Happy Wanderers: backpackers

After an amazing few days in Chiang Mai, it was time for us to leave and head to Pai which we had heard so much about from various people. After boarding the minibus, it didn't take us long to realise why the journey there came with a warning! The winding roads and cliff edges were enough to make anyone feel ill and with Sophie suffering from travel sickness, she decided to take some medication and was soon as high as a fairy and oblivious to the entire thing. It was hilarious watching her trying to find her mouth while she ate a packet of crisps haha! When we arrived, we instantly fell in love with the look and vibe Pai had. Every little cafe, shop and bar were so unique from the last and the people were all so chilled out, we knew we'd love it there! It was a bit of a mission trying to find our accommodation as the directions we got from online were all wrong, eventually we had to get a local to ring them for more directions then get a taxi!

Upon arrival, we were stunned at our accommodation because we were expecting so much less for the money we paid. We stayed at Prod-Pai Prachaupmaoh Guesthouse and were given a bungalow on stilts all to ourselves, it was the cutest thing! It was about a 15 minute walk back into the main town which meant that we could sit on the balcony and enjoy the peace and views of the surrounding mountains. The women at reception soon informed us that there would be a weekend market in the main street that night and would taxi us there and back for free of charge, so off we went to explore the goodies Pai had to offer. The market was different from normal Thai markets, it still sold some of the classic purses, elephant printed trousers etc but also sold unique hand-crafted items like dream catchers, jewellery and clothing. We ended up in a cafe which served the best variety of hot drinks and cakes for a good price, how could we ever resist!? The walls were covered by so many flowers, at first sight we thought it was a florist but soon discovered otherwise.

The next day we decided to hire a moped (which we named Phoebe) and head to a few of the local tourist spots. After a few runs up and down Pai's main street, Sophie eventually got the hang of how to ride it and we began the drive to the hot springs in Huai Nam Dang National Park. They were just a short walk from the car park and we were shocked to find that some were so hot, you could actually pay to boil an egg in them, who would do that haha!? We settled for the hottest one we could handle and made ourselves comfy as our bodies soaked in the natural minerals. There were plenty of signs in the park warning tourists not to stay in the water too long because if your body absorbed too much of the minerals, it can make you feel dizzy and unwell so we made sure to sit out for at least 5 minutes before moving down to the next one.

After spending a bit too long relaxing in the springs, it was time to dry off and head to Pai canyon which was only a 10 minute drive away. Some people say the canyon is Pai's answer to the Grand Canyon, it could more accurately be described as narrow red ridges with steep-sided valleys, both filled with pine forests. The steep 50m drop either side and stunning views over the surround countryside are impressive but we had to be extra careful because the path is extremely narrow in some places.

Next stop, Koh Tao to begin our PADI Open Water Scuba Diving course.. EXCITING!

Here are some photos of our time in Pai:

Our home away from home

Outdoor BBQ and seating area

Cute quote at Pai market

Some of the handmade jewellery at the market

The most flowers we've ever seen in one room!

Hot chocolate and cake before bed, perfect!

The fabulous 'Phoebe'!

Arriving at Huai Nam Dang National Park

Cruising to the canyon

The view from the canyon

One of the narrow ridges to walk across

The Happy Wanderers

♥

After a 30 minute flight, a never-ending queue at the Mae Sai border crossing and a 4 hour bus journey (all whilst Sarah was still ill!), we finally arrived in Chiang Mai. We stayed at the Teeraya Boutique Hostel which was run by a friendly Thai family, and our dorm room even had a pool-side view with a balcony.. how posh for £4 a night! It wasn't long before we discovered that we could book a visit to Ran Tong Elephant Sanctuary through the hostel and spend the entire day cleaning, feeding and helping out the elephants anyway we could. As tempting as it was, the price (£50) was putting Sarah off as we were meant to be travelling on a budget after all.. but the next day Bethan and Sophie surprised her by paying half each as an early birthday present, needless to say there was some tears of joy! They had chosen the option where you don't ride the elephants, just wash, walk and feed them because they'd probably had enough people taking advantage of them in their lives and didn't think it would be fair.

We were told by the hostel to take some clean clothes, a towel, toilet roll, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner which we were confused by because we couldn't think why we'd ever need them (we later found out)! The sanctuary arranged a pick up for us at 8am and we were taken straight to the elephants and greeted by so many of them, it was incredible to see how happy and playful they all were. Nancy was our guide for the day who gave us a quick briefing on what we'd be doing for the day and sent us off to put on our mahout uniforms which were the most unflattering thing we've ever worn haha!

She then walked us slowly around the sanctuary introducing us to all the elephants and telling us the stories of why and how they were all rescued. Some stories were a lot better than others but it made us happy to know they were surrounded by love and comfort after suffering for so many years. One of our personal favourites was of course the little baby who was around 2 years old. Nancy had informed us that his mother was used for transporting heavy goods up and down rocky mountains all day in the heat, eventually she became so weak that she suffered a fall down the side of a mountain and didn't survive. Her captures were left with a newborn baby and no clue how to look after it, so they contacted the sanctuary to rescue him. Luckily, one of the female elephants took a liking to him immediately and took him under her wing.. they've been inseparable ever since! We were told that if they are ever parted, the adoptive mother starts calling out for him until he is returned to her because she hates not having him around. Another had been attacked by poachers for his ivory tusks and he was awake while they cut them off which would have been so painful for him to suffer. Thankfully he was soon found in the wild and taken to the sanctuary to recover where he's now started growing a new set of tusks!

Eventually we were shown to the elephant who we would be looking after for the day, she was called Mae Por and was the oldest at the sanctuary at the age of 56! Even though she was old, she had such a big personality and was quite sassy.. she knew what she wanted and wouldn't listen to any commands until she got whatever she wanted (my kind of woman!). We were also part of a group with some other tourists whose elephant was called Mae Bae, she was a bit younger (around 35 years?) but still had an amazing character. After feeding them a ridiculous amount of bananas, it was time to give them some exercise and walk them to the river where they used their trunks to munch on the tree leaves and nuts. Here the mahout told us about an old folk tale where some people believe it will bring you luck if you walk under an elephant, but you must be fast because if they start to move.. you're in trouble! He tried to get us to form a line and walk under Mae Por but the risk of being crushed was too real haha. Eventually, an older man who was looking after Mae Bae, put on a brave face and decided to go for it, thankfully Mae Por was too distracted by the trees to realise what was going on. We're still yet to hear if he's won the lottery! After a tiring walk and a few demands for more food by Mae Por, it was lunch time for everyone. We were given a wonderful traditional Thai dish of chicken with crunchy noodles and vegetables, delicious! Then it was bath time for the animals..

We were lucky enough to be able to join Mae Por and many others in the watering hole where we were given buckets to wash her. She really enjoyed the attention because it wasn't long before she flopped down on her belly and let us splash her with the cold water. Eventually she'd had enough and decided to leave but as she did, another two females entered the water who apparently both have the same 'husband' and began having a trumpeting competition to impress him.. it was hilarious to watch as the male was clearly loving it, typical haha! Then some of the younger elephants started playing with each other and rolling around everywhere.. they soaked everyone by flapping their ears around and splashing their trunks in and out of the water. This was definitely one of the cutest and happiest things we've EVER seen!

Once Mae Por had dried off and been taken back to her little home, Nancy showed us how to make one fo the elephants favourite treats which consisted of bananas, rice and sugar. All of the ingredients were then thrown together in a wooden bowl and mashed together with a wooden pole, it definitely didn't look very tasty by the end of it. Everyone grabbed a handful, rolled it into a ball and were free to choose an elephant to give it to.. Nancy wasn't wrong when she said it was one of their all time favourites, they went crazy for it!