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Team Cheek Global Tour
While we were in Chiang Mai we kept on hearing about a little place north-west called Pai. Its meant to be a very chilled out, hippyfied town where there is a huge mix of cultures and characters...from Muslim ladies on mopeds to authentic tribal japanese and age old hippies from both eastern & western countries...very intriguing. We were told to head to a place called Pai River Lodge where we could stay in our very own bungalow-complete with hammock... we weren't disappointed. We arrived and were really taken back by the lovely surroundings...our bungalow was made purely of bamboo and we looked out onto the lush gardens, listening to the Pai River as it ambled along the side of us- definitely our kind of place! Pai itself is pretty small, so we decided to hire a moped and go and explore the surroundings...we headed off into the mountains and we're lucky enough to find a lovely waterfall in time for sunset. At the time we were in Pai, there was a Japanese festival happening, so we went to this little place called Moon Village for a free gig where we did lots of people watching and cheering at lanterns floating up to the stars and poking sticks in bonfires...it was a really nice way to finish the evening. The next day was our 4 year anniversary!! Woohoooo!! So we had a lovely day exploring the area and planning our next move. We traveled up into the mountains where we found a temple that over looked the town, which was meant to have a really stunning sunset. After having a mooch about, we walked over to where the monks where and found them playing table tennis!? Wat the!? ;) Andy being Andy couldn't resist the temptation to challenge them to a table tennis-Off and started a bit of a battle....but lost. To be fair, it was a close call and they did have Buddha on their side so I'm not sure how fair it was. That evening, we booked ourselves into a private showing of Little Miss Sunshine where you get to lounge about on a missive sofa in a darkened room with ice cream and popcorn and everything! It was a real treat to do something as normal as that-really nice..So, happy anniversary to us! We had been told about a place called Tacome Pai which is Organic Farm just outside of Pai. The place itself is amazing, the guy who owns the farm is extremely talented and he has a great outlook and vision. His farm is completely self-sufficient and he is currently building a school for the local children so they can learn English and about organic farming.The house that we stayed in was fantastic. It was very private surrounded by mango trees (yum). The sink and taps were made off wood, the shower came out of a branch in a tree- Even the loo was great! It was outside surrounded by rocks and in a prime spot for catching a few rays-its really hard to give it justice, its definitely the best place we have seen for so may reasons.The following day Sandot (the farm owner) fancied trekking up into the mountains so we joined him and a group of 10 others who have been staying at the farm, who turned out to be very serious and rather boring. As we headed off we could tell immediately that this was not going to be anything like the first treck we did...it was completely of the cuff and we were in the real Thailand.We walked for around 3 hours and then stopped for lunch where two of Sandols workers cooked us a lovely meal from the ingredients from his farm. Andy made us two bamboo plates and chop sticks with a machete for us to eat with which was pretty impressive!! Time was ticking on so we stared making a move up the Mountain to find a spot for the night. Around 2 hours or so later we arrived at the top of the mountain where we could see all of Pai and its surrounds and started to make camp. Andy and I we're told not to worry about bringing things with us but we really could have done with tent, sleeping bag and some warm clothes!! We ended up sleeping under some tarpaulin exposed to all the elements which was definitely an experience. Poor Andy couldn't sleep a wink so kept the fire going for everyone. He was determined to stay awake for day break but managed to nod off for 20 minutes and missed the whole thing!! ` The next day we headed down to a waterfall where we could have a wash and have some breakfast consisting of rice and bamboo. Another 2 hours of walking down the mountain and we arrived at our destination for a decent shower and some much needed sleep.Back at the organic farm we cooked dinner for everyone with the natural ingredients that Sandot had grown; consisting of bamboo and pumpkin with chili and rice...It was really tasty!! I felt much happier now that we had done something to help out and we were able to kind of give something back by cooking a meal for everyone-our way of saying thank you for the last couple of days.
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