Chiang Mai III

Friday 14/04 - Tuesday 18/04

Our last day in Chiang Mai we finally did what most people do in the first couple of days of being in Thailand, which was get a foot massage (it fucking hurt man, not into it) and go to a ladyboy show (in the Ram Bar) and it was waaaay better than we were expecting. Not only did we make a rad new friend there, but the Cabaret itself was such a good show! Fantastic dancing, beautiful girls and the costumes were bloody amazing. At one point one of the performers left the stage, climbed onto the bar which was then set on fire... what more could you possibly want from a night out? Highly recommended.

The next day we finally left and headed to Pai - Thailand's version of Byron Bay - backpackers everywhere, lots of bars, lots of stuff to do. We hired scooters for three days (sorry, Mum) and managed not to become roadkill. We picked up a couple of Canadian friends in a gas station and spent a day zooming around seeing the sights and enjoying our new status as a Biker Gang.

On our way to beat up some punks

We got a couple of bad asses over here.

Walking along a RIDICULOUS cliff edge (Pai Canyon)

We also attempted a longer journey to a village three hours away. Unfortunately the weather was less than ideal... Also we almost got attacked by a pack of dogs. (I also got attacked by a bird. And bitten by an ant. It was not a good nature day.)

Gimme Shelter

Babs drives like a grandma anyway; not like a Thai grandma, who can take these roads no problem with three kids on the back and a food stall attached to the side - but an English grandma who can only drive in straight lines and only when the weather is good.
The rain didn't help.
After stopping off at a hot spring and Lod Cave and a couple of rain breaks it was dark by the time we got to the sleepy town of Mae Hong Son. We had to get the bikes back by 12 the next day so we got up well early, went looking for some huge bamboo bridge we wanted to see, spent an hour getting lost off the main road, gave up, rejoined the main road and saw the bloody bamboo bridge sign 20 meters down the road... so we sacked it off and drove straight back to Pai. Got a back massage (enjoyed it apart from the alarming back snapping manoeuvre that took me entirely by surprise) had a beer and got bus tickets for the next stop... Chiang Rai!