Pai, a small town known for relaxation and nothing else. It was full of Thai and western 'hippies', green souvenir shops and organic foods and teas. I spent most of my time on the bicycle tackling the winding hills of northern Thailand, which was not the best of ideas..I think I might have spent just as much time pushing the bike up hills as I did riding it....but I did manage to go to Pembok falls for some meditation and the Pai canyon, both which were great. The falls were especially challenging to get to but a stop at the sandot organic farm for a snack helped break up the 5 hour journey. Not having been to the Grand Canyon, I was impressed, walking on the red sand trails as narrow as 50 cm wide with nothing but jagged cliffs to break your fall if you miss a step.. not to mention... a fantastic view. The sunsets from my hammock and the best veggi food in the market added to it all. Also got introduced to -workaway website- oh the possibilities... Next, Chiang Rai, the first Thai city I would have stayed a little longer. But with only two days left on the visa, and a trek in mind, I didn't waste time. Sadly, after asking every foreigner I saw to join a group and having no success, I gave up on the overnight trek idea and settled for a day trip, where I met some amazing people who were even more memorable then the tour itself. We had a small trekking tour through some 'authentic villages ', saw waterfalls, went to the hot springs, and... more elephants. This time I made sure my money was not given to the company...just terrible. Chaing Rai also hosts the white temple...after seeing so many temples, its true at some point they all start looking the same, but this new, modern temple, the first of its kind, made my top five.All white, you walk across a.bridge. with skulls and corpses reaching out of the ground, then you walk through the painted wall with images representing.our.modern world with materialistics. with the Buddha on the far side of the temple... the message was loud. and clear. The rest of the time was spent in the outdoor food courts with all kinds of live performances. Lastley, a bike ride up to Doi Kong Kao, the view point overlooked the rice paddies, rivers and mountains, a perfect sunset at the summit with a 3 m gold Buddha . Another cycling adventure that was 40 k more then it should have (for once I was not the one reading the map!). Next, Laos! Since I don't have the IPod, use your imagination or good old Google for the pics.