We ride together, we die together, bad boys for life.....
So Tuesday 7th June we were accompanied by 4 amigos from Chiang Mai (Caroline, Owen, Jeff, Elsten) and headed to a little town called Pai, about 3 hours drive away. It wasn't the most comfortable journey in the world up the winding roads but eventually we made it.
We got off the bus and looked for some cheap accommodation. We were lead to some huts across a rickety bridge and paired off into them for £2 a night each!! Pai is a really peaceful little hippy town made up of three roads and our huts were in the quiet part of Pai.
After quite a heavy last night in Chiang Mai we decided to take it easy and just chill outside our hostel and play some cards, not until we had been for a few drinks first though.
The next morning we arranged to meet a few others Dave, Mike, and Tom and together the nine of us became The Skulls. The Skulls are a biker gang made up of people from 4 different countries and we hired bikes and set off to see the views available in the Pai area. Being my (Josh) first time biking I decided to take it easy at first. This was until we headed straight off road into the middle of nowhere. After realising we were heading the wrong way we turned round, headed back and got some directions. First stop was to be a waterfall about 15/20 minutes away.
So The Skulls headed off to the first destination but on the way I (Josh) realised that a sharp left turn can be followed by a sharp right turn straight away. I also learnt that if you don't realise this you end up crashing and falling off the bike. Oops. So with a bleeding knee, a scraped hand, and a piece of plastic coming off the bike (thank god I paid 80p for damage insurance) we carried on to the waterfall for a swim.
After chilling out at the waterfall, we headed back into town and grabbed a picnic from the 7/11 and drove up to Pai canyon where we decided to chill and eat our lunch. The views were amazing and we took turns to walk to the edge of the cliff. Both of us managed to let our feet slip a little. Not fun! Pete managed to still walk to the end and I (Josh) decided crawling was the safest option, but we both made it.
Our final stop of the day was a spa, with a hot spring and a swimming pool. This was nice to just relax for a couple of hours before heading back for dinner. Sounds simple but this is us travelling. So on the way back, Elsten with Pete on the back broke down because of a punctured tyre. The others hadn't realised as they were ahead except for me (Josh) who was right behind. So there I was, not a confident driver, sent to get help from the rental place. I decided I didn't want another fall, especially on my own so went very slow. Eventually I got to the rental place, explained to the local with limited English the situation and as he pulled away to go and find them, Pete and Elsten came walking up the street. (No they didn't walk back pushing the bike at the same pace as my (Josh) biking, they got a ride in the back of a truck).
That evening was the last night The Skulls stuck together, so out for some drinks we went. This was a bit of an anticlimax as the one bar that usually opens until late was closed down early by the new head police, so another night chilling around our huts it was. Next day Pete and Josh, accompanied by Owen head to Bangkok by bus and that is where we are now.
Hope you enjoy the read and look out for the next one
Pete and Josh