12.03. - 16.03.18 ❤Pai❤ + 17.03.18 Return to Chiang Mai

12.03.2018:

Around 1:30 PM, my bus to Pai departed. The ride cost 200 Baht from Chiang Mai.👌After a 3-hour journey, I arrived in Pai without knowing where I wanted to go.😅🙈I asked for the WiFi access at a bungalow resort and looked for hostels in the area. I decided to stay at Pai Backpacker Paradise because it was very affordable.😀After a 20-minute walk, I finally reached the hostel. I stayed in a 20-bed dorm, which was my first experience in such a large dormitory.😅But it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.☺

Later that evening, I rented a scooter and went into town to get something to eat. When I came back, I met Simone from Italy - Rome. He had been traveling in Thailand for 2 weeks already.

We got along well and decided to do some activities together in the following days. 😁

We spent the days exploring Pai and the surrounding area on the scooter.👌

13.03.2018:
In the morning, we participated in a free yoga training session at the hostel. Around noon, our tour started.😁 It was so cool, I finally had the chance to learn how to ride a scooter properly.😅 Steep hills and constant curves were part of our daily program.😀We did all the offered tours on our own scooter.👌

We went on a tour to the Bamboo Bridge, a waterfall with little water😅, a hot spring, and then to the Pai Canyon for sunset. It was an adventure.😅🙈I had a fear of heights there.🙈 We climbed up the mountains, it got higher and steeper. The paths between the abysses became narrower. It was amazing.🙈But fortunately, when I finally reached the top, it was such a fantastic and beautiful moment. 😁👌

Not many people climbed as far as we did. Most of them didn't go where we went. They knew why they didn't want to climb so far.😅🙈

I asked Simone if we could stay on the mountain or if we really had to climb all the way back down.😅🙈🙈

Since I had no other choice and it was getting dark soon, I had to go back, of course.🙈

It was incredibly high, and I struggled with my fear, but I managed it, and it was a great experience for me.😁👌

On Wednesday, 14.03.2018, the adventure continued.😅 First, we visited a mosque and then went to another waterfall. But this time, we had to climb through the jungle for 7km for one way and cross a steep hill to reach the waterfall.😅🙈🙈🙈 Climbing and ascending a steep hill again, at some point, I thought I was going to die.😅🤣🙈 About 1km before reaching the destination, I could hardly walk anymore, I was covered in sweat, and it was uphill all the way. 🙈🙈🙈 Simone had to motivate me to make it through the last part.

It was so exhausting. If you are not reasonably fit, this waterfall is definitely not recommended, the way there is simply too long and intense.

After about 3 hours of walking and climbing, we finally arrived. We were so happy that we made it till the end and could see such a beautiful waterfall, it was gorgeous.😍👌👍

We stayed there for maybe 15 minutes, enjoying the view and cooling off in the water. Then we had to make the whole trip back. It was already 4 PM, and the sun sets around 6:30 PM. We didn't want to walk and climb in the dark.😀

Going back was a bit easier for me, and I got faster to make sure we would get out of the jungle before it got dark.😅

Fortunately, we made it just in time. It took us 2.5 hours for the return journey. We were completely exhausted, our bones were hurting. We could hardly move.😅

We were so hungry and thirsty, so as we were, still in our sweaty clothes, we drove into town and had some food and drinks. It felt soooooooooooo good.😀

15.03.2018:
The next day was a bit more relaxing. We still felt the muscle soreness from the previous day.😀We went to a viewpoint, a not so remarkable waterfall, and then to the city where we could swim for free in a pool.👌 I was quite happy that we didn't have to walk as much on this day.😅 In the evening, we watched the fire show at our hostel. 😁

16.03.2018:
On Friday, we went on another longer trip to visit the caves. We rode the scooter for about 1.5 hours because they were 50km away from Pai.

It was an incredible tour to get there.😀 We crossed at least 3 huge mountains, up and down, and a dozen curves.😀 It's a dream for motorcyclists to ride there, but for me, it was more like torture on a scooter.😅😀
But after this tour, I learned how to lean into the curves because you had to do it, otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to make the curves.😂😂😂 I named this ride: The Highway to Hell.😀😀😀

When we arrived at the caves, we booked a guide who took us through the caves. It was absolutely amazing. 😍 I had never seen such huge and beautiful caves before. We went through one cave on a bamboo raft to reach the next one. They were full of stalactites, simply incredible.😍 The tour was definitely worth it.👌

On the way back, we stopped at a barbershop because Simone wanted to get rid of his beard, and afterwards, he looked almost 10 years younger.🤣🤣🤣

We also stopped at a viewpoint. There was a steep path up a hill. This time, I left my scooter behind, and we continued with his scooter up the hill. The path became narrower, bumpier, and rocky. I could already see the abysses on the right and left of me again.😅🙈🙈🙈

Fortunately, Simone was a very good driver; he learned to drive when he was 12 years old in Italy. I just held on tight and hoped nothing would happen.🙈🙈🙈 When we reached the top of the hill, there wasn't much to see because the trees blocked the view, and it was very foggy.😅😅😅

Then we went back down.🙈 He said that the worst part is not going up but going down. And I immediately became very worried about my life again.🙈 I told him that I don't want to die yet 😅😀 and shouted desperately, "Mom, where are you?"😅 Then, going downhill, I closed my eyes, held onto him tightly, and trusted him with my life.😅😂😂

When we reached the bottom, we had to take deep breaths and were so relieved that we made it.😅😀👍

In the evening, I returned the scooter. We had something to eat, and then I went to sleep. I was already quite exhausted from the day.😅😀 Simone stayed at the hostel and joined the fire show with the other backpackers.

17.03.2018:
The next day, Saturday, it was time to leave again. Simone rode the scooter back to Chiang Mai, a 3-hour ride, and I took the bus.

He picked me up at the bus station, and we drove to our next hostel to drop off my backpack. After that, we went to the water park where I had lost my camera. I had to pay 50 euros, unfortunately, I couldn't immediately check if it still worked because the battery was completely dead.
When we got back, I plugged it in and had to realize that it no longer worked.😭 I paid 50 euros for nothing.😭😭😭

Since Sunday was my last day in Thailand, I booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as my next destination. I still had to figure out where exactly I wanted to go, I did not have a plan yet.🙈🙈🙈 I also booked a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu on the east side since there are some beautiful islands there according to the internet.😍I wanted to be by the sea again.😍 I also booked a hostel for the first night. So, my next adventure can begin - Next Stop Malaysia.😍😁👍