Hippies, Hummus and a Homestay

After a quick 36 hours of laundry, Pad Thai, sleep and recovery, I packed back up and headed up to Northern Thailand...by myself! Sarah's sister came to visit (Booyah!) and they wanted to go down South to some islands, but I wanted to explore more of Northern Thailand before getting my Songkran on. So I did!

I arrived in Chiang Mai around 8pm, quickly made some friends at the airport and the hostel and had myself a good first night. No night is a failure when Khao Soy is involved. I woke up early the next morning to walk around my beloved Chiang Mai. My heart beats for Chiang Mai so it was kind of hard when I had to pull myself away later that morning to head up north to Pai, the hippy capital of Thailand. I was absolutely dreading the van ride there because it was up an extremely windy mountain. Memories of Sangkhlaburi flooded my mind (flashback: Sarah and I being 99% sure we were going to die on our terrifyingly fast and curvy ride up a mountain) and so I forced myself to fall asleep to avoid panicking. Luckily, I woke up when we were nearing Pai, so I was able to take in the breathtaking views. Mountains. Trees. Mist. Life. 

I had no plan for Pai. I was aware that it was dry season so the local waterfalls would be a no-go, and I am too much of a wimp to drive a motorbike so that wouldn't be happening either. I was perfectly content walking around the small town, soaking up the local flavor, devouring a little too much hummus (gotta love the hippies for their dedication to hummus), and simply relaxing in a beautiful environment. While I was wandering across a pretty little bridge, I slowed my steps as I noticed a guy in front of me doing the same thing. He slowly pulled off his sunglasses and we just stared at each other in shock. Was it true love? No...even better...it was Peter! Peter is someone from the CIEE program who lived in Suphan with me but I never had a chance to say goodbye to. I was really happy to see him, and even happier that I got to spend the night catching up with him and saying an official goodbye. Beyond that pleasant surprise, I really liked Pai. It was very chill, gorgeous and the perfect spot to just hang out. If it wasn't for the epic drive up, I would probably return. 

Pretty Pai

Cute little Pai

Despite my fear of van rides up scary mountains, I did it again, to go even further north to Soppong. I had arranged to do a homestay in the Lisu Village, where I would stay with a woman in her house in her village in the middle of nowhere. Why? I have no idea. I almost regretted my decision when I was dumped off in 'downtown' Soppong which looked a lot like nothing. Seriously- does a few huts and a stand selling pig's faces count as downtown? I paced the street a few times until a motorbike taxi finally came around and brought me to the Lisu village. I immediately regretted regretting my decision (motorbikes have that effect on me). The ride to the village was unreal. It was beautiful and isolated and I was so excited to see my accommodation for the night. 

"Downtown"

                                     
Within minutes of my arrival, a woman dressed in traditional Lisu gear (think ornate, pom-pom covered, bell jingling, velvety goodness), showed me my room (a mat on the floor with a giant mosquito net), the pig's den, the outhouse and the kitchen. She was in the process of making lunch for me. This was all that I could see. 

Mmm....fried bugs

Yikes. Is that for me or for the pigs? We sat on buckets around a small wicker table and she placed some rice, soup and the plate of delectable bugs in front of me. I was really dreading the offer, but she never asked me to try any. Thank goodness! Instead, she grabbed them by the handful and devoured the entire plate herself. 


Immediately after lunch, her friend came over, toothless and wearing a matching outfit, and began a private weaving instruction. It was a long process that involved bamboo sticks, a coffee can, yarn and some wooden tools. I helped her create a pattern in the yarn, which was quite the impressive project and then she led me to the porch, strapped on this ridiculous looking belt, hooked the yarn onto it, while the other end was tied up to a pole on the wall. She demonstrated the multi-step process and then took off the belt, and strapped me in instead. 3 hours later, I had an incredibly sore back, I was sweating, but I had made my very own Lisu style scarf! I was very proud of myself. 
 

Demonstration before I got strapped in

Love my new scarf!

The rest of the day was incredibly relaxing. I wandered around the village, chatted up with some kids and joined Susanna (my host) and her friend for a long walk downtown to buy some things at the market. On our way back, I was told I would be joining Susanna at her family's house (hut) for some soup. So, we trek over and sit on the dirt floor and I am given a massive bowl of questionable food, which I have no choice but to eat up. It was actually okay, but I was so distracted by the amount of bugs and chickens surrounding me, jumping on me and trying to get into my food, that I didn't really make much of a dent. And then suddenly, Susanna tells me to go back to the house because another guest has arrived. With no direction and no guidance whatsoever, I find my way back and spend the rest of the afternoon/night chatting it up with the new guest, a guy from England.  We are soon joined by three girls from Madrid and the five of us find ourselves trapped on the porch by a pretty intense thunderstorm. It was probably the highlight of my time there. We watched the thunderstorm approaching and ooh-ed and ahhh-ed as the sky turned dark and turned the mountain-filled landscape to a shade of beige. Lightning struck, the power went out and we left to sit around inside, candles lit, sipping on tea and talking the hours away. It was all very Thai and I loved it. 


I returned to Pai the next day so I could catch a bus back to Chiang Mai. I stayed long enough to eat more hummus and enjoy the good vibes before returning to Chiang Mai for what would turn out to be an epic week. Legendary, even. 

My "bed" for the night

The kitchen

The village

Soppong

The amount of hummus I consumed in Pai (give or take a few scoops)