Pai- Avoid the news

Hello world! I'm back in Chiang Mai and will be leaving in the morning for Huay Xai, Laos. Our journey in Thailand has come to an end but we will be back at the end of November to see Ayuthaya and Lopburi! Last time I wrote it was my final night in Mae Hong Son. The next morning we road our motorbikes up the 1095 and stopped at a meditation retreat. We were told by some local falangs that there was free meditation at this wat about an hour north of Mae Hong Son. The place was beautiful and well landscaped, everything you would want a meditation retreat to look like. To our surprise nothing was going on since it was the rainy (slow) season so we walked around the premises and enjoyed the sights. We got back on the highway and headed for the hills where I highly enjoyed the turns of the road. I felt like I was in a moto race on my little 125cc scooter lol. I was surprised how well this little guy handled the road, I miss him already. Our next stop was the town of Soppong which is about 40 minutes away from Pai. In Soppong there are a large amount of caves and many that are unexplored. There's one in particular that we had our eye on, specifically for being able to raft through the cave. What I mean is that there is a river that runs through the cave and out the end of it. The river was to high so we werent able to raft through the whole cave but just a small portion of it, still amazing. When you get to the cave you see this huge opening in a cliff wall with bats and swifts flying frantically around. The cave was fun but we jetted out quickly cause we needed something tasty to eat. Pai was a short ride away but filled with many turns and potholes, i love dem potholes. We arrived in Pai by 2pm and and right away began looking for places to stay. After looking at several places we found our spot right on the river on a nice side street. It was super close to the nightlife but tucked away enough for schleepy time. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the town and having some tea at a local tea store. They dried their own tea and had homemade kombucha which i love. That night we went to a couple bars but it was extremely dead so we didnt party all that much. The next day we went on an Elephant ride that we herd good things about. I was excited and not so excited about it, didnt know what it would be like. It ended up being a lot of fun and playing in the river with our friend was awesome. At the end of our journey we fed her her favorite treat, green bananas. She also loves bamboo, like blake, and will tear up huge chunnks of it. Oh and btw we got to the elephant farm via the police. Yeah he dropped us off and picked us up. When he brought us back to town people were laughing at the situation, they didnt know what to think. We than went into the hills on a scenic road to look for a waterfall that had a natural slide. We found it but the water was too high once again so the slide wasnt safe. For lunch i finally satisfied my craving for a burger at a place near our guesthouse and it was so so amazing. It had bacon, cheddar, bbq sauce, sauteed onions and fresh sweet potato chips. All that for 3 usd and thats an expensive lunch for what I like to spend here. I usually average 2 usd for lunch. With all that american in me a nap was due. That night we walked the streets through the market that has anything from street food to handmade goods. We ran into a guy from the U.S. that had the same backpack as us and ended up chilling with him at this really nice outdoor lounge. We were surrounded by great people, good music, and delicious tasty beer. The conversations were thorough on traveling with what to do and what not. Had a great time that night. The next morning we woke early to head for chiang mai to return our motobikes before noon. We took our malaria pills on an empty stomach and in turn got sick. After 45 minutes or se we were able to hit the road with worries of having to pay for another day. We got to our guesthouse in CM with 5 minutes to spare, some serious driving. That day we just relaxed, ate, and slept. The next day we went to doi suthep to see a big temple on the top of a mountain. It was really pretty but filled with hundreds of tourists. We than went to check the results of my mole that had hints of looking like something bad and they came back benign! A feeling of relief went thru my body. Our bus ticket to Laos has been booked and now Im going to the city walls to meet a friend from Taiwan, she worked with us in West Yellowstone. I hope you all enjoyed our travels. Please remember to save your money so that u2 can experience what this world has to offer. Experience Life!