James and I just spent a wonderful week together in Northern Thailand. Our visit started in Chiang Mai where we dined on Thai delicacies, visited Buddhist Temples, got beaten up and twisted into pretzel knots by Thai masseurs and shopped till we dropped. We then headed up to Mae Hong Son via an extremely picturesque flight through clouds and over lush green mountain tops. In Mae Hong Son we rented a motorcycle and took in the sites of the town and the valley around. We took a day trip to Ban Pak Tai (or Loving Thai Village) which is a Chinese KMT outpost on the Burma border at the top of a steep mountain road. The road trip was beautiful and the town is a pretty peaceful place set around a lake with shops selling tea, mushrooms and pig statues with exposed genitalia. We also visited the next town over Ban Ruam Thai which is a small village that has recently turned their opium fields into coffee fields. We met Uncle Pala who served us up a strong cup of coffee in his beautiful garden and sold us some beans to go.
We took another road trip out of town which involved at least 7 river crossings. Unfortunately we got a bit too deep and our motorcycle flooded with water. Luckily it happened right at an elephant riding outpost in a small Karen village. So, we decided to just let our motorcycle dry out and ride an elephant in the jungle. Our elephant was Woo Gin and she is 49 years old. What a beautiful, majestic and slow moving creature! Amazing!
We also did a lot of eating, relaxing and hanging out by the pool. It was a vacation!
This morning, James' last, we were planning to have a relaxing breakfast, foot massage, and swim in the pool before we returned our motorbike ... unfortunately when we walked out of our room - the motorbike was missing! So, our morning turned into a trip to the police station with the owners of our guesthouse and the owner of the motorbike. Luckily the bike was found, with only the ignition damaged and we only had to pay $10 bucks to have it fixed. If the bike had been gone, we would have had to pay for it! Everyone keeps telling us that this is very very rare in Mae Hong Son and in 10 years of renting motorbikes the rental lady said she has never ever had a bike stolen. Plus I live in a quiet secure compound?! My first trip to Thailand my passport was stolen and this trip my motorbike is stolen ... I think I must have been a terrible thief here in Thailand in my last life and karma is coming back to haunt me! Anyway, luckily it turned out well.
I am adding a bunch of photos. These are a few of the sights ... the ping river in Chiang Mai, the lake and a house in Ban Rak Thai, the coffee roasting in Ban Ruam Thai and a rice paddy in Mae Hong Son.
Thanks Jimmy for the visit! I am so happy I was able to share a bit of my life here in Thailand with you! Thanks for taking those ridiculously long flights to come see me! I miss you already and love you lots! xo
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