Caves!

And we thought it couldn't get any better. After our lovely trip through the jungle of the Nan Province (NE Thailand) we were excited to move on from Chaing Mai and continue our travels. We made a group of good friends there, so it was bittersweet to leave, but we knew that if we didn't set a date and move on- we might never leave the "Old City." Our river trip was full of exciting whitewater, scenic views and total removal from the bustle of Chaing Mai. Our guide, Jason, has since become a good friend and showed us parts of Thailand we would never have seen otherwise. His fluent Thai took us to a Thai Hip Hop Club, called Channel X, in the small town of Nan where hundreds of Thai locals gathered on a Monday night to drink Sang Som (Thai Rum) and dance to the beats of a live band, DJ and rotating vocal entertainers. As we drank our share of Rum, Charlie - of course - made many friends and, at one point, was offered the microphone by the Thai Hipster singing on stage. We were the only Farangs (foreigners) in the place, and recieved much attention- all positive. The next day, with hangovers and little sleep, we all piled back in the van to make the six hour drive back to Chaing Mai. When we arrived we booked a guesthouse in the heart of the city and relaxed, trying to recover from the entire experience. Our guesthouse, in which we stayed for two nights- the second being New Years, had a beautiful in-ground pool, many beautiful and tropical murals, and best of all, an open roof-top living room complete with a sun-deck, a pool table and couches. We had a mellow New Years Eve. We walked about town with our friend Gora- the Russian Monk- and witnessed the celebrations that were happening all over. Hundreds of paper lanterns were lit, and floated through the sky over the city. Charlie and I both agreed we had never seen a sight quite like that of the sky filled with hundreds- perhaps thousands- of soft lights. To boot, there were fireworks going off everywhere, in the sky and on the ground. We spent the countdown at The Northgate Jazz Co-op, a place we have hung out many times to see Joshwah play music and meet our many new friends. We went to bed shortly before three a.m., as we were planning on traveling early the next day. And so we left Chaing Mai, riding a packed full bus eight hours to the small village of Sappong. By the time we got there, it was dark and approaching eight o'clock. Our lodge - Cave Lodge - where we had reservations had instructed us to get a motorbike taxi the nine km from Sappong to the lodge, but because of the hour there was no taxi in sight. We were just happy to have been dropped off in what looked like an actual town. The bus had stopped a few times before, just on the side of the dark highway, and we were both praying that it wasn't Sappong. When we saw a small market and convenient store, the bus driver turned to us - "Sappong here." We thanked him and were relieved to see people out on the street and a few guesthouses nearby. After negotiating with the clerk behind the counter at the convenient store, Charlie and I hopped in with a local Dad, and for 300 baht rode with him in his truck up, yet another, small, dark and winding road. Signs for Cave Lodge started to appear, and our faith that we were actually going somewhere was restored. The Dad dropped us by the river, near a lighted path to the lodge. As we walked up the stairs, removed our shoes- as is custom when you enter any private building- the scene unfolding before us was reassuring. A large open veranda spread out before us, with hammocks and swings hanging from the tall rafters, and an open fire pit in the center. There were travelers sitting around the fire, reading, writing and talking with one another. All eyes turned to us as we stepped up to the kitchen. The owner, John, an Australian who has lived there on the Thai-Burmese border for 30 years, asked us if we had a reservation, which thankfully I had made earlier in the day. We ordered some much needed food and walked down the stone walkway to our creekside bungalow. It is a lovely place, with many activities around. We have decided to stay there five days, and explore the surrounding villages, mountains and caves. We hitched a ride into Pai this morning - about 50 km away - with a nice Thai family on vacation. We are going to rent a motorbike, so we can be self-sufficient, and carefully explore the surrounding waterfalls that are in this beautiful and rural paradise. One of the cool things about this area, and this time of year, is that there are more Thai tourists than foreign ones. Truckloads of Thai families have pitched tents all along the rivers from Pai to Sappong, as well as up in the mountains where we are staying. The Thai style of camping is much like our own- tents, boomboxes radiating beats, booze and couples looking for romance. They are all very interested in us, and where we are from. They are always snapping pictures of us from the distance- or in some cases not. Yesterday we hiked to the top of a mountain called "The Big Knob." It was only about an hour and a half up, but it was thick forest and steep rocks twined with vines. The last ascent was steep and full of volcanic rocks, that helped us climb the last verticle feet. Once we reached the rocky point- we truly were on the very top of the mountain - we sat and enjoyed the view of the surrounding valleys. There was a bamboo flag pole with a weathered Thai flag, and makeshift benches of wood set on two rocks. As we sat there on the top our little mountain in Thailand we were, yet again, reminded of how blessed and thankful we are for our lives, and each other. As there is no internet at our lodge, don't be alarmed if we don't check in for a few days. Tune in soon- we got all of our pictures from our river adventure on disc and we plan on uploading them soon. Much love to you all, our family and friends.

Chohk dii pi mai - Good luck, happy New Year!
Oriana and Charlie