After our day with the elephants near Chiang Mai, we quickly realized that it was just another overly busy city that we didn’t need to stick around in much longer. We spent another day there so Kim could take a cooking class, and so that we could meet up with Danny Mayfield, who also happened to be traveling in Thailand.
Kim’s cooking class meant that I had the morning with Geneveve, so I walked her around the city to see a few of the Buddhist temples. I was already templed out, so I was less than enthusiastic about seeing the giant Buddhas, but was entertained watching Geneveve stare at the monks. I’m not sure either knew what to make of the other. After our walk I played with her in the hotel look until it was time to meet Kim and eat her creations. It was delicious, way too much food, and I hope some the dishes make it onto her repertoire back home.
With my baby tome done I went looking for a Thai massage. Sadly, I ended up with the worst massage experience ever. Based on its being featured in Lonely Planet, I went to a place where all the masseuses are blind. Based on previous experiences I paid for an hour and half, but ended up leaving after 10 minutes. My masseuse started the massage by picking his teeth with his shirt, a few minutes in went to the bathroom, and when he came back took out his cell phone and started making a call. I got up and asked for my money back. My masseuse may have been the worst in the room, but all the blind masseuses were talking extremely loudly with each other which made for a not so pleasant atmosphere for anyone else trying to relax. I ended up going to the women’s prison for a massage instead, which was pretty good, and a very nice atmosphere. It was nothing like being in a prison: nice beds, change of clothes, no security our guards I could see. It still wasn’t nearly as good as the massages in Bangkok because it was too gentle, which I wouldn’t have expected from a women’s prison.
We hung out with Danny in the evening to compare travel notes and have dinner. Unfortunately, his wife Parisa was sick so didn’t come out with us. They had a place outside the city. It’s pretty odd to me that we planned our trip to Thailand independently of anyone, and still ended up seeing two people from Newport here.
The next morning we took a 3.5 hour bus ride up and down some steep and windy roads to get to Pai, a little backpacker oasis of music and good food in the middle of the peaceful mountains of Northern Thailand. We’ve only just got int, but it’s already a major relief to not have the constant sound of traffic nearby.