We had been wary about getting a motorbike in Pai after seeing all the newbies having 2 minute lessons at the rental shops. But after trying to get a tuk tuk for the 8km ride we needed to do today we decided that a bike was the best and cheapest option. 24hrs - 100tbh - £2. Luckily once we got out onto the open roads, we barely came across another vehicle. Today's mission was to catch a Pacu, a close cousin to the piranha, which has been introduced to some lakes in Northern Thailand. With only 3 hours, this seemed like an impossible task. After an hour Matt had caught a catfish and one other unidentified fish. We were down to the last ten minutes and bait was being thrown in by the fistful, trying to entice a fish onto Char's hook. Matt was desperate to get Char to feel the thrill of a screaming reel. He was not disappointed. The float went under, Char struck the rod hard, the reel started to scream and so did Char. With Char looking like she could be pulled in by the beast on the other end, Matt anchored her around the waist and stood firm on the ground. But it all became too much for the first timer and Matt excitedly took over....it was what he had hoped would happen. We can now say we both caught a piranha (of a kind). The fear increased once we got it on the bank, as Matt needed to detach the hook from in between its menacing jaws.
Getting the most out of our bike, we managed to get to The Pai Canyon and The White Buddha for sunset. But let's not let these activities over shadow the fact that we CAUGHT A PIRANHA TODAY!
M & C xxxx