Pure Radiance

On my way to the temple, I stopped off to see Monthathan Falls … the first true waterfall that I've ever seen. [A few years ago, I hiked for a while in order to reach a waterfall but the combination of my inappropriate footwear and my time constraints prevented me from reaching the pot of gold.] It was so peaceful to be there so early in the morning, all alone, marveling at the serenity of the moment.

From there, I ventured to Radiance Restaurant, which is known as one of the best vegetarian places in the region. The setting was lovely and the food was fresh. I was able to add two more Thai dishes to my repertoire: Yum Ma Khua Yao [Spicy Thai Eggplant Salad with Thai Spicy Sauce] and Yum Ma Khua Yao & Phad Kha Phao [Stir-fried hot basil with Veggies.] After lunch, Google Maps led me down some pretty horrific "roads" before finding my way to Wat Takham. Once there though, I didn't stay long for fear that I was at risk of being attacked by two angry dogs. The incessant barking of the one dog seemed to be a signal that back-up was needed. When his other vicious doggie friend arrived, that's when I decided that it was time to bolt. But I managed to snap a few quick shots before fleeing the scene. There have been a couple of times that I've been frightened while traveling alone and both times involved angry dogs.

762 Curves

Next stop was Mork-Fa Waterfall which was so much bigger and more impressive Monthathan. There were a few others swimming at the foot of the falls and though this is one of my dreams (to stand beneath a roaring waterfall,) diving beneath its forceful torrent didn't turn out as planned. The $1.98 pair of shorts that I purchased the day before were still in the trunk of the car. Earlier that morning, Monthathan Falls were not nearly large enough to allow for swimming so I didn't really know what to expect. I guess I could have gone skinny but the others may have been a bit disturbed. I decided to spare the women and children from such a horror. But I did get a chance to poke around at the opening of the impressive "Bat Cave." Lacking the courage to enter into the blackness alone, I enjoyed the view from afar.

I would have returned to the car to get my shorts if it hand't been for the desire to make it to my accommodations before dark. The windy roads up the side of the mountain made for an intense drive even in broad daylight. The crazy minibus drivers from Chiang Mai — who had no regard for the use of individual lanes — added another element of danger to the scenic, yet daunting commute. It's said that there are 762 curves on the way from Chiang Mai to Pai and I maneuvered every one of 'em with grace and finesse.
Driving under those conditions is one of my favorite activities. This trek made California's Route 1 seem like a walk in the park. It was truly Strawberry Fields Forever as I got lost among the winding streets. It was clear that some of these weren't even public roads because the strawberry farmers would interrupt their work to stare at me with a confused look as I continued forth with blind faith in Google Maps. Some of those "roads" are barely passable. At times, I was worried that a boulder would gouge out the rental car's engine from below. It was that bad. I'm tempted to forgo a flight to the islands in exchange for a 12-hour drive. We'll see what I decide in the end.

My very own treehouse ... for a night

I did ultimately make it to my destination: The Pai Treehouse Resort. It's true: on Saturday night I slept in a tree. This resort offers several different bungalows and three of them have been constructed directly into the structure of a beautiful tree. It was phenomenal. I slept, showered, and even used the toilet … all up in a tree. Of the three tree-housed bungalows, I booked early in order to reserve the tallest unit. It was certainly roughing it a bit. But armed with lots of blankets and lots of insect repellant, I was able to soak up all that nature had to offer. It was pure bliss the entire time. I spoke to my niece on her sixth birthday last Saturday and it completely blew her mind that it was daytime where she was and nighttime for me, on the other side of the world. I was hoping to do another iPhone FaceTime session with her while up in my tree but the WiFi connection wasn't so great. She would have loved the treehouse. What can I say … I had a toilet, hot water, and bed in the tree. We'll have to improve the quality of that wireless connection before I visit again.

Welcome to Pai

And Pai was such an awesome little hippie town. There were cafes and health food stores and rather than unidentifiable meat and deep-fried everything on the streets, you could find vegetable skewers and mushroom soup. It rocked. I was also able to snap a few colorful photos of Wat Luang in Pai. I mentioned the unsafe conditions of some of the roads on the way up to Pai but let's take a moment to discuss the bridge here in town. There's a bridge which straddles the banks of the Pai River. It's made completely of bamboo. It's designed only for pedestrians but every time someone crosses it, the entire structure bends and creaks. I can only imagine how many stoned hippies have been jolted from their blissful buzz on their way home to their bungalow as they realize that they've fallen off the bridge into the chilly nighttime water below.

a good friend in Pai

I made a good friend in Pai. His name is Tat Lao and he's an elephant. We spent two hours together, trekking through the trees, climbing a mountain, and frolicking in the river. I chose an elephant camp which was probably not the most ethically responsible but I took some time to justify it for myself. Tat's trainer, Joi, lives with the elephants at the camp. He spends the majority of his time working with and caring for the animals. As Joi was speaking, I had a hard time deciphering when he was speaking Thai, when he was speaking English, and when he was speaking elephant. I'm pretty convinced that Joi was part elephant himself. There's another camp which allows the elephants to roam in their natural environment but this camp in Pai satisfied more of my needs at the moment. Plus, the money that I spent went toward supporting the people who work in this tiny town. It allows them to make a living. However, the next time that I'm in Thailand, I'll definitely be going to The Elephant Nature Park. (And to justify even further, I've visited a vegetarian restaurant a few times which financially contributes to the Nature Park.)

Tat Lao & Pong Duad

I've gone on and on about how small this world is and how incredible it is to run into people that you've met on a train or with whom you've encountered on the busy streets of Bangkok. It happened again. This time it was while I was fifteen feet off the ground upon the shoulders of an elephant. Tat Lao and I were galumphing down the road when someone passed on a motor bike. It wasn't until after doing a U-turn behind us, backtracking toward us, and removing his sunglasses that he called up to me. Here I am, three hours away from home, on the back of an elephant and I run into a guy from the first week of school. Crazy, right? I mean, I know that when there's a destination listed in the guidebook, that it's likely that everyone will go there. But really? At the same time and in the exact same spot? I also ran into another kid from school the night before on one of the walking streets. We shared some mushrooms and a cocktail.

Though I was trying to make it back to Chiang Mai during daylight hours to see if I could score a better view from the mountain, I did scurry 24km off the path in order to check out Pong Duad Geyser. It was well worth it. Never before have I seen an active geyser. The particular hydrogeological conditions necessary to form a geyser exist in only a few places on Earth, so they are a fairly rare phenomenon. As surface water works its way down to come in contact with hot rock, the hot spring at Pong Duad spurts out steam 4 meters above ground. I was able to bathe in that same hot spring water after playing with Tat Lao. The facility offers hot spring-fed baths. Since I've encountered nothing but stand-up showers since Tyoko, this was a refreshing alternative.

Big decision

I made a big decision last week. Faced with the conclusion of Level III, I realized that I have so much material. Way too much material. The curriculum at school is similar to the curriculum at Bikram Teacher Training in that you learn a whole lot and are never afforded the opportunity to put it all together. I currently have enough Thai Massage technique to administer a six-hour massage. And though that might be lovely under certain conditions, what New Yorker is going to find that to be practical? Imagine trying to allot six hours out of your day in order to do something wonderful for yourself. So rather than follow through with Level IV — which focuses specifically on the acupressure point work of Traditional Chinese Medicine which I already know from my Shiatsu training — I decided to graduate one week early and spend my last week here in Chiang Mai devoted to putting together all of the pieces and getting in some much-needed practice. It was a big decision for me because it could be interpreted as me giving up in a way. But I don't believe that for a minute. I'd much rather return to NYC having had time to practice and become comfortable with these new methods. After all, you're all going to want to book some Deep Root Thai immediately upon my arrival, right? So I'm spending my days formulating a general massage routine that will work for my clients (upon which I'll add on to custom-tailor,) practicing the moves, seeing more temples, and knocking a few more of the incredible vegetarian restaurants off of my list. So, in an official sense, I've graduated! I'm done! And rather than clouding my brain with doing well on an exam, I can focus on becoming good at the actual technique. Yay for no more coloring of diagrams. It's a good thing too because my colored pencils were getting tinier and tinier by the day. But now … less typing; more practice.