During our last full weekend in Thailand, we got the opportunity to take a public bus ride out to Pai. At first I was nervous - there were rumors that buses to Pai were a barf-stop waiting to happen, and that the buses even had bags hanging from the ceilings to throw up in. The bus ride was none of that, though - It was a beautiful, scenic drive filled with sunlight, fresh air, mountain forests and families of cows sharing the road. Pai was one of my favorite spots in northern Thailand. The scenery was unbelievably beautiful - almost every inch of the ground was either a forest or a flat expansion of rice fields, farms and gardens. Walking through the most rural parts of town, we could see families sitting outside their bungalows, children playing in the streets while their parents took a nice break from a long day of work on the farm. It was an eye opening experience to see how different the lives of these people are from anything we could have experienced growing up in Southern California. Not worse, or less appealing - just different. It made me ponder how different of a perspective many people have about the world, even though we are all human. It makes life much more interesting and wonderful, I think.
Kyley, Apu, Carolina and I got to stay in a circus themed hostel, equipt with an infinity pool, trampoline, a beautiful view of the mountain and valley below, and of course every circus toy one could think of. It reminded me a lot of life back home and I found an overwhelming amount of joy dancing around with a hula hoop and spinning fire poi with travelers from around the world, as well as a couple of local Thai guys who absolutely killed it on the slack-line. Any opportunity to connect with people from different cultures via similar interests and a love for art is one to cherish. I really loved that experience, and am glad I got to experience the creative, slightly off-the-wall side of Thailand before I make my way back to my creative, off-the-wall life back in California ;)
-Miranda