The beauty of Pai is that it is more or less the same every day. The sun comes up; there is a five-minute rain; the temperature rises, and the dogs curl up in the shade; hippies get off the bus and mill around town with their backpacks; one drinks a coffee, maybe a shake, listening to some blues or raggae in an open-air bar, talking to the resident Thais about where one comes from, where one is going; the sky gets crazy, there is another five-minute rain, and then the light falls on Pai like Buddha's fingers through the clouds; there is dinner to be had, not just Thai food but pretty good pizza, pasta, burgers, and even Tex-Mex; live music starts to get going around town, and one sits in a cafe while chewing the fat with some random German or Brit about nothing much at all; then, as one heads back to the bungalow on the ridge across the river, the air cools down and the frogs begin their nightly chorus. This may sound boring, but it is completely fulfilling. This is a routine to end all routines. And as much as I enjoy wandering around by myself, I do wish I could share this with people I love, because there is much more to feel here than to describe on a keyboard.
Today I am learning how to cook Thai food with Bebe, a chill dude with a kitchen and a stereo pumping Cake as we pound away on our curry paste. With me are Paul and Joanne, a couple from the windward side of Oahu. The morning session covered the curries, and my Mussaman was more than serviceable, even delicious, if I may say so myself. And after stuffing myself with our creations, I am headed back to my porch for an afternoon nap; we will gather again in the evening for rice, soups and salads.
Foot on hammock. Note the flip-flop injuries.
There are only so many pictures you can take from a stationary position on the hammock.
For a man who practically invented ascetic life, Buddha's got a lot of ornate monuments under his view.
The sky above Pai gets pretty crazy.
I cannot resist a picture when I walk this way in the late afternoon.
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