Ahhhhhh............

Pai (part one).

We decided to rent a car and drive up into the mountains northwest of Chiang Mai to a little town called Pai (pronounced “pie”), because this place had been strongly recommended to us by more than one person who had some sense of who we are, and because we knew that Chiang Mai couldn't satisfy us, and it would be necessary to explore other parts of northern Thailand. One characteristic theme here, as in other tropical locations, for those who can, is to get out of the tropical heat during certain parts of the year and get up into the mountains where it is cooler and considered more pleasant. But more importantly for us, after being in Chiang Mai and experiencing the big city energy that this place is all about, we needed to get out. Many people love Chiang Mai of course, and God bless them for it. We're not among that group, and will always need to seek out the more rural areas of wherever we may be. Hence, Pai. But Pai specifically, not only for its rural location, but because it is small, has become a haven for healthy food, has some infrastructure that Westerners appreciate even though it is clearly still Thai, and of course still Thailand, and has the alternative/consciousness/hippy vibe that we enjoy anywhere we may be. It is a tourist destination for sure, including many young Western backpackers, and also many and more and more Chinese tourists, but this phenomenon is largely located on the “downtown” streets, or really even on one particular market street, of Pai, and can be left behind within a few minute walk from there.

Within 5 minutes of checking into our room at the Pai Laguna Hotel, from the balcony looking out onto the mountains and the figure of the enormous white Buddha up there, I was breathing the breath of true arrival, and feeling a deep gratitude and a welling up of tearful emotion. I was home again. Ahhhhhhh. Vimeo video link

I knew that I could stay right there, in that room, for an extended period of time. It wouldn't even be necessary to go looking for a different accommodation. I was where I needed to be. Amen. Now Nancy on the other hand needed to transition more gradually, and it took a day or so, and some sitting practice, for her to realize and agree that this was a place she wanted to be also. She actually said "I think I'm starting to love Thailand". We've already put down a substantial deposit on a room for the month of January, and will be returning there around the 4^th, we think, after our visit with Terra here in Chiang Mai in the last days of December, and after the passing of the New Year transition.
I'm eager to return.

Mor Paeng Waterfall vimeo video link