November 28, 2006

pai in the sky






Once arrived in Chiang Mai I decided to immediately get further from the city. Bangkok and the long train ride convinced me. I went to the bus station and got on the next bus to Pai, a winding 4 hour journey. The bus was maybe meant to seat about 30 people but they overbooked and we had about 45 people plus and all our stuff. Some people were sitting in the aisle and some actually stood the entire way. I was sitting next to a window with a Thai girl about 12 or 13 next to me. I slept against the window and she slept on my shoulder. I didn't sleep the whole way though, it was nearly impossible to anyways with all the windy roads pushing and pulling us back and forth across the seat. Our bus driver was a kind soul who stopped to pick up every one on the side of the street who needed a ride. By the time we nearly arrived we had about ten extras from when we started. I say nearly because a few kilometers before we did arrive the bus got a flat. We drove in on it until the first mechanic shop and then I walked the rest of the way.








Pai is a lazy little river town with beautiful surroundings and people and wonderful food, where every day is like a Sunday afternoon. It was good to stop for a while and relax free from the daily travels to and from, a different bed every night, trains, buses, boats, heavy backpack, no sleep. I've been staying at the coziest guesthouse with A-frame rooms for 100 baht per night (US$2.50), hammocks and pillows, campfires and stories, parties and music and many many eccentric guests from the world over. Never a dull moment. Around the area are many rice fields, hills and trees, waterfalls, temples, elephants, a hot springs, a swimming pool and a gorgeous canyon that was deserted when I visited-- only me and the red dirt and hot sun. Beautiful! I've also learned how to ride a motorbike since I've been here. It's quite easy but I've just never done it before. In Thailand no drivers license is necessary (I think mine expired about a year ago) and I think you have to be at least eight years old to ride. (Don't worry Mom, I've now made it out of Thailand uninjured.) The huge misspelled signs intended to curb the foreign accident rate made me smile, "Please remember, your drive on the left".





One of my most magical moments in Pai happened in the middle of the night when the stars were jumping out of the sky and the crickets were chirping and almost everyone else was sleeping. A small group from the guesthouse went on a hike, led by PO the owner, in the dark to find the perfect spot to release a small paper hot air balloon. According to Thai beliefs, releasing the balloon is symbolic of releasing everything bad you carry with you-- feelings, thoughts, intentions-- and then starting new with a clear mind. We walked on and on carrying with us the fragile paper balloon, amazingly not ruining it stumbling along in the dark. We kept going, hearing "almost there" about every five minutes but never seeming to get there. We came to a small river that had to be waded through and then shortly after we arrived in a field where the stars shone even brighter and it was perfect. The lights of Pai nowhere near, only the stars and the sound of the bugs and our own voices. We sat in a circle and took a few minutes of silence to think of all we wanted to release before we lit the balloon and sent it away. Without speaking, PO lit the bottom of the balloon and it began to fill up with hot air. We remained in a circle each of holding with our fingertips the edge of the balloon until it was ready to be released. We held on lightly until the balloon took of on it's own into the night sky. It was beautiful, it looked like a giant jellyfish swimming in the glowing plankton of stars. We watched until all that remained was a small burning dot, one more star, and then it was gone along with everything we sent up with it.