Chiangmai and Pai Trek

The first day I arrived in Chiang Mai I was taken straight from the drop off to a place called Nice Place Travel and Tour.  They raved about their pool (oh the simplicity in Thailand) and how cheap their rooms were, but also the opportunities to trek up north to a place called Pai.  A few friends of mine from school had mentioned they were making a stop in Pai before reaching Chiang Mai to trek their as well, so I figure it would be a great opportunity to get lost in the jungle and waste away for a few days before getting lost in the insanity that awaited me when I got back.  That's right, the Thai new year known as Sonkgran Festival.  I booked my trip for two days on the following Monday so I could spend the weekend attending the first up and coming Chiang Mai Beach Festival.  I actually ended up getting to the music festival pretty early so I didn't have to pay for my ticket, which was very lucky seeing as my tuk-tuk ride to lake Huey Tung Tao where it was held cost me 200 baht from Chiangmai.  I ended up meeting MC Trix, the host of the festival and a few of the other staff members who I then helped with the set up so I ended up getting the Deluxe Pass into the festival allowing me free drinks all night.  That was a bonus. 



I'm really happy a lot of my friends from Thammasat showed up to the festival, I didn't think they would.  It really made it more enjoyable.  The music and the atmosphere was really mellow and a lot of them ended up camping around the lake so it made for a very relaxing night.  I ended up going home around 3 am since I had to wake up to go trekking at 8 am that morning.  Oops.



It was about a a two and half hour drive up north a bit where I accompanied a few other travel companions, two German girls around my age and two English boys a bit older.  When we arrived in Pai, we stopped to eat some lunch and drink a few beers before hitting the trek.  A young Thai boy came for the ride and ended up traveling the entire first day with us.  We became pretty close, I ended up giving my water gun in preperation for Songkran, I just couldn't resist seeing him have so much fun with the damn thing.  From there we started day one of our trek through Pai.  It was hot as hell but oh my Buddah, was it fun.













After day one, we finally settled at a small home to an old man who cooked us all one of the best dinners I have eaten since I have been in Thailand.  Chicken, potatoes, vegetables and rice.  Delicious.  Afterwards, the sun went down and all we had was candle light and whiskey.  Luckily our tourguide brought his guitar and a songbook so the night seemed to never end.  Then morning came, and day two started early at 8 am with hot tea and fresh eggs. 

















To view more from my adventures through Pai, visit my Flickr.