After a broken nights sleep we dragged ourselves out of bed to begin our next adventure, we really should have been more enthusiastic! We packed our bags and split our responsibilities . . .Sinead stayed at the hotel to type up the past few days blog whilst Matt had an epic '

song thaew' journey (for those of you who're keeping up you should know what this is! :) An hour driving around the city picking people up dropping people off but still no sign of Matt's stop at the motorbike shop! After stopping to ask for directions twice it was clear the 'local' driver still didn't know his way around the 1-way system. It was time to bail out and walk! After a good chat with big Tony the chariot was chosen! A bit rusty on a bike I opted for the mighty 200cc honda phantom! It actually felt pretty quick compared to the scooter we've had :)

After a little solo run to get the feel for the new wheels it was time to pick up the co-pilot and get on the road - it was already nearly 12 o'clock at this point! We set off on our travels to be stopped at just about every set of lights on route, it took us nearly an hour to get clear of Chiang Mai but the countryside soon started to open up!

Half an hour later we came off the track to head for a signposted waterfall, it was part of a national park and we were advised it was worth a look . . . .it was good advice! It was a beautiful huge waterfall and there were only 4 other people there! We got straight into our swimming gear and jumped in, perfect refreshment after the first stage of the ride! Dried and changed we headed back to the main road where we found a gorgeous little cafe restaurant for another spicy lunch and iced cappucino, really hit the spot!

It was now starting to get a bit more interesting, the bends started to come thick and fast and the views were getting better and better! Fortunately the bike is pretty tame anyway so we just plodded on and took it all in! After a 5 minute shower of stinging heavy rain we were in the clear and think we missed the worst as the roads were soaked for miles!

The roads opened up and so did our throttle, we were approaching our first destination, a little place called 'Pai' we had heard a lot of good things about! After a quick run through the town, there didn't appear to be much to it, but that soon changed! We headed for a guesthouse called Mr Jan's, we had no idea what the location was like but it seemed to have good reviews! We pulled up on the motorbike to check the place out and it had the feel of a real family run place, someone was on a sewing machine by the car park, an old timer was getting on his scooter and oggling our bike with a huge grin and 'Mr Jan' greeted us and showed us straight to one of the rooms! A big detached family room with double bed, 3 singles, large bathroom, TV and quiet powerful fans! 'How much?' we asked, '300' he said, 'bargain' we replied, a whole £6!

After a bit of a chill out we finally went off for our first Thai massage! Sinead opted for back neck and shoulder massage . . . .safe! Matt on the other hand went traditional and got abused by a dumpy Thai lady who proceeded to pummel him with fingers, elbows and heels! I don't think we'll be rushing back!

A quick shower and change then we set off for the town. As we hit the main street about 50m from our hostel we realised it had become a big walking street market. There were loads of food, clothes and souvenir stalls. You could see how much better the quality was compared to the tat in Bangkok . . .and it was cheaper! As well as stalls there were loads of trendy little bars and restaurants to choose from. We'd heard there were lots of hippies here and it seems to be the case, a really chilled out town, far more modern and trendy than we'd imgagined!

Dinner was tasty, we both opted for a Northern curry and a large Chang. As we were finishing up we noticed they appeared to be wrapping things up and brought us our bill . . . then we remembered . . . . the bars and restaurants close religiously at 11pm, we'd made a boo boo as only sat down for dinner at half 9! Ah well, an early night it was, at least we'd be fresh for the next days ride out to a place called 'Soppong' and 'Cave Lodge'. Hot springs to enjoy first so time to go! :)

S&M