork and in Bellpuig?

A lot of hugs!

A monk in Chian Mai



Inside the Wat Phra Singh



People working



Night market

sa-wat-dii khrap Thailand...

Or what's the same "Hello Thailand"!! So after a tiring trip of more than 30 hours, yesterday I finally arrived in Bangkok! The first impression was a lot of chaos, or maybe is that after Cork, I am not used anymore to big cities!

I met Anne Flore and Louis that were already waiting for me (they had to wait more than one hour) and they already booked a hostel for me. It was their last day, so at night they were taking their flight back to Europe, but it was very helpful to meet somebody in the other side of the world. They gave me some hints and tricks about how to move in Thailand. At the beginning I was scared, so they were always eating in on the street and I was worried to get some intoxication, but their cooking is brilliant and really cheap. So now I am trying everything... let's see how long does it takes until I get sick.

Today I took a relaxing day. It has been raining all the morning and I just took it easy around Khao San, the neighbourhood where all the backpackers are in Bangkok. I already met 2 catalans while having my first Pad Thai!! Honestly I don't like Khao San zone very much. Sometimes I feel like in Salou, everything is oriented to the tourist and you don't see many Thai people and you feel like a walking credit card that everybody wants to sell you something, but it's easy to move there.

This afternoon I just went for a walk away from the touristic zones, where I could see how the Thai people live. It's everything a mess, you are scared of crossing a street, you never know where the tuk-tuks come from! A lot of pollution but it's so different that is nice. You can see shops where are manufacturing the Buddhas, and how they do the clothes that the monks wear I have eaten on the street with them, they didn't speak english but more or less we could understand.

I have to spent some more days in Bangkok to get the Visa for Vietnam. Meanwhile I am planning to go to some markets... anyway I will keep you updated.

Some pictures:

makets in the street



Anne Flore, Louis and me at lunch time:



Some ice sweets: