Northern Thailand

As I've been saying northern Thailand is gorgeous! The forests are so thick and green!

Before I left Pai I took a motorbike trip with a friend to this caving town Tham Lawt (or sometimes called Tham Lod) about 75 km drive.

We passed through a Lisu village on the way there.

Then we took a kayaking tour through the caves. Which was so awesome, our guides were from the village of Tham Lawt and grew up on the river and exploring the caves bare foot. We had to use headlamps and lanterns to see where we were going while kayaking through the caves. Much of the river was white water and then we went over a dam (not inside the cave), I guess it wasn't that high maybe only 3 meters but it still scared the shit out of me... The picture is the exit of the cave. It smelled so bad because every night thousands of birds fly into the caves to sleep, so when you walk through the caves you're walking in 3-4 inches of bird crap, which was the only bad thing about the tour... gross!

The exit of the cave looking out.

The cave was much more amazing than this picture, and maybe I shouldn't post this. My pics didn't turn out well b/c the formations were too far away and too dark for my camera.

This cat became my friend at the lodge we stayed. So cute, I wanted to take her home with me :)

Drive home through the mountains :)

Thailand has stray cats and dogs all over the place. And the kittens and puppies are so friendly! My friend Damian (Switzerland) with a kitten at lunch.

And puppies!

I left Pai (the travellers mecca of Thailand) I think 4 days ago on a local bus heading east. I figured I would get to see a lot more of the Thai culture this way. And its true. My plan was to take the bus toward Chiang Mai and then change buses in Mae Malayah, go north to Tha Ton then take a boat south to Chiang Rai.

Here's what happened. I got to Mae Malayah and had to stay a night because that local bus to Tha Ton stops running after 4pm. Ok, 1 night in Mae Malayah, and nothing to do there the next day, we couldn't even find a taxi to go to the waterfalls. Took a bus tom Tha Ton, a much better town for tourists. And it has a beautiful location of the Mae nam kok river. Stayed there 2 nights (b/c of laundry) and visited this crazy 9 level wat on the mountain side, with huge Buddha statues and wats that look like they will fall off the mountain side.

Also took motor bikes through the mountains and to the town of Mae Salang, a small Chinese community... and the restaurant we ate at had really good food :)

Left: A Paduang village

Right: I think this is a Paduang woman... she was definitely smoking something crazy in that pipe!








The 4th level of the Wat in Tha Ton.

View from the top.


Another of the Buddha statues.

Then we took a bus to Mae Chan, where my friend Damian got off the bus to go south to Chiang Rai, and I stayed on the bus to go north to Mae Sai the northern most point in Thailand and a boarder crossing point to Myanmar. And here I am in Mae Sai the second day :)