Pairadise
Getting There and Settled
Wednesday was a travel day. We left Sukhotai around 9am accompanied by our new Dutch friend Josta, a 28-year old teacher from Amsterdam, on the 9th month of her year-long trip. We started with a cramped tuk-tuk, and transitioned to the 6-hour mildly-air-conditioned bus ride to Chiang Mai. Like the bad kids we are, we sat in the back row of the bus, shooting the occasional spitball at the backpacker rows in front of us and making jokes about the bus driver. I taught Josta to play backgammon (thanks for the set, B), while Lena consumed the end of the DaVinci code. Upon our arrival we apparently convinced Josta to follow her lot in with our team and follow us to Pai, a city past the mountains in the north. To our chagrin, there were no more seats on the air-conditioned Heineken car, so we had to settle for a four-hour ride on a red school bus, modified with the swiveling fans we came to love on the night train. As extra punishment for our behavior on the first bus, our new ride offered less leg room than ValueJet (with comparable safety features), and the luggage that could not be tied to the roof was put in a big pile in the isle next to us. Josta had to sit in front with the teacher and attempt to discover new yoga positions that would allow her to fit in the seat. Despite the lack of creature comforts, the ride was beautiful. The driver skillfully navigated the tiny mountain roads, and weaved our way all the way to the top. We stopped at the very top, and upon exiting the bus felt cool air for the first time in a week. While shopping for bug spray, a beautiful butterfly landed on Lena’s back, begging us to reconsider. Lena and her new friend posed for a few photos, and then we began our descent, back to the heat and the hippie haven that is Pai. We arrived late, and could not get an english-speaking guesthouse on the phone despite our best efforts, so we settled on the Duang guesthouse because it was across the street from the bus station. Don’t stay there. Ever. It’s the worst place we have seen in thailand so far. It’s pretty cheap, but you get a plywood box with a tiny window and a shitty bed. The bathrooms are in the hallway, the bugs are plentiful, and the scenery is non-existent. We had a clear goal for the morning - find a new setting. We woke up, walked over the Pai river, and found the perfect place - two red-roofed cabins at the Misty River guesthouse, with bathrooms. flush toilets, hot showers and porches. The centerpiece of the place is the large gazebo sitting on bamboo stilts at above a little swamp at the end of the driveway. It is populated by wayward travellers looking for a relaxing hour and a meal, as well as a bunch of long-termers (stoners) who get stuck for weeks on end, because really there is little reason to leave. A night’s accomodations cost $3. A kilo of laundry - $1. The best green curry you ever had - $1.50. A fresh fruit smoothie - $1. One side of the gazebo opens up to the mountains, and the other to the river. Flowers bloom outside the bungaloes, and cute dogs roam around seeking respite from the heat. We had planned to stay for a day or two, and ended up spending four and a half (all the time we had allocated for the north).
Motorbikes
After our awesomely awesome find, we had the town’s sole taxi drive our luggage over from the other guesthouse, and headed back into town for motorbikes.
After a fairly scary introductory motorbike lesson (more scary for the little thai girl that tried to teach me than for me), we got on the road and headed in what we thought was the direction of the Pai attractions - the hot springs, a waterfall, and some elephant farms. around the time we realized we went the wrong way, Lena had a bit of a fall, and, to our chagrin we discovered that the first aid kit was back in the guesthouse, so we drove all the way back, dressed the wounds, and finally got on track around 2 in the afternoon.
From there the exploration proceeded well. The hot springs are indeed hot, and the elephants are elephanty (and hot and tired). The waterfall proved to only be reachable through a 3 hour hike, which is much less fun in the heat than a 10 minute ride, so we passed. Oh and there was a pretty cool temple.The roads in Pai are pretty awesome, there are some nice hills and views of the valley below. For $5 a day, renting a motorbike is so worth it.
A Star Is Born
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. We are very happy to play for you, and luckily here’s Ilya, our new lead guitarist. Hey, man, here’s the guitar, plug in over there…”
Thus began my first ever band-on-stage experience. Let me go back a day first though.
As I sat outside my bungaloe fooling around with the guitar, a tan, late-30s Pai expatriate walked up and introduced himself. Jon has been staying at the Misty River guesthouse for about 5 months, and in Pai for about 9. He plays guitar, and has been organizing local jam sessions and band performances, trying to jump start the local music scene. He played a few tunes, we chatted for a bit, and he told me about the jam session they were having in the big gazebo platform the very same evening. he invited me to join.
I was a bit nervous, but mostly just excited. the place is as mellow as can be, so i figured i could probably hang back and just fill in here and there as the various musicians showed off their skills. mostly i was just happy to play music with strangers.
as the jam session got under way, it became apparent that jon and i were pretty much the only ones who could play guitar, and there were a bunch of people very excited to sing. so jon started, i played a little lead and a little rhythm, and we got off to a good start. the place started filling up. a bongo drum, a few more guitars, and a couple of korean digeridoos, and we had ourselves a jam. the selection was classic - we covered most of the 3-chord and 4-chord rock repertoire. the party, fueled by a few big singhas, was on its way. some highlights were a rousing rendition of that four-non-blondes song, a rocking knocking on heaven’s door, and a sweet home alabama and freebird that would make lynyrd proud.
as it happens, jon’s japanese girlfriend was having her birthday around midnight. so when that rolled around, jon moved on to better activities, and i had to take the lead. fortunately i was properly inebriated by then, and someone had a book of tabs - “backpacker classics”. out of that we got some butchered red hot chili peppers, a surprisingly awesome hotel california, and a few other gems. it was a really fun night.
the next evening jon was heading over to the local Blue Lagoon pub, and mentioned that his band was playing and that i should stop by and sit in for a few songs on lead guitar. i committed to stopping by and playing it by ear - it seemed like it could be fun, but i felt a bit nervous.
Before I could sit down or order a beer, I got the call. Yup, before a monster crowd of 20-30 people, with at least three adoring fans in the audience (lena, and our new friends josta and roya), and a guitar i’d never seen before, Jon was calling me onto the stage. Sweet Home Alabama. Hit it.
Once I plugged in and got the levels as quiet as they would go, the song began and I realized two things - the high string did not hold the tune, and, more importantly, i had no idea how to play guitar…
After a couple of songs we finally got a break, so I could tune and relearn the minor pentatonic. From there things began looking up, as my death grip on the guitar neck softened, and the beer headed north from the stomach to the brain. Rousing renditions of Jammin and Knockin on Heaven’s Door finally brought me into the relative comfort zone (though I still hid on stage behind the somewhat portly irish backup singer).
The band consisted of a dreadied white drummer (who was really really good), an upstate NY hippie-ish bass player in an Al (from moe.) style hat, a thai percussionist, Jon, and Susie, a middle aged irish woman with a great voice and awesome stage presence (not to mention mastery of major chords in the key of C). She led many of the songs (including a few originals), and kept the audience entertained in between songs with lines like “i am getting tired of singing, who wants to fuck?” What a sweetheart. Her sister sang backup.
Anyway, a million songs later, the show finally ended. Other highlights - Hey Joe, the Weight, Jammin (second performance of the night), and I think a few others that I am forgetting. All in all it was a great experience, and has encouraged me to pursue playing on stage as a goal.
Departing
Leaving Pai was hard. Josta and Roya (a British Persian Jewish girl we met in Pai) stayed for another week learning thai massage and trying acid for the first time (well Roya at least). We however got in a van and headed to Chiang Mai. The drive was pretty, but highly nauseating - windy roads in the back of the minivan. We talked with a british kid who had spent a year on the road and was finally heading home. He ran out of money for the last 3 months, so he stayed on a little island called Ko Lifi and worked in a bar in exchange for food and lodging. he said it was the best three months of his life.
For those of you desiring a slightly different perspective on the trip, check out Lena’s blog:
http://lenainthailand .blogspot.com/
Author :Looney
Article source :http://realtravel.com/pai-journals-j1382556.html
