Mae Hong Son/Pai – the totally Thai experience

Earlier in my time here you were introduced to Som, our adorable Thai friend in Lampang. Well, a few weeks ago Nate and I joined Som and 18 of her friends on a motorcycle road trip through the notoriously dangerous mountain roads of Northern Thailand on possibly the most amazing road trip I’ve ever been a part of. It was so unbelievably beautiful and authentic – without getting all fuzzy, I’ll just say that it was the highlight of my time here.

Som had invited us weeks earlier, and told us that we would be joined by some other farang who we met during our first month. We later found out that they really went on their own, while we chose to let Som lead the way. Any time she asked our opinion on anything we just asked her to make executive decisions. It certainly kept things interesting.

Saturday morning, Nate and I walked with our backpacks and blankets to the front gate of our school, not sure what to expect. Immediately an ancient Nissan pickup truck pulled a u-turn on the highway and screeched to a stop in front of us. Piled high with luggage and 3 Thai people, we jumped in (literally) and joined Som on the other side of the highway.

A few minutes passed in mild confusion before a line of 6 HUGE chopper-like motorcycles pulled in front of us and parked in a perfect line. Each carried a Thai dude and a female counterpart in variations of skater/hipster/biker-chic clothing. Awesome.

They went to work fixing a bike that was leaking something, and we headed out. 6 bikes and one overloaded pickup. We spent the entire weekend in the back, piled 5 deep with baggage, tents and blankets for 20. My ass stayed planted in place, but my limbs were off the side for a good portion of the trip.

Mae Hong Son and Pai are known to the Thai people as the place in the country that you just don’t go. Apparently, if you’re being persecuted for money, you can hide out there and people will leave you alone. It’s that hard to get to. The roads are winding and steep – the tourist association will actually give you a certificate just for making it to the top.

Between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, there are 1895 curves in the road – to Pai, 1095. We went from Mae Hong Son, over to Pai, and back down. In 3 days.

We traveled for at least 8 hours each day, stopping numerous times to take beer/smoke/potty/food/stretch breaks. It was a very romantic atmosphere – not about the destination, but the journey. A true road trip.

On the way to MHS, we stopped in a seed production forest, which proved perfect for photo-ops.

When we finally made it to town, we rented a huge house for everyone to share. People were piled 3 to a bed, 2 on the floor per room. Of course, there was a room for the smoking. And a beautiful campfire, next to the woods, with unlimited rum and a guitar for strumming.

There’s nothing like listening in on a long evening of bull shit in a language you don’t understand, in a country so far from your own. I mean, out of 18 people, only 2 speak English.

Nothing else has really helped me see that, at the core, Thai twenty-somethings have a ton in common with my own friends from home. People laugh, tell stories, get drunk, do stupid stuff, and make fun of each other. The more relaxed I felt, the more the body language and facial expressions helped me understand. I certainly don’t speak Thai, but by the end of the night it hardly mattered.

The next day was the most treacherous – MHS to Pai was slow going, but again, beautiful. We even hit up a cool temple and a national park, to really fill the trip. Everyone was super excited about the fish cave – a natural cave with a pond underneath that’s full of huge fish. I think I was a little less excited than the others, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

When we made it in around 6, we found there was nowhere to sleep, thanks to the reggae fest in town that we were planning to attend. This usually calm hippy village in the mountains was packed to the brim, and we waited on the side of the road, in the truck, waiting for more news.

Eventually they found a bungalow village with 2 open rooms and a teepee. Yes, a tepee. The originals of Pai, in fact.

We created a little circle of tents around the tepee and campfire, and again piled into bungalows. The smoking and drinking commenced, putting everyone out of spirits to move anywhere, especially an expensive concert that was fairly far away. So we never made it.

morning we headed back, exhausted, dirty and totally happy. We finally started to look the part of hipster Thai with our huge shades.

When Nate and I finally jumped out of the back of the truck around 8 at night, hugged and waved goodbye and started the trek to the house on foot, we were totally wiped out. I hadn’t really showered since I left and had bruises behind each knee from jumping in and out of the truck so many times. I was burned to a crisp on my arms, face and chest. And still, I was so content with the weekend. That was Thailand in its truest form.