We are back in Chiang Mai

   I'm not sure if I have mentioned much about the weather out here in any of my past blogs. It's hot. The temperatures range in the 90's (F) during the day and the evenings in the 80's. During our first trip to Chiang Mai, the hostel that we are staying at had no AC, or air-con as they call it here. It was definitely not easy to sleep through the night with one rotating fan hitting you for a second and then again after another long 6 seconds. So when we arrived in Pai, a much needed break from the evening heat awaited us there. I'm not sure what the actual temp was but we were able to sleep under blankets and wore long sleeve shirts after the sun went down. 

   The heat during the day was still hot but it didn't stop us from visiting the hot springs only a few kilometers from where we were staying. I never experienced hot springs before and I was definitely surprised at what I saw. As we approached the spring we found a small pool of crystal blue and green water. Steam was pouring off from the top and in some areas the water was even bubbling. In another smaller pool next to us two people were boiling eggs. When we took a closer look the heat overcame us and we had to take a few steps back. It felt like standing over a pot of boiling water. After enough of that we then strolled down the walk where the hot water was cascading down the hill through a series of bends and curves and then collected in a few small pools below. There was only a few people at the park that day so it was nice to have your pick at which pool you would like to hang out in. We chose one pool that had three little waterfalls and I sat under one of them to have the warm water pour onto my neck. It's been over 2 weeks since my "Thai massage" and I still do not have full range in my neck so the water felt nice. 

   I did notice many injuries among the foreigners in Pai. I assume it was a lot of first timers renting motorbikes and not quite knowing how to use them. As we were waiting for the bus to go back to Chiang Mai, I saw 2 girls on a motorbike waiting for instructions on where to return it. One was bandaged up around her ankle and also around her calf. She could barely move her leg as she limped off the back of the bike and the driver could barely maneuver the thing as she attempted to get back into the return garage. The locals must get a kick out of that kind of stuff. I know I would. 

    We got on the small bus back to Chiang Mai and it was an interesting trip to say the least. As I may have mentioned before the trip in was similar to kiddie roller coaster ride and I learned that there are over 760 bends and curves in the road leading to Pai. Well you take the same road back that you took in and this time our driver seemed like he was in a hurry to get back. We sped along the road gunning past slower vehicles with oncoming traffic approaching and even ripped through the smoke filled air where the brush fires reached the road. It was upsetting to see the the fires just roaming around at their own free will and no one would attempt to stop it. But as heard from Pai local that the fires are good because if the forest didn't thin out every once in a while the crops that the town depends on wouldn't get enough light and die off. Anyway a couple of the passengers lost their cookies from the intense journey. One into a plastic bag and the other begged the driver to stop and bolted out of the bus for tree to lean against. With others on the verge of the same fate we finally reached Chiang Mai and many got off the bus in a hurry, happy to have feet planted firmly on the ground. 

    We are going to take it easy and relax for a few days so I'm going to do the same with this blog. We fly to Laos on Tuesday so I will probably pick it up from there.