Do Nothing in Pai

Well, this sleepy, little, hippie town in Northern Thailand shared some similarities with The Haight, and it was nice to have a little piece of San Fran with me for a few days. The town called Pai, is a place for one to chill and relax, if you want to. Mozy down the streets, sit by a swimming pool, hang out at the bars or grab some baked goods (which we of course did daily), take a stroll across the river to the green hills and visit the local artists at night who set up shop on the streets with all their handy crafts for us to ooohh and aahhh over. The tag line for this town is: Do Nothing in Pai. We did a pretty good job of not doing much, but we did spend a day on the Pai River rafting with a fun girl from Connecticut, Brittney, and two crazy Spaniards, Raul and Sebastian. Turns out, the men were supposed to be the strong oarsmen of the trip, however, due to their hangovers from the night before, us 3 girls really were the power behind the boat. Good thing the rapids were small, or we would've flipped for sure!

We spent the night in Mae Hong Son, another small mountain town about 2.5 hrs from Pai. The next day we rented a moto (Lani and I were feeling adventurous) and motored our way through the hills to reach Pau Sua Waterfalls. These were probably the prettiest falls we've seen yet in SE Asia, so we were glad we risked our lives on the moto. Just kidding - Lani is a very safe driver, and I was a very still passenger. Then, it was back to Pai on an extremely, curvy road (at least 45 degree angle turns) that we had to stomach, stuck in the back of a full minivan. You couldn't even try to sleep because the driver took the curves so quickly that you had to hold onto the seat to avoid sloshing onto your neighbor. And who was the smart girl who decided to eat a creme-filled powdered donut before hopping in the van? Oh, that's me, that's me!! I was glad when the ride was over and we were back in peaceful little Pai.

We had a couple more days in Pai. We had one rough night as Katie diagnosed Lani with worms. It was fairly traumatic for her as she feels she was tortured in a previous life by worms and slugs...the thought of her feeding them inside of her was not a fun one. We got meds the next day and made sure to wash all our laundry and she seemed to be in better spirits - becoming one with them, more or less. The rest was all thumbs up. Katie and Lani spent a day with the elephants, while I got in touch with my inner chi and spent a day doing a yoga course. There was a beautiful eco-friendly pool on the hillside that I hit up to catch a few rays.

And we of course, had to go out one night with the rafting crew - including our guide, Jacko. It was a super fun night bouncing around to a few bars and dancing with our friends from Spain and the river guides.

So although they say you can "do nothing in Pai," I'd like to think we did a little something and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I got to ride an elephant!

Yay for Chiang Mai and my elephant ride! For all of this trip so far, I've been holding out for an elephant ride and we finally did it. It was quite fun. Our elephant was a female, so she was small - but that doesn't mean she wasn't the cutest little elephant of all the pack. Check out the pix!

Besides our elephant ride, we did some bamboo rafting, which consisted of sticking about 9 or 10 pieces of bamboo together and heading down the river. It also means a guaranteed wet butt.

We had several days in Chiang Mai and didn't really do much. Got massages, wandered the city, hit the markets and spent too much money on jewelery from local artists...Katie was one heck of a bargainer (yes, we joined back up with our buddy Katie), sat by a pool, and tried to avoid being completely disgusted by the large population of old, white men, who come here specifically to get a little, oh, you know.

Gibbons and Leeches and Mud, Oh My!

We just spent 3-days in the world of rainforest and mud in search of Gibbons (a type of monkey). We did a trip called the Gibbon Experience (GE) and any traveler we'd met that had done the GE just raved about it, so I think Lani and I went in with slightly high expectations. We were a group of 8 people. I wouldn't say we came our completely disappointed, just glad that the trip was over.

Our group consisted of 3 Brits, 1 Kroatian, 1 South African guy (who should've stayed home - he had such an ego it was incredible!), and the 2 "dirty American girls." Because it's rainy season here, we had to trek in to the first tree house for 8 hours, through mud and rain and up slippery hills and through quite literally, mierda, for about an hour of the hike. And when you have animal feces squashing between your toes, and haven't eaten for 8 hours, I would say I probably wasn't the happiest camper. And then once we arrived at the first treehouse, it was not a place to comfortably rest our heads. The sheets hadn't been changed from the previous guests and Lani and I spent a long night trying not to move a muscle, as we slept in our clothes, covered head to toe to avoid any contact with the bedding, and quite awake as each little sound in the jungle kept us on edge. I was grateful for the morning when the guide zipped in at 6:00 a.m. and we got the show on the road. On a more positive note, it was quite amazing to wake-up in a treehouse, 150 meters above ground, and as far as I could see were green trees and the fog settling on the mountains, with the sound of Gibbons singing as my alarm clock.

We spent the day zipping around on these cables, suspended from tree to tree. You zip high above the tree canopy and it is quite an amazing vista. Once I got over the initial scare of being suspended on a cable, more than 100 m above ground, it was quite a fun day. It was kinda like we were the monkeys, and we had a great day swinging from the trees.


When we weren't zipping around, we were hiking again, in more leech-infested mud. In fact, over the course of the trip I got 2 leech bites. Yuck! I screamed like a total girl and the guide had to flick the blood-sucking beast off of me (I might be over dramatizing the event, but seriously). Proof of the blood below (near my heal) to document my first leech bite ever in my life!


For the second night in the rainforest, we switched treehouses. It was much cleaner and well kept.

The only real issues we had this second evening was that the horse bringing the food never came. So for dinner and breakfast at the treehouse, we had a tasty batch of sticky rice and boiled potatoes. Luckily, Lani and I had brought Oreo's in our backpacks and they were a delicious night cap on the evening. And our other adventure this night was the fact that we had 2 incredibly large, hairy spiders crawl around our bedding area. We had to wake up our Brittish friend, Flip, to kill both of them. They were huge! I guess we were in the jungle, but seriously, the creepy-crawlies that I was confronted with over 3 days was almost more than I could handle.

The next morning we said good-bye to our treehouse and the Gibbons, that we never saw, and hiked out to the village. We were supposed to have another 4 hours hiking out, but since it hadn't rained in the valley the last 2 days, they had sent in a jeep to pick us up and I was quite extatic to hop in the back of that baby and ride up the muddy hills, rather than walk them.

Back in the border town of Huay Xai, a shower was the first priority! Then we had dinner with the 3 Brits along the Mekong River and watched the sky change colors as the sun set over the mountains. It was our last night in lovely Laos. The next day we would cross the river to Thailand and head to Chiang Mai.

Luang Prabang and 2 Days on the Mekong

We spent about 4 days in Luang Prabang (LPB), and in true Laos style, didn't really do much. The Mekong River rolls right alongside the town and there is a fabulous night market with local artisans that we strolled by nightly - and may have done a little shopping too!

LPB was a great place for us to walk around town, enjoy some baked goods at the delicious JoMa Cafe and try to find a little piece of nightlife. Although when the whole town closes down at 11:00, it's hard to really find anything happening in the streets. This sign cracked me up - and it's totally how all of Laos operates.

We did wake-up one morning at 5:15 a.m. in order to see the locals giving alms to the monks. It was quite the thing to see. About 200 monks, dressed in vibrant orange and yellow robes, walking in single file, their faces expressionless, and the people squatted on the sides of the streets to grab handfuls of sticky rice or bananas to place into their little tin containers.


That was the same day we set out for a 2-day boat trip on the Mekong River to get us to the border of Thailand. It was quite a relaxing journey and we lucked out to not have an overcrowded boat - Lani and I got 2 cushioned seats each. We felt lucky! It was a nice way to get through Laos, much preferred over the windy roads by bus. However, it did rain the majority of the trip - and we're not talking a slight drizzle, we're talking a serious downpour! Luckily they had plastic tarps that they could drape over the windows so that the water didn't rush in.

Then we arrived in the border town of Huay Xai and checked in with the Gibbon Experience office. It's rainy season, so who knows how the next 3 days are going to treat us...it could be quite the mucky walk for hours on end, all in search of the monkeys.

Plain of Jars in Phonsavan

Well, this was one of those times where I found myself wondering if one can be proud to be an American? We just visited a town called Phonsavan, and saw the destruction caused by the US in one of the largest sustained aerial bombings in history. During the Vietnam War, en route back to the base in Thailand, they dropped 2 million tons of bombs on Laos and around 30% of the bombs failed to detonate. As a result, the country is littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO) and the UXOs are the worst in Xieng Khuang province, which is where Phonsavan is located. It's extremely sad and devastating because peoples countryside is contaminated and there are deaths occurring still, years later, as a result of the bombs that didn't go off. And when you're on a tour, and you say you're from America, and the guide just laughs and shakes his head, you really have to wonder what we were thinking years back. It would be different if the US were actually funding any type of program to try and clear the areas, but the only signs posted were from New Zealand Aid and the Brittish Mines Advisory Group (MAG).

Anyway, it was a short day and a half in Phonsavan. You really only go there for the Plain of Jars tour. There are 3 major jar sites - and nobody really knows much about them. They are these rock jarlike-shaped remains scattered on the ground that archaeologists suspect were used as stone coffins or urns. It was an ok little day tour - and we got to tromp around in some rain and mud along the way.

We dragged Katie along with us to Phonsavan. It's been fun having a third friend to accompany Lani and I's two-some.

Lazy Days in Laos

After a days journey by bus, which was really gorgeous, we made it to Vang Vieng. The area is green and covered in mountains, and only one paved road weaves through the countryside between Vientiane and Vang Vieng. It made for a lovely bus ride. As we rolled into town, the sun was setting over the jagged rocky mountains and the cloud cover and little river passing through made for quite the picturesque moment. It's so peaceful and quiet and underdeveloped and the landscape is just incredible. And when we hopped off the bus, there weren't 700 moto and tuk-tuk drivers all up in our face to take us away to their "cheap, cheap" guesthouse. It was a welcomed relief and I was reminded that I just pretty much love Laos! We strolled the street to find a little hotel room in the middle of town (which means it was on 1 of 2 main streets that make up all 10 blocks of this little place).

The next morning we went tubing down the river. It was delightful! We met up with a girl from England, Katie, and two Dutch boys, Roger and Martin. The 5 of us floated the river together, hopping off at the riverside bars for drinks (Beer Lao seems to be the beverage of choice for many) and some good times on the rope swing.

Tubing filled our day and then it was a relaxing evening spent strolling down the 2 main tourist streets. We grabbed some grub, and then came upon a true fat kid treat that Lani and I just couldn't pass up. There are these little banana pancake stands that the locals set up on every corner. They whip up little banana crepes and you can put any topping on them that you'd like: chocolate, coconut, peanut, sugar, honey, lemon, condensed milk, etc. (JCJ, you'd be in crepe heaven!) It's a fat kid treat if I've ever seen one - and Lani and I ended up eating one nightly!

Another piece of Vang Vieng is the fact that "Friends" is played in every single restaurant lining the streets. I didn't even know what I was missing out on when the show was on in the States for years on end. Fortunately for me, the pouring down, rainy days in Vang Vieng allowed me to get all caught up on re-runs. I know, this is probably not the best activity to really experience the culture of Laos, but the restaurants were totally set up lounge style with pillows and cushions - just calling out to me to grab a pillow, lay down and relax, sip on a fruit shake and escape from the rain showers. Plus, unfortunately Lani got sick with some ear troubles during our stay in Vang Vieng, so we had to keep our activity levels low.

Trekking around Sapa Town

What a way to end our days in Vietnam! We took a night train - my first sleeper train ever - up to the hills of Sapa, which is in NW Vietnam. It was beautiful and green with terraced hillsides, much like Dalat. And it also rained on us, much like Dalat. But it wasn't quite as cold - so that was nice. We got in early morning and really wanted to do a 2-day trek and stay with a family in a village, but we weren't sure if we'd still be able to book that on the same day. We lucked out though and had an hour to repack our bags, change our clothes and grab some b-fast before joining 2 other people and a guide for a muddy mountain stroll.

As it had been raining on us for part of the morning, the trail was super slippery. One of the guys in our group, Michael, spent the majority of the hike on his butt. Lucky for us, part of what the village people do here is send their children out to walk along with the tourists, in hopes that we will buy something from them at the end of the hike. I had the 2 sweetest girls, Ti and Mo, walk with me for hours and hold my hand and try to keep me from slipping. They had a pretty good success rate. However, at one point, I did slip and I took both of them down with me. Everyone laughed - it was quite funny. I kept apologizing to them, but I don't think it was the first time it had happened to them on the trail with a clumsy tourist. And sure enough, I wanted to buy something from them at the end of our hike. I walked away with an overpriced silver bracelet, that the silver is already chipping off of and a wallet that'll make a good souvenir for one lucky person!

Anyway, our guide, Hi, led us down the trail and we ended up hiking about 13 km when we finally arrived at the homestay for the night in Ban Ho Village. Now, this family operates with no modern day conveniences, except for a tv, which every family seems to have, no matter how poor you might seem. It's quite impressive to see how their world works. We cooked over an open fire and did dishes in the corner on their cement floor. Lani and I helped make spring rolls that night. Hi wasn't so impressed with our rolling capabilities - but anyone that knows me, knows I'm not a cook. So this was a great start for me!


We ate like kings and queens with more food than anyone would ever really eat (yes, it was even too much for Lani and I). However, we had no problem popping in like 8 fried spring rolls each. After dinner, we helped them wash dishes, we sang around the fire and then we had a dance party. The loud music must've been heard across the entire village, because all of a sudden, all the boys in the area were standing on the cement patio wanting to join in on the fun. It just took a couple minutes for them to stop being shy and then they were out on the dance floor turning tricks and doing their own little break-dance moves.

On the second day, we went to a waterfall. It was nice and refreshing!

When we returned from the waterfall, we said good-bye to our host family of 4 generations and started up the trail again. Luckily, it wasn't raining on us this time. But it sure made my legs hurt walking up hill...just another reminder of how out of shape I've gotten on this trip. I'll be sore for days! But it was such a cool experience to be hiking through the hills and staying with a village family. Sapa and the surrounding area was a high point of our adventure in Vietnam. A nice way to close the Vitenam chapter.