Chiang Mai and Pai

CHIANG MAI

Finally, we have decided to get some culture.

Here a Wat, there a Wat, Everywhere a Wat

This became our Chiang Mai theme song as we wandered from temple to temple. At first it was overwhelming: all the gold and glitter, but soon I started to appreciate the delicate details and the way they came together into something truly magnificent.

Still, I must admit that I was more drawn to the ancient brick stuppas and plain terra-cotta colored gaits.

It wasn't all temples for us in Chiang Mai. We also rented a scooter and checked out the surrounding area.

We found several popular Thai get-aways, including a nice little waterfall with a view of the city below, and a crowded hot-spring where Thais came to relax and unwind.

They don't seem to mind the crowds, though Tino and I

were shocked and a little uncomfortable in the throng. We tried doing as the Thais did, and soaked our feet in the hot river that flowed through the park. We stopped short of buying expensive eggs in little baskets to boil in one of the pools.

PAI

Nestled in the hills, Pai is colder then Chiang Mai, though only at night when the river seems to suck the heat right out of the ground leaving behind a frosty dampness that penetrates to your bones.

Fortunately I just bought a great little down sleeping bag in Bangkok. I LOVE when I think ahead. I don't think I could have survived curled up in my sheet and hammock like I did at the Rainbow Gathering.

Here is our temporary home...

It's nice to get out of the city.

WATERFALLS

Sitting by the waterfall I wonder, does the water want to fall? I watch the way it eddies and folds back on itself before tumbling over the precipice. It clings to the slimy rock, pushing itself back up hill before plunging headlong into the
pool below.

Perhaps it is dare-devil water, out for a cheap thrill, experiencing last minute doubts before letting go with a, "Woo Hoo!!!"

It seems joyful where it comes to rest, spitting out frothy bubbles and showing off its smooth ripples, flirting with the sunlight.

Yes, I think it is dare-devil water. It's cliff-jumping, thrill-seeking, giggling, screaming, fun-loving liquid, and that is why we admire it.

An Unlikely Trekking Guide

People come to Pai for the trekking, but we weren't going to be in town for very long, and we were a bit too cheap (thrifty?) to hire a guide.

It was our first morning, and we set out, guide-less, in search of a waterfall marked on our map with a short red line and a vague arrow. Somewhere it said, "7km hike." We decided it must be 7km round trip due to how short the red line was. Oops.

It was soon obvious that our map was misleading, so we started chatting to the random hikers we met on the trail. Most of their information was as confusing as the map, but we decided there must be more than one waterfall, and stubbornly kept our sights on the legendary three-tier waterfall that was said to lay on a trail that would veer up and away from the river. We finally met up with an elderly couple hiking with a young Thai girl. We thought she must know the route, but unfortunately she too was unfamiliar with the area. As we were chatting with them , we saw a trail that climbed steeply away from the river on our left, and Tino and I decided to give it a go, though the others thought it would be easier to stick to the river.

As we started to climb I noticed that the couple's little poodle-dog had attached itself to my leg. I called down to them, but they yelled back that it wasn't their dog, it had just picked them up when they walked through the village. Fair enough, I thought. We would just hope it followed us back so it would get home safely.

By the time we reached the waterfall, which was spectacular, the dog was a permanent fixture at our side. It was scared of the other group of hikers lounging pool-side, and it wouldn't go more than two feet from us as we sat and ate our meager lunch. We slipped it a few crackers, thinking it must be very hungry. After eating, Tino and I decided to climb up the side of the waterfall to get a good look at the thing. We cheerily splashed across the pool and climbed barefoot up the steep side. After reaching the top of the second tier we turned around to see the silly little dog scrambling up the first tier. It was an easy climb if you used two hands and had reversible thumbs and all that, but for a tiny little dog... I slid back down to where he perched precariously on a ledge, and climbed down past him. He didn't wait for me to turn around and give him a hand, instead he started down after me, slipping and scratching at the cliff. I caught him as he started to fall and tucked him under my arm for the rest of the trip down. He received a hero's welcome from the other hikers, who laughed in wonder at the cheeky little fellow.

Our little guide remained loyal to us the whole way back. He hated the river crossings, which were frequent, and often showed us easier ways to navigate down-stream. As we reached the dirt road that lead back to the village we began to wonder if he would show us where he lived, or if he was going to follow us all the way to our bungalows. We needn't have worried. As we rounded a bend our companion broke into a run and threw himself at the feet of two bigger versions of himself (presumably Mom and Dad). We quietly slipped away, laughing as we imagined the stories he was telling them about his adventure in the jungle.



Motorcycle Madness

We also rented a souped-up scooter for a few days, and toured the winding roads and picturesque villages around Pai.

This is Tino with Ruby Sue, our trusty steed.

And yes, there were more wats.

Some people had more glamorous rides.

And Back Again

All too soon we returned to the city, But Chiang Mai still had some surprises for us.

Which included an absolutely spectacular climbing area. Reunited with old friend Mindy, Tino and I set out for a days climbing, and met new friend John who ended up climbing with Tino and I all day.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Tino. He was heading back to Germany, and I was setting out for new adventures in Lao.

From Rainbow to Bangkok and all points between

Wish I could keep you more up to date, but Thailand is experiencing Internet difficulties. Apparently there was an earthquake in Taiwan and several trans-Pacific Internet cables were damaged. This means that we get slow, unreliable Internet. This is not such a big deal with e-mail, but uploading pictures (or even logging in to Blogger) is really hard.

International Rainbow Gathering
Ranong Provence (close to Au Chaak Beach)















The location was magnificent, a private beach just a short walk from a supply road. We carved out a space for our tent in the jungle behind the beach, and quickly found ways to make ourselves useful. We met many lovely people, and saw much beauty in both nature and humanity.


CONTROVERSY

But there was also tension. We were on private land, and locals (often Muslim) walked the beach daily. I don't know if this was always a popular Thai holiday destination, or if they came to gawk at scantily clad hippies, but there was a fairly steady stream of Thais moving in our midst.

Still, some felt that "Rainbow" existed without any borders, so we should not have to be careful of Thai customs or sensitivities. Nudity became a talking point in our daily circles. We had been asked (or told) to put on our clothes, or there would be trouble. Elders asked that the family please be RESPECTFUL of local feelings, and show our GRATITUDE to our landlord by causing as little trouble as possible. Sometimes their pleas had a distinctly Rainbow edge to them, "You can't disrespect this place because it's magic!!!" Still there was daily shedding of clothing, speeches about personal freedom, "This is Rainbow, not Thailand!" and bad feelings sprouted in our midst.

The idea of community or "family" that is at the center of my Rainbow experience seems to be such a pure and simple idea, but it is so hard to achieve in an environment where people's egos are constantly battling. I don't know if it was just a very strong willed group of people: international travelers off the beaten path, or if this same problem arises in any isolated community. Those of you who worked with me in New Orleans may recall the men in skirts fiasco of the first weeks of our kitchen.

The nudity issue came to a head on the day of our full moon celebration. After a morning of silence we had gathered for lunch, and in midst of meditation and harmonious silence, a group of people began shedding their clothing.

I could find nothing noble in their baring of skin. This was not a brave revolution against an oppressive tyrant. This was the man in a trench coat leaping out of the woods to expose himself to shocked girls. This was disturbing, and disrespectful. A woman opened her umbrella and held it up between the children and a naked man, and he jumped around her, trying to make the children see him. The circle went wild with objections and support. It was a long time before we ate.








HARMONY


Still, there was so much that was so right about being there. Tino and I stayed for a week, bolstered by daily visits to the Thai restaurant a quarter mile down the beach with our two Belgian friends. We could escape the circus and sip iced coffee, and return with bags of vegetables on our backs. Supply was my favorite job, especially when the tide was high, and most Rainbows didn't want to pick their way through the boulders.











I am proud to say that we managed to get both to and from the Rainbow gathering without spending a Baht. We used our expert hitch hiking skills. The only notable ride on this journey was our last ride. He took us almost the whole way back. First we climbed into the back of his truck, but soon regretted it as he sped madly down the highway. We only hoped that he wanted to live as much as we did. After some time he stopped at a Buddhist shrine, where he greeted the toothless monk, and then prayed and lit incense. Tino and I joked that this was a promising sign. Maybe we would reach Ranong safely. When he finished he cleaned out the cab of his truck and asked us to get inside. We gratefully accepted. We stopped again for a quick tour of a fish farm (don't know why) and then proceeded (at about 160km/hr) into Ranong. He brought us to the front of our hotel, and as he pulled over to let us out, the whole left side of the truck dropped down as if we had driven abruptly into a huge hole. We got out and saw that the wheel had come off entirely. Thank you Buddha, that could have happened on the highway, but instead it happened in the most harmless way possible. The driver looked at it and laughed. Just laughed! As if this was no big deal...


BANGKOK BOUND

We left Ranong the same way we arrived. We stood by the highway, our right arms stretched out with palms faced down, and as the traffic sped by we appealed to them with little pleading flicks of our wrists. After a short time a little blue Mini pulled over, and we somehow crammed ourselves and our backpacks in with the jolly driver and his huge cooler of fish. At a military road block we learned he was a soldier. After we were waved through he pulled his ID out to show us. He pointed to himself and said, "Me big, they small," indicating the soldiers at their roadside stations. I looked around the cramped, molded interior of his auto and thought, "big man, small car."

Our big soldier drove us all the way to Chumphon, which was our goal for the day, and we were quickly lost in the mire of the city, so we found a room for the night. We woke to rain. We sat in a cafe watching Thais battle the downpour on motorbikes, brandishing colorful umbrellas. This was not good hitch hiking weather. We bought third class train tickets for that night, and after getting on the wrong train at the right time (and being insistently escorted off) we finally boarded the right train at a decidedly late time, and started our overnight journey to Bangkok.

It was quite possibly the worst train ride I have ever been on. Our reserved seats were crowded with a Thai family, which quickly vacated our seats, but they simply moved to the floor under our feet. In Thai culture it is very impolite to point at people with your feet, but Tino and I quickly decided that we were exempt from any criticism in this case. We tried to find some way to make out hard bench seat comfortable, and slept fitfully through the long night.


We arrived in Bangkok a few short days after leaving the gathering, and what a different world it was! Modern buildings, high speed trains, busy markets: Bangkok was along cry from the jungles and beaches of Au Chaak.