Why Pai

Monk Chat is a place in Chiang Mai University where the local monks teach novices (mostly Westerns) about the basics of Buddhism and their ways of meditation. They take you into this board room and go through the meaning of Buddhism and what it means to Thailand and their people. Religion here is far more prominent then anywhere in NZ, everybody respects the religion even if you are a non believer, Monks have particular priority over the common man, you are expected to get up of your seat for them in public and you regularly see a monk walking over a busy road without waiting or even looking and every car will gladly spot for his pass. They then take you on the back of a truck to a centre about 2hours out of Chiang Mai city which is basically designed for the programme and you must then line up with a partner of the same sex where you are issued with a key to your own room. Now this place is completely free and to get a room with your own bathroom and five meals is pretty luxurious as I have discovered since backpacking. There are then white robes waiting for you on your bed where you are then told to go into the temple. This course runs for 2 days and in that time no-one can talk. We were taught all sorts of meditation and it's quite bizarre, sitting there for half an hour thinking only about your breathing, it's quite hard and I assume takes a lot of practice, the whole experience was very interesting and very beneficial in South East Asia when Chaing Mai alone has over 400 temples and not knowing what they mean it a pretty sore excuse. When I got back I spent most of the next day planning the rest of my trip, I had the feeling of leaving Thailand and starting Laos but is was too early for my Vietnam visa to fit in with it so on a complete whim I decided to travel to a place even further North called Pai. In Lonely planet it is described as a passing hippy town and now I'm here I can see it's exactly that. It is very beautiful, all the romantic ideas people have about Thailand with the Giant hills with sweeping valleys coverd in banana tree's and rice paddies all comes out true here. I don't know if I fit in here yet though, I seem to be the youngest in this small town with the average age been around 24-26 and everyone is here to get stoned. I met this French guy on the minibus up here and he asked if I wanted a cheap place with him and since he knew where one was a gladly accepted, the place is quite literally a bamboo hut with a mattress but what the hell, I'm in Pai so we hired a motorbike each which I quickly realised is a manual which I have never used before. So I have already learned how to drive a manual motor bike pretty much since I had no other choice and of course I asked for a helmet which I later found I'm the only one to even consider wearing one. So I'm driving along following my experienced French guide who soon stops in what seems like the middle of nowhere and he is buying the biggest amount of pot I've ever seen. We then make our way to the waterfall which is very beautiful and 10 minutes of us been there French boy tells me he wants to go back to smoke his stash. So I'm in the local Internet cafe updating my blog because when we did get back he cranked out his homemade bong and after two puffs said he wanted to go to sleep but who cares I guess, I'm in Pai.