It really does feel like we're doing a whistlestop tour of asia so far, but at the same time we're fitting so much in that it doesn't feel rushed. Our bus back to Chiang Mai was booked for 5pm, leaving us with nearly a full day to explore. We decided to hire bikes and explore the area around the main street a bit more. But first, breakfast.
Due to our budget, breakfast usually consists of whatever the hostel are giving and some crackers/oreos /strange asian bread creation from 7/11, but today we decided to go and have something more filling. Pai is known for its brunch scene and vegetarian food but we managed to find somewhere still with pretty much local prices and between us had porridge, a pancake and a croissant. Feeling sufficiently fuelled we went to find a place to hire bikes. Everywhere rents motorbikes for 100 baht per day, just over £2, but none of us were brave enough and opted for push bikes. We paid 50 baht, a bargain, and headed off along the road.
Katie had a map of the area saved on her phone and we essentially just headed towards the green area surrounding the city, and fortunately found our way enroute to the Karin hill tribe and a waterfall. Whilst it would have been really interesting to see the tribe, who have elongated necks from wearing many necklaces, I've read before that it's a very unethical tourist activity as they receive very little money from tour groups visiting and are just viewed as a strange novelty, so I was glad when we took the route to the waterfall instead.
It was a really beautiful place to cycle, and fortunately the weather wasn't too hot, meaning we only had to pause for a couple of breaks. We cycled alongside rice paddies and farms and it felt much more rural than the city we had seen. Eventually, however; the path stopped by a river, and we attempted to carry our bikes across. We then continued along the river for a bit, but quickly the path became too narrow and high up to continue by bike, and given anywhere to lock them up we headed back towards the city. We cycled around for a while, at times often on large roads which were almost deserted, before heading back to return the bikes at about 2.30pm.
After stopping off at the hostel for a quick wash and to refill our water bottles, we ventured out to get some more food, and found a very cheap local restaurant along the way which was perfect for a late lunch. We then collected our big rucksacks from the hostel and headed to the bus station, only around a 10 minute walk from our hostel, and quickly boarded the bus back to Chiang Mai. As I mentioned previously the bus takes 3 to 3.5 hours, but somehow ours managed it in 2.5. Although we did sacrifice the short 10 minute stop this time I was amazed but slightly concerned by how quickly we managed it, though after watching some very dodgy overtaking on thin mountain roads I was just relieved we all arrived in one piece!
On arrival at the bus station we managed to get a tuk tuk for 100 baht, but due to our low price we seemed to be treated like the last stop on the bus. This was fine with us as we essentially got a tour of the city and also chatted to an old, western lady and a group of friends travelling from Hong Kong. When we finally arrived we checked into the hostel and were offered 3 beds in a 6 bed dorm which turned out to be empty which was perfect. After showering and unpacking we did our ab workout again and then headed to the large Sunday night market.
Meg was feeling sick so headed back on her own, but katie and I explored the huge market for a couple of hours, managing to get good prices on some clothes. I got yet another fruit shake in an attempt to get some vitamins in, and we headed back around 11 via a quick trip to get breakfast. After packing our stuff for the following day and creating large washing lines of our clothing we all get a fairly early night ready for tomorrow's early wake up.
Laura x
Due to our budget, breakfast usually consists of whatever the hostel are giving and some crackers/oreos /strange asian bread creation from 7/11, but today we decided to go and have something more filling. Pai is known for its brunch scene and vegetarian food but we managed to find somewhere still with pretty much local prices and between us had porridge, a pancake and a croissant. Feeling sufficiently fuelled we went to find a place to hire bikes. Everywhere rents motorbikes for 100 baht per day, just over £2, but none of us were brave enough and opted for push bikes. We paid 50 baht, a bargain, and headed off along the road.
Katie had a map of the area saved on her phone and we essentially just headed towards the green area surrounding the city, and fortunately found our way enroute to the Karin hill tribe and a waterfall. Whilst it would have been really interesting to see the tribe, who have elongated necks from wearing many necklaces, I've read before that it's a very unethical tourist activity as they receive very little money from tour groups visiting and are just viewed as a strange novelty, so I was glad when we took the route to the waterfall instead.
It was a really beautiful place to cycle, and fortunately the weather wasn't too hot, meaning we only had to pause for a couple of breaks. We cycled alongside rice paddies and farms and it felt much more rural than the city we had seen. Eventually, however; the path stopped by a river, and we attempted to carry our bikes across. We then continued along the river for a bit, but quickly the path became too narrow and high up to continue by bike, and given anywhere to lock them up we headed back towards the city. We cycled around for a while, at times often on large roads which were almost deserted, before heading back to return the bikes at about 2.30pm.
After stopping off at the hostel for a quick wash and to refill our water bottles, we ventured out to get some more food, and found a very cheap local restaurant along the way which was perfect for a late lunch. We then collected our big rucksacks from the hostel and headed to the bus station, only around a 10 minute walk from our hostel, and quickly boarded the bus back to Chiang Mai. As I mentioned previously the bus takes 3 to 3.5 hours, but somehow ours managed it in 2.5. Although we did sacrifice the short 10 minute stop this time I was amazed but slightly concerned by how quickly we managed it, though after watching some very dodgy overtaking on thin mountain roads I was just relieved we all arrived in one piece!
On arrival at the bus station we managed to get a tuk tuk for 100 baht, but due to our low price we seemed to be treated like the last stop on the bus. This was fine with us as we essentially got a tour of the city and also chatted to an old, western lady and a group of friends travelling from Hong Kong. When we finally arrived we checked into the hostel and were offered 3 beds in a 6 bed dorm which turned out to be empty which was perfect. After showering and unpacking we did our ab workout again and then headed to the large Sunday night market.
Meg was feeling sick so headed back on her own, but katie and I explored the huge market for a couple of hours, managing to get good prices on some clothes. I got yet another fruit shake in an attempt to get some vitamins in, and we headed back around 11 via a quick trip to get breakfast. After packing our stuff for the following day and creating large washing lines of our clothing we all get a fairly early night ready for tomorrow's early wake up.
Laura x
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