Solo
13 Şubat 2023, Tayland
First few days of solo travelling complete!! The thing is Solo travelling is not really solo. It’s so easy to meet new people that you’re always able to do something with someone.
I was expecting to meet a very international group of people upon arrival to Happy House Hostel but it turned out a large group of people who met in Chiang Mai had all turned up to Pai Together and most of them were Brits. In fact I recognise the rugby kit one of them was wearing and it turned out he played for Durham uni rugby club… and studied engineering… And was in the same year as me!! I come halfway across the world and one of the first people I meet on my own is someone who I have been alongside for the last four years. What a small world!
Everyone was heading off for tipsy tubing the day I arrived but I was knackered from my train-to-bus change over at 6 am And the 20 hour journey from Bangkok. Instead I took a well-deserved nap then socialised a bit more when everyone returned a little bit dishevelled in the evening after a long day of sun and alcohol.
I have a good time chatting and playing pool and ping-pong, and I Ended up narrowly losing a very intense best – of – five match against a Dutch guy called Michael. Along with him and some others we rounded up, we decided to rent mopeds the next day and see some of the surrounding area.
We separated from the English guys early as it was their last day in Pai So they were off to see things at a much faster rate. It ended up being me, Dutch Michael and Daniel, and German Gina and Sarah.
We went and saw a strange little fake Chinese tourist village before heading onto a waterfall. I did not swim because of my new piercing and the effort of changing, but Michael threw himself in and also tried the rock slide down the side of the waterfall which looked very painful.
I think the next part was one of the highlights of the trip so far: sunset at Pai Canyon. The journey across the bridge was a little treacherous but the views were sublime and I had chosen great people to chill with as the Sun went down.
This was quickly followed up by the low light of the trip so far (and hopefully for a while more). The night market had food stands with every type of Asian delicacy you could want and we walked away along the road try noodles, fried tofu, Bao buns and more. It was all incredible and I took the advice of Gina to get a mango sticky rice for dessert. Now this tasted fine at the time but as the evening went on I quickly figured out it was not fine. I had been the only one to get this dessert which was good for the others as it made me quite violently sick.
The next day was rough and I barely ate anything. I did meet the others at the bamboo bridge after they have been to the hot springs early in the morning, but I was really in survival mode so I could not enjoy it properly.
I took the evening to myself instead of joining the others in the past so I could recover a bit and I feel much better for it now. I saw the Sun go down from the white Buddha overlooking Pai and chatted to Sophia and Zoe on the phone. It really was the evening I needed and they honestly do a fantastic sunset here in Pai.
The light haze from the slash-and-burn agriculture at this time of year combined with layered mountains Sends shafts of light spraying over the valley in which Pai sits. Then as the darkness creeps in the town lights up with fire shows, the old disco lights and headlights sweeping across the winding roads of the valley.
I’m writing this the next day, still recovering from the dickie stomach and the final stages of the extensive peeling from my snorkelling sunburn, but I’m well on the road to recovery for both since I can now eat something and lie on my back without it hurting or itching.
This part of the world can be brutal to the body in more ways than I realised and I’m even lucky enough to barely ever get bug bites. I know I need to look after myself and it becomes increasingly evident when you feel the effects of the environment but also see other people with their own injuries (a lot of moped crashes happen here so bandaged knees and elbows are commonplace).Okumaya devam et