I am in a cute little hippy town called Pai, north of Chiang Mai. Apparently this place is the new thing in Thailand and there are loads of travellers here... We fit in quite well with the locals, who all seem to sit around all day and play with their long hair. It's very relaxed and artsy. But because of its increasing popularity it will probably be drowned in pasty foreigners in the next few years so I am here before that happens! Yesterday morning I rented a bike to do some exploring, and do justice to the title of my site. When asked whether I wanted a normal or mountain bike, I chose normal (who needs gears?). At first I was chuffed because both brakes worked, which is a first. But then bothered to take a look at my surroundings and found that we were in the mountains and once I had left the town, realised that gears would have come in handy. It wasn't that bad actually, at first anyway. I visited a Wat (temple) and met a monk who showed me how to light the candle and insence and we chatted for a little bit, he was really friendly. Biked through general countryside with the mountains, felt like being back home! I saw lots of rice paddies and cows and people with hats on, palm trees etc. Postcard stuff. The way home was slightly more taxing. It was on main road, not made for bikes of the self-powered kind, but very smooth... The uphills were long and steep and tiring and I cursed myself, but the downhills more than made up for it! There was a town wide power cut last night, obviously while I was at an internet cafe, so everyone was wandering around aimlessly for about half an hour... No worries man! OH and I forgot to mention, just to add to this rustic experience, that I am sleeping in a TREEHOUSE! I had to patch up the mosquito net with some tape I found, and combined with the nightly spraying of mosquito spray all over the hut, I have avoided too many bites! It's really cosy, especially when it is raining (not recommended for light sleepers though, I am lucky because I am able to sleep outside during a thunderstorm. It's been done many a time). In the morning I get woken up by bugs and of course, roosters. Today I also attempted a bike ride (they never learn) but after huffing and stopping every 10 meters, I gave up and rooooode dooooooownhilllll weeee that was way more fun!