Lost in Pai

I am not quite sure what i have been doing for the past few days in pai. The days seem to bleed into each other here. a coffee here, some relaxing in a hammock there, visit edible jazz, listen to music, read, drink more coffee... before you know it, 3 days have past! Yesterday, Goong drove me around to some neighboring villages. It was my first time on a motorbike. but it was fine. the surrounding areas are so picturesque here. Rolling green hills, right now most of the crops are garlic and beans (goong told me). in a few months they will change to rice. There is the pai river that meaders through the valley. right now its brown and shallow - its the dry season. but a few months ago there was a big flood and so the area around the river is all dirt and sand. goong says this is not normal. the villages are small, wooden shacks on stilts, dogs, rosters and children running wild without any regard to traffic. right now, there is a lot of smoke because the farmers are slashing and burning the crops. at night, red, blazing lines bleed across the mountains. this area is not untouched by tourism tho' and on our drive goong pointed out many new developments. its still rural, sweeping views, but - you can smell the change coming. its unfortunate.

today, we will drive for chinese food in an ethnic chinese village. also unfortunate is the food situation here. its not great. and goong and other people who live here say the same thing -- there is no place to get good thai food. but annisa (an australian girl who works at edible jazz) says that she will take me to a good place for thai food - but its expensive - like 60 baht a plate. i am embarrased to tell her that i just spend 100 on breakfast!

i will try very hard to book a trek for tomorrow. see the jungle, waterfalls, ethnic hill tribe villages. doing nothing is nice, but...