Our second installment was written on a slow boat in Laos. After Chaing Mai but before Laos, we spent a few days in a fantastic town called Pai.

After our trek in Chaing Mai, we arranged to take a government mini bus for the 5 hour journey north to Pai. Our numbers have grown to 7 now, so its me and Miranda, Dan and Rachel, Remi, Daisy and Lisi.

Amazingly we manage to find the safest bus driver in all of Thailand, it is a very comfortable journey up into the mountains. We get dropped off at the bus station in the middle of town and decide to find a bar where we can access the internet and look for a guest house. We turn down one of the roads looking for a decent place to stop and I hear " Hey Miranda!!" Miranda and I look over to see a couple we know from Cayman sitting with some friends. We knew that Devon and Lauren were in the area but what a small world!

After introductions, we agree to meet them later at a bar called Giant guest house. One of our group has found a guest house for us to look at so we walk about 5 minutes to the edge of town and find 4 very suitable bungalows which we check into for $17 a night including breakfast.

That night we head to a restaurant that Remi has spotted just near our guesthouse that is a Thai BBQ joint. Very similar to a Korean BBQ if you know what that is. If not, there is a hot metal contraption on the table that you lay meat on to cook, the juices run down to the edge where a soup is made. It's a fun way to eat.

after this, we walk through the town which has transformed into a huge market with stalls competing for space on the already overcrowded roads. We make our way to our rendezvous with the 345 crew and have a drink or two made by an Australian bartender who has been in Thailand far too long by the looks of him!

We are then told about a late night bar (after 11.30) called Rasta Bar, that is open till 2ish so we all head there for some more refreshments.

The next morning is not an early one, so we rise and look for a massage place to smooth away the tightness in the shoulders. We all decide to rent scooters so we can go exploring the next day and find the natural hot springs in the mountains. Earlier in the morning we are told that we have to find another place to stay because the rooms are booked out, so we spend a couple of hours looking around for somewhere to stay the following day. In Chaing Mai I purchased a Ukulele for a bit of fun and found it fairly easy to play. Remi decides that he should also learn to play one, so we find a shop that sells them and he makes a deal with the owner that he will only buy one if he will give us a lesson. So around lunch time, we are taught how to play 'i'm yours' by Jason Mraz. We need a lot of practice!!

The next day, after some breakfast we check out of the bungalows and drop our bags off at our new place, we have planned a route to the hot springs, so with the guys driving and the girls on the back we head off on our scooters for a road trip. To start with, the road is flat with a few bends here and there, then the hills start and we climb quickly. There is a very steep left hand turn and we all struggle to make it, Dan and Rachel have a small accident but after some brushing off are good to go again. The map says that we should travel about 15k from Pai to the hot springs but we have been driving for a good 45 minutes by now. We arrive at a very beautiful view point and realize that we have missed the turning... So we head back down and see a tiny sign in English which points us towards the hot spring.. now we are on a small concrete road which turns into a wet muddy track up and down steep inclines. After some wobbly driving, we arrive at the hot springs and have a swim about. We decide that the 3 girls as passengers should get a ride back to the road on a pickup as our bikes are not the best and don't have enough power to make the hills with 2 people. On the way back to Pai we stop at a waterfall for a look and there are a group of Thai kids using it as a waterslide, it doesn't look too safe, so we pass. Back in Pai we have some dinner and a quiet night.

The next morning, we organize a cooking class for that night. Remi, Daisy, Miranda and I drive out to a hot spring resort and hang out for a while. Our cooking class starts at 4pm, we are taken to the food market where we are shown all the ingredients and purchase everything we need to cook the 4 dishes we selected. We cook pad Thai, spicy Thai salad, massaman curry and coconut soup. It is a great experience and we all leave feeling full and educated! We are due to meet up with Remi and Daisy at a cool spot they have found down an alley that has a log fire burning. Remi has his Uke and I have mine so we play I'm yours over and over and over again! Once the owners kick us out, we head to Rasta Bar for an hour or so. On our way to the Rasta Bar we run into a local kid who is holding a guitar. We ask him if he knows I'm yours so we can play with him. It turns out he only started his lessons that day so cant play, but he does know most of the words and when he doesn't just makes a lot of noise that's sounds kind of like the lyrics. Its brilliant and we start to draw a crowd!

We are due to leave Pai the next day and head to Laos, our bus will take us to Chaing Mai first , where we get on another bus to Chaing Rai, then onto the border town of Chaing Kong. Before all that however, Dan has also decided to buy a ukulele, so we head back to the shop where we all have another lesson. We are getting quite good !