Pai

The environment is always different every time I go to Pai, Mae Hong Son. The soil, rice paddies, mountains, and cloud formations all change with the seasons. The majestic clouds on the horizon even change depending on the time of day.

Zoey and I went to Coffee in Love, sipped espresso and sat overlooking the incredible view. A blanket of gray clouds covered the horizon, and an island of snow white clouds hovered in the sky. A veil of rain was transparent in the distance.

I read a chapter in Kerouac's Dharma Bums - he was scaling the Matterhorn with 2 of his friends.

We rented a Honda motorbike. It rode so smoothly through the rolling hills and countryside of Mae Hong Son. With Zoey on the back of the bike, we rode for about 20km past Pai Canyon, World War II Bridge, and to the temple on the hill.

This is where my friend Khun Alex from Stockholm, Sweden taught me to ride - and ever since, Mae Hong Son has been by far my favorite place to explore on a motorbike (gorgeous surroundings, and nowhere near as hectic as Chiang Mai city traffic).

We stopped at an art commune built into the surrounding nature; Thelonious Monk's “Straight No Chaser” was playing on old speakers. Paintings were displayed on the walls, including my favorite - a human figure huddled in the middle of a swirling red vortex.

As night descended we rode in the dark to the Chinese village. Eventually the night became pitch black and we could only see into the distance as far as the headlights, so we headed home. Crickets sang peacefully as we drifted off to sleep in our cabin inside the small town of Pai.

In the morning we had fresh coffee, eggs, and toast at the Muslim bakery and talked before taking one last cruise around Pai.




Currently listening to:

Beethoven - Emperor
Scriabin - Preludes
Rachmaninoff - Etudes

(Photos: R. Zoey Setiawan)