Thursday and Friday

We had a bit of a lie in compared to the previous day and then after realising we were too late to go and do anything like a cookery course (which I've been wanting to do for a while), so instead simply went for a wonder around the town and chilled and had some lunch away from Khao San Road for a change of scenery.

We'd decided to go and have a drink at the hotel where the film, 'The Hangover 2' had been filmed which was called Sky bar at the Leboua (known as the dome) hotel. I'd been told by someone that the drinks were cheaper between 5 and 7pm so I had said to the others we should get there for then. What we didn't realise was that traffic was going to be really bad and we ended up sat in a taxi for an hour and a half before getting out and running to the bar in the rain! We were thankful we all had the right attire to get let in and went and had a cocktail which was really expensive. There was a huge storm while we were up there so we weren't able to go outside but it was fun to be in high among the lightening and when it cleared up we were able to enjoy the views. The bar was really classy and A nice change to the places we've been to travelling so I was happy we'd visited. Afterwards we went for a curry down the road which was really tasty before getting a taxi back to Khao San Road where we all bought a 'Wolfpack' wristband and went to bed for an early night.

Friday

In the morning we had to wake up early and check out to get a flight from BKK airport up north to Chiang Mai. The plane trip went smoothly and we arrived at the airport at the other end, grabbed some snacks and then booked a bus to head further north to Pai. We had 5 minutes in the sun before it started raining and after some waiting around got on our 12.30 bus. The trip itself was full of very bent mountain roads so we'd all prepped with travel sick tablets and tried to sleep. We arrived in Pai and the hostel, 'The Famous Pai Circus' picked us up. We didn't have a great experience checking in, they had double booked a private room for me and so charged double for a deposit and then said the 2 places I'd booked for Lisa and Lauren in the 4 bed dorm had to be separated. Lisa was really upset by this as she'd not been feeling great all week and really didn't want to be without anyone she knew in a dorm. Lisa pointed out that she'd have the other double room that had been booked instead then and the guy admitted he was glad that mistake had been made because he'd overbooked already anyway so needed that room. In order to help resolve the situation he upgraded Lisa and Lauren to a better 'presidential' dorm which had much better facilities.

Nick and I checked into our room which was the most basic of basic -having known this was what the room would have been like in advance at the same cost as the last one we had, we probably wouldn't have stayed there as the bathroom was dirty and it was like a prison cell with the thinest mattress I've ever slept on. We tried not to let it bother us as we knew we'd hardly be spending much time in the room and would be out enjoying the atmosphere of the hostel. The hostel itself was situated up in the hills, there was a stunning view and everyone staying there was really friendly. It was a really communal place where circus tricks and activities were open for people to enjoy out with a view of the mountains and around the swimming pool. There wasn't lots going on as we got there because it was raining so we wrapped up (it's a lot colder than anywhere else we've been) and walked into the town for some dinner.

Afterwards we headed back up to the hostel and watched a fire show and drank a few beers playing cards. We had a few people join us (Adrian, Sean, James and his sister I can't remember her name, and another girl who's name sounded like Vinegar). The night escalated and we all got fairly drunk, the hostel had had recent issues with stuff going on in the town, someone said a girl had been raped as well so they weren't selling alcohol and we were to keep quiet after 12 or go out to a bar. As it was freezing cold and damp we carried on the drinking back in the front porch area of Sean's bungalow and after so long ended up going to bed early hours in the morning.

Xxx