Elisa: Pai! (pics of our cooking class)

we had to wear straw hats to block out the hot hot sun as we perused the garden



this small guy is actually a very tiny eggplant (more bitter in taste)



us with all the food that we learned to make- soo much...

our guide telling us what was what (a very hands on class that let us feel, smell adn taste all the herbs, fruits and veggies we were working with)

So we arrived today in an incredibly quaint, hippie-esque, tiny town in the mountains called Pai (pronounced "Bye" not "Pie"). We were planning only to stay one night, but we fell in love with it almost immediately and I can safely say we would have been content if we were stuck here for much longer. We are instead going to stay two nights, and then take the bus back to Chiang Mai, have three hours to see some last minute sites, then take the 12 hours bus ride back to Bangkok. The town has less than 3000 people, but everywhere there are restaurants, cafes, bars, hookah lounges, guesthouses/bunaglows, live bands, cute shops, and ridiculously friendly Thais and tourists (mostly young college student types). All around the town, which is at the peak of the mountain (it takes three and a half hours to get to from Chiang Mai, even though it is not many kilometers away, since the roads are so windy and narrow) are incredible waterfalls, caves, hotsprings, hiking, jungles, elephant camps... it's ridiculously cool. Tonight, we are meeting some friends for dinner (the Norwegian girls we're traveling with, Maria and Ida, both amazing, already ran into some French travelers they know, so they are joining us for dinner) and tomorrow consists of yoga, shopping, a massage, and getting out to see all the natural things I just talked about. Our little bungalow is quite cute (by backpackers standards), in the heart of town, and it only costs 200 Bhats (less than $7) per night (we've usually paid around this, but not for a cute bungalow). Anyway, we are very excited about getting to know Pai even better in the following hours.
Last night was a pretty wild night, as after we met some friends for dinner at a tapas bar, we went to a club called the Riverside which had a live Thai band that played old American music (from Alien Ant Farm to Michael Jackson to No Doubt to Nirvana). We met up with 15 other people from our hostel, and then went to kareokee until about 4 am (my voice is quite hoarse) , and then stayed up late talking and have a ball on the hostel roofdeck. Needless to say, we both crashed the second we entered the minibus for our three hour bus ride to Pai this morning.
I look forward to Bangkok as well, as the city is really fun and has so much to offer for activities and nightlife. I'm going to take Melissa out to a nice dinner as part of a belated birthday present, and we are going to visit some last minute things we missed last time we were there. We are also going to shop at the ridiculously cheap market for clothes and cheap things that I may have to ship home to avoid carrying. Anyway, long story short, only good things ahead. As I walked around the beautiful little mountain streets of Pai, stopping in each store to cordially chat and look around, the sun warming my shoulders and the stark mountain scenery surrounding the whole setting, I felt very, very pleased- to say the least!