Darling Guesthouse beckons a visit
Pai: A Slow Pace, but a Magical Place – The morning begins with the revile of roosters. Their throaty exhortations seem to command that I wake up and roll out of bed – literally, for our mattresses are now on the floor of our bamboo bungalows. I’m awake before the rest of camp this morning and have to tiptoe past the sleeping bodies out to the veranda, just in time for sunrise over the mountains. The jungle is silent for the brief moment before the sun breaks over the mountaintops and casts small bursts of pink and apricot across the sky. Then, the thick foliage comes alive with gecko and bird cries and the glistening morning dew quickly fades away.
We seem to have been sucked into the world of Pai, a quaint village where time stands still and the only worries are finding enough books to read. We stumbled upon the River Pai “Darling” bungalows situated on the edge of town. From the veranda, which overlooks the bubbling river below, I can see eight little bamboo huts, all built about 10 ft off the ground and facing inward towards a fire pit. Across the river boundary in front of me lies the lush heights of the jungle, immediately followed by mountains that stretch as far as your imagination can see. It is truly an oil painters paradise – if only I had my brushes and canvas by my side.
Tubing in Pai – Our days in Pai have passed by in a blur, almost in a dreamlike state. We did go tubing!!! After being crammed into the back of a pickup truck with half a dozen inner tubes, we were driven 20 min. up into the mountains and let loose. The ride down was lazy entwined with intervals of crazy paddling to steer clear of rocks and weed patches. My Swedish friend, Monoose, had quite a bit of fun telling me Anaconda stories on the trip down. On the other hand, he was very good at pulling me out of log jams. The scenery was gorgeous! Tall, green hills, rich rice paddies, and colorful bamboo huts dotted the shores. Little children ran along the banks, shouting out “sawadee,” and the quiet ladies took a break from their laundry time to smile and wave as we floated past. My camera picked the perfect time to break.
The days have steadily grown hotter and stickier, accompanied by incredible humidity. Yesterday, the heavens finally gave in, opened up, and we were blessed with rain, tons of glorious rain! I sat on the porch and watched the beginnings of the storm in awe. The mixture of pink lightening over haze covered mountains, trees dancing in the quickened breezes, and rain beating down on dry earth is indescribable to even to most gifted poet and a camera could hardly capture the beauty
We watched the storm for awhile until the rain was light enough to run to town and grab some food. The four of us had just settled down onto the cushioned floor of the movie house when the power went out all over town. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging on the mat covered floor, surrounded by stacks of magazines, dozens of candles, and stray backpackers from every corner of the world. Every so often, a wet, lone traveler would wander in, drawn in by our laughter and the flickering, hypnotic glow of candles. We would quickly push aside some pillows, offer him some pineapple, and make room for one more hand in our card game. Our group took turns ducking into the rain to get refreshments from the general store down the road. Walking along the rain soaked streets of the dark, silent town sporadically lit by candlelight waltzing off of cafe walls and various circles of backpackers huddled together with nothing to do but share their stories another had an almost magical feeling.
Laundry day in Pai
Just before leaving Pai, we also rented motorbikes and rode to the waterfalls and hot springs that lay several kilometers outside of town. I was the only one that had experience with a motorbike so we spent several minutes “practicing” along main street before fastening our helmets and speeding away on the dirt roads leading away from civilization.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself to really believe that I am in the middle of Thailand instead of working in Illinois. However, even dreams have to end at some point – in my case, when the roosters wake me up in the morning! We have to leave Pai tomorrow since our visas have almost expired. A brief stopover in Chiang Mia before heading towards the Laos border will end our fairy tale visits to Thailand.
