Summary
I loved spending the whole day observing my surroundings with effortless attention. It felt like my boat was swimming with the fish.
In the first week after my return to the real world (I didn’t call it that, but I like it), I had two relaxed days.
The kind that I like the most.
When I wake up and think, “Well, I’m going to work now,” but then the question comes up: “Brother, aren’t you coming with us?”
The answer to that question on both days was to go, rent a motorbike, and then go.
I got to beautiful places this way.
Lod Cave
This is a huge cave of stalactites, a 2-hour motorbike ride from Pai.
But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
The tour started with the usual announcement that when we picked up the motorbike, we were told that there was not much petrol in the vehicles. Four of us set off on the journey, and this problem affected two of our motorbikes. I – trusting that the boys knew what they were doing – did not insist on refueling in the city, they said we would refuel on the way.
This casual statement ended up being a whole day-long game of searching for petrol. Of course, there were not many petrol stations on the mountain we were going through. Specifically, none.
Our first experience was the result of this search. In one of the small villages (which were not many on the road either) we found an automatic well. It looks as if it was left here from the time of Henry Ford. I had only seen such wells in American movies, in scenes set at abandoned gas stations in the desert.
But modern technology was there. While the gasoline flowed out, it played a Chinese toy melody. It was surreal to listen to the melody of a baby toy while refueling. I tried to imagine a six-month-old baby refueling and enjoying the melodies.
The machine didn’t accept any paper money, so we filled up with whatever change we had. It wasn’t nearly enough, so we continued our journey for gasoline. I had a bit of a Mad Max feeling.
Anyway, we reached the mountain, where you could buy gasoline along with sausages and beers. We each bought a bottle of vodka. I love this country!
We rested at the top of the mountain before descending to the other side. It was really nice to be part of a convoy of four on the road. Even though it wound up and down like the mountain had drunk the vodka from the bottle to make room for the gasoline.
The cave
Here you didn’t have to buy an entrance ticket, but hire a guide. A guide can lead a maximum of 3 people through the cave, so we split into two groups. That’s how we set out to explore the cave.
It was huge, inside and out.
Unfortunately, the photos inside didn’t turn out well, but I almost knew that in advance. So I can only describe what I saw.
The entrance opened from the fort, and right at the beginning we were greeted by fish in the water flowing under the road. Huge fish, in huge schools. Goldfish, black carp, catfish. This place would be a paradise for my fishing friends if fishing was possible.
Our guide lit the way with a special gas lamp. It wasn’t enough to light it – he pumped it, worked hard with it until the little stocking turned into a blinding white glow. I’ve never seen such light before. As I later found out (AI) it was a pumpable gasoline / petroleum pressure lamp (Coleman type).
The dimensions of the cave – as you can guess from the previous mention – impressed me. There was a 21-meter-high stalactite column in it. I say quietly that this is the height of a 6-7-story house. The figures appeared before me in incredible shapes, our guide also told many of the fantasy names: elephant, elephant ear, turtle, Buddha…
We went up and down inside the cave on excellently built wooden stairs. We saw a lot of bats sleeping in clusters on the walls. Sometimes we could even hear the noise as they talked. There was a place where everything was covered in guano, a protective railing had to be built towards the stair railing so that the stuff wouldn’t cover it. And of course there was a place where the smells of a well-populated poultry yard, or the old, stale, bird droppings smell of old church towers were strongly present.
Part of our cave tour was also that an approx. They took us there and back on a bamboo boat on an 800-meter stretch of river. This was the greatest experience for me. In the completely dark cave, the only light was the Coleman lamp and my flashlight. The boat swam with the fish. There were so many of them, and I almost felt like we were swimming with them. Since the bamboo boat was a structure made by fitting thick bamboo trunks together, we sat on it. So we sat about 10 centimeters above the water surface.
We saw wooden coffins from the time of prehistoric people, because the cave was also used as a burial place in the past. And there was a 2-3000-year-old wall painting in the cave.
We spent a lot of time in the cave, we had no other plans for this day.
We headed home. By dark, we were back on top of the mountain. With little gas, in pouring rain, in shorts and T-shirts. It was noticeably colder at the top of the mountain than at the bottom, even when we came. On the way home, the difference was even more stark. So, after the pouring rain turned into a torrential downpour, we were all cold as dogs.
We all wrapped up what we could find in our backpacks. So I made the trip home wrapped in my bath towel.
By the time we got back to Pai, the rain had stopped, the air had warmed up, and we stood in the shower, freezing to death, to regain our normal body temperature.
The day had two sayings before we were done with it. First, “onward to the next gas station,” and then the battle cry of “We did it!”
We showed life that we loved it by partying until dawn.
Mor Paeng Waterfall
Two days later we got back on the motorbike. We went to a waterfall.
It rains regularly here now, so we didn’t have the problem of having to look at dry waterfalls.
This place was very interesting because the huge, gently curved rocks worn by the water formed natural slides.
I spent my time reading and sliding a bit while exploring the area.
The water was very cold, so the book I was reading was a more pleasant experience for me.
Ban Pambok Bamboo Bridge
The next stop was a place called a bamboo bridge.
But it’s not really a bridge. You have to imagine a rice field, which by its nature is often covered by water. Such bamboo roads were originally built above the ground for transportation between the temple and the villages. They crisscross the ground. Then suddenly a beautiful tourist attraction is born from this.
So I saw beautiful lavender gardens, as if I were in Hungary. All kinds of selfie points, especially hearts that you could stand under. Several restaurants and cafes were also installed next to the roads, in case someone gets thirsty or hungry twice during the few hundred meters of walk.
There was the opportunity to try archery (I tried this, I haven’t done it in many months), target shooting with airsoft rifles.
And of course, to admire the beautiful landscape.
Actually, this is how we spent most of our time.
Walhalla
I never thought I would make it to Walhalla that day. My life on Earth is so good!
Before the next stop, we saw a hippie ranch.
It was a fabulous place. Everything was made by the work of its owner, from the furniture and accommodations to the billiard table.
We were here for a good fifteen minutes, drinking a refreshment and chatting a bit with the free spirits who were there.
Next to the entrance was a picture of an angry dog with the inscription “don’t touch me!”. I saw the dog before the picture, so I almost got richer by being bitten by a dog.
This is not what I imagined Walhalla to be like – for example, there was no god there – but it was a good place. I planned to go back there again, but then everything turned out differently.
The beautiful memory remains.
Tha Pai Hot Spring
Our last stop (before the obligatory evening party) was a bathing place around a hot spring.
The resting place in the middle of the forest is more popular with the locals, but we weren’t the only tourists.
The water in the first tiny (natural) pool seemed to be enough. It didn’t seem like a good idea to bathe in it, it was fenced off. The water was eighty degrees. There were a few other cute little places like that. The locals also use the springs to boil eggs. The only request was that we not boil the eggs in plastic.
For example, when I read “don’t boil eggs” I thought it was a cheeky warning not to go into the water – especially for men. Then it turned out I was wrong…
A bed was created in the natural flow direction of the river/stream, with walls placed in stages, creating a series of pools with constantly flowing water.
The top pool was 38 degrees, the bottom 30. I was two degrees sad that there wasn’t a pool on a lower level, but 30 degrees was still pleasant.
It was nice to spend the time we had before we had to go home, sitting in the water.
It was a very beautiful day, full of experiences.
With a lot of motorcycling, which I love. In good company, which I also love. With lots of beautiful pictures, a dog bite that I escaped, and the egg cooking that I missed.
I really loved the fact that I could observe everything around me with effortless attention all day long. Sitting on the scooter, perfect moments happened one after another.
All I had to say to myself was that it was so friendly, the way the warm air caresses my arms, the sun burns my skin, the wind caresses my face and I feel the power of the engine under my ass.
This is a perfect moment.
This is a perfect moment.
This is a perfect moment…
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