The bus from Soppong back to Pai was crowded. Malone was lucky enough to get a seat… lucky, that is, until the seat in front of her collapsed into her lap, and she spent the rest of the ride holding it up with her knees. I was stuck standing in the aisle the whole time, with a tiny Thai girl in her parents’ laps to my left, and two novice monks, about ten years old, standing in front of me. The smaller of the two monks was leaning his head on the other’s shoulder. It looked as if he were sleeping, though he was standing up. When the two got off the bus, I saw one of the monks take out his cell phone and make a call. It was such a startling image: a ten-year-old boy—bedecked in orange robes, hair shaved close to his head—talking on a cell phone in northern Thailand.
We settled back in at the Darling View Guest House. This time, we got our own private room, which was actually cheaper than renting beds in the dorm room. Our room had its own porch, overlooking the valley, with a hammock and benches and lots of pink flowers. We stayed in Pai for five nights, simply because we were content there. It was quiet, peaceful, and beautiful, and it was a safe place to explore on our own.
On our second day, we rented a motorbike and drove along some dirt roads past farmland, small bungalows, stray dogs, and banana trees. We parked at the trailhead that led to Mae Sen Waterfall. What we thought would be a short stroll to the falls turned out to be an all day hike—too bad we hadn’t packed food and only had half a bottle of water between us! It took us about two and a half hours to get to the falls, and two and a half hours to get back. I confess that Malone could have completed the hike much more quickly, but then again, her legs are twice as long as mine. My difficulties hiking were compounded by the fact that sand from the riverbanks was getting stuck beneath the straps of my sandals, rubbing my skin raw and giving me blisters. Despite these complaints, the hike was beautiful, with banana trees, pale purple flowers, and vines that twisted between the trees. We had to cross the cold creek several times—back and forth, back and forth—to stay on the trail, which could not remain on one side of the water because of the rock faces that emerged. We scrambled over some boulders as we got closer to the falls. When we arrived, the falls greeted us in three long curves of white water sliding down the rock face. Water collected in a small pool at the base, and pale blue butterflies clustered above the sandy beach. Walking back to the motorbike, the afternoon sunlight was golden through the forest, and the cold water was soothing on my hot feet. Cold water, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and a dish of pad Thai never tasted so good as when we returned from our hike!
The next morning, we took the motorbike to the Pai Hot Springs. It was cool on the bike in the morning, especially in the shade, but the scenery was wonderful: a patch of dry, autumn-like forest, with dry leaves on the ground and leaves browning in the trees; one tree with orange blossoms, the color of monks’ robes; a cattle pasture and small farms; two straw huts in a field; a tall, straight eucalyptus tree on the side of the road; small plantations of tall, skinny trees with sparse, dry leaves the size of dinner plates; stray dogs; old women walking; lots of green; views of the mountains; sunshine and shade. We saw our first elephants at Pai’s elephant camp; some were walking along the road, and we had to move into the opposite lane to pass them!
We weren’t prepared to go inside the hot springs—I guess we didn’t really know it was allowed—so we just dipped our feet in for a while. The park itself was very quaint, with stone walls and a walking path. We walked past some of the hotter springs that sent steam into the cool morning air. The hottest spring had a sign—“No boil egg”—which was even funnier than seeing the bag of eggs boiling in the one before it.
After the hot springs, we drove to Pam Bok Waterfall, which wasn’t as impressive as the falls we saw the day before. The good thing about this waterfall, though, was that we didn’t have to hike the entire day to get there—it was only a 150 meter walk. The falls were a bit dry, but the short walk was nice. The path squeezed between boulders and cliffs, and smaller pools of water created short water falls. A rickety bridge crossed the stream of water. The drive back to Pai showed us more of the beautiful countryside: mountain, valley, and farmland. After returning the motor bike, we put on some sunscreen and went down to the Pai Riverside to have a drink and read and relax. I dipped my feet in the water while Malone borrowed somebody’s tube to float down the river. Though the afternoon sun was hot, we had to be sure to shower before the sun went down, because the evenings and nights in Pai were quite crisp!
Watching the sunset that evening in Pai, I wrote in my journal: “I could have this view forever.”
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