Huai Mae Yen Luang

Yesterday we set afoot a 150km or so journey north to Pai. I felt confident enough to rent a bigger bike for the trip as I have been putting around on a 110 cc scooter all week. We got a Honda CB500X with a luggage option behind the rear seat for snack storage and some clothes. What an amazing road trip with over 700 turns twisting back and forth with tight hairpin turns that come out of no where and no posted speed limit. Lush jungle scenery filled our eyes as we left the city, then we were ensconced in pristine rainforest air. Such purity is was therapeutic for us as walking in the city you get snorted on with gross exhaust by taxis and tuk tuks as they pass. I quickly bonded with the machine adjusting all of the controls with a more refined fashion more and more as we travelled. Shifting up and down gears, using front and rear brake all change the centre of gravity of the machine and when you have a passenger onboard any small change gets exasperated because of the added weight. Luckily Beth's calm warm touch and willing trust allowed me to work through any mild turbulence to maximize rider comfort for the most part.....well nobody got sick I mean. Riding a motorcycle is very meditative for me: all senses are heightened with your wholebody moulding to the machine and becoming one with the fiery dragon of Rpms. There is no thinking of yesterday or tomorrow, no regrets, no "what ifs" and no doubts. When you approach an unknown corner with the love of your life strapped to your back you do everything to set your self up for maximum success. Choosing the right lane position to take and line to accelerate through, appropriate gear/rpms so the machine can respond quickly by speeding up or slowing down if needed, looking through the turn while being cognizant of the road directly in front of you, being aware of the situation and always having an emergency option if something was to jump out in front of you or having anything unsuspecting happen such as mechanical failure etc. This is why I love riding motorcycles so much. It is the best life metaphor one can experience. Let's face it, riding a motorcycle is dangerous, but so is life. We set ourselves up the best we can with our knowledge and information that we have and head into a blind turn of life. Life can end at any moment and I think it's important to acknowledge that every day in order to appreciate it more and more. We take all these steps to live the best life and be healthy and assess risk etc. But it could all be over In a blink of an eye so the message here is be grateful, live life full of love, be aware and equanimous, as this too shall pass. All of this passed through my mind as all of a sudden we rode into a cloud filled rainstorm with raindrops that felt like paint balls pelting me. It quickly passed though and luckily Beth didn't get so wet because the big pylon named Jarris took the brunt of it. Pai is a very small town with mostly foreigners shuffling about on scooters and flip flops but a really cool place. It sits nestled in a valley with rolling hills and mountains surrounding us on all sides. Weather is cooler here and we don't actually need the AC on at night.Okumaya devam et