Chasing Pavement in Northern Thailand
Up above, Braden and Jake stop to take in the view. And for the first time motorcycling the rolling jungle hills of Northern Thailand, I'm behind the boys 😁😁😂 A bit more on that - I have ridden motorcycles with both these characters on numerous occasions and have always been impressed with their maturity on 2 wheels. Biking is fun - straight up - but you have to have that sense of when you can play - and when to just sit the bike and pay attention. These boys have that great maturity at a young age. Proud of 'em.
We bus traveled north to Chaing Mai straight out of busy, bustling Bangkok and luxuriated in this chill, lush, green and very rural space. It's a beautiful place universally agreed to by all we met particularly according to those in the cool hostel we found shortly after arriving. It's safe, peaceful and laid back in Chaing Mai with the Buddhist spirit alive and well - the food fresh and amazing - live music in the cafes and lots of people just hanging out. A nice chill vibe to be sure.
Morning found us heading for a trek into the jungle to see some elephants. We chose the environmentally friendly "no ride" option given our Canadian and general sensitivity to animal rights. Do we really need to ride an elephant to appreciate their unique beauty and right to share our space? I don't really think so...
The green space is not like Canada.. more bamboo and low leafy ground cover. I expected it to be flatter ... more rice fields but that's not it at all. It's rolling hills green and clean..
The Thailand jungle elephants are much smaller than their African cousins that I am now very familiar with. These ones tended to have pretty good manners around people seeming more
like big dogs or maybe horses. Certainly playful - you got that sense that you were interacting with them as they mill around trying to get you to feed them. They are a bit insistent.... one in particular would sneak up and kiss guests in a surprisingly affectionate and playful manner. Just look at those smiles... we must do what we can to protect these neglected and large ignored Carpathian-like captains of the jungle. Truly remarkable planet partners.
I'm not sure if swimming with the elephants or the ensuing all out mud fight was more fun but both activities were well enjoyed. The mud fight (or mostly elephant poo I suspect...whatever....) was unexpected as we thought we were just going to be watching... until the first elephant covered one of the other "watchers" with mud...it slowly built to an all out war elephants and people all playing and laughing together. Weird!! We shared the day with an Australian family who just could not get enough of adventure and fun. We later went to this cool waterfall with them and did a little cliff diving into the waterfall. That's Jake and Braden closest to the camera in the water. Jake diving with his waterproof GoPro .... what a great device that is.
Ladyboys
What is with the fascination and proliferation of Lady Boys???? I raise the topic because there are so many in Bangkok and Thailand generally...well I suppose I can't be sure of that .... but the hint of an Adam's apple is the first thing you look for. As one of the boys remarked - when it's that close... what's the difference... unless off course it goes much farther than just an appreciative glance. It then makes quite a difference indeed!!! A she or a he below.... tough call.... 😌 The boys would like to think it was a girl....I'm not convinced....
I think I can speak for all 3 of the Chang brothers when I say that while we chatted with some great people and enjoyed the nightlife - it was really the natural environment that we enjoyed the most in Northern Thailand. We took a pass on the White Temple of Chaing Rai which was a 3 hour trip to and then from. Next time maybe.
Jake poses near what I think is Hibiscus blossoms drying and protected from the direct sun.
My guess is that they are for tea... We took the motorcycles to Pai which is a few hours from Chaing Mai. The road has 732 up and down corners in 150 km. Oh Yeah!!!!!!!. That's a motorcycles guys dream come true. Given a choice between a dinner date with Beyonce or this... most of the bike guys I know would take the twisties and any decent 2 wheel machine any day!
We stopped a number of times and compared shit-eating grins... very fun day and again a nice balance between safety and fun.
We drove into this cool canyon pictured on the right and took in the the vibe and natural beauty.
Thanks for reading Layno!!!!!
Surprisingly - I have gone over 10,000 readers now. Man...I am very grateful that so many would take an interest. Thank you.
All that said, we arrived at the ferry dock eventually ...and I do mean eventually. Finally we are boarding for beautiful Ko Tao Island. It's a little chunk of paradise 4 hours from the mainland. Haha - it was likely the roughest ride I've ever had. We'd been warned not to eat beforehand... and came to really appreciate that advice. Lots and lots of sickies. Land Ho!!!!! was declared as Ko Tao emerged beautifully before us. There is a staggering beauty to the oddly shaped Thai islands and beautiful turquoise waters that surround. If you recall The man with the Golden Gun... you know the scenery.
The 3 of had come to Ko Tao (in part) to get our PADI diving certifications. Unfortunately for me only 2 left with the course completed. The technical was straight up and I really enjoyed that part. Where I failed the course was when I had a massive fuck-up under water breathing deep two full breaths of the great Gulf of Thailand. You'd think I'd have learned with the first breath - but nope - took another!!!! During an exercise, I was so frightened by the sense of being underwater and possibly being unable to get a breath... that I just couldn't think straight. I ended up breathing through my snorkel... not once but twice in a row. What kind of goofball breaths 2x through a snorkel underwater???? What the fuck !!!!! Oh my gosh...I can still remember the look on the instructors face as I stared wide eyed as him and breathed water. 😊 His look - was clear " what the fuck are you doing" !!!!! He quickly rescued me with the emergency regulator ..... though with lungs full of water... it was hard to actually get a breath. My panic was in full swing as I had to cough up water while underwater and then breath. Tricky at best.... I can still remember his legs squeezed tight around me try to calm me down. Hmmm not sure I'll give scuba another go ...... after all snorkeling is just as good isn't it 😂 I rested and tried again on the second dive but was unable to stop the panic that rose up and completely overwhelmed me. Maybe I'll try again someday!!! And may be not!!!! 
Though an Atheist I'm not completely devoid of a spiritual component and interest. I love the Buddhist philosophy and teachings. It's a set of practices that just make sense to me in this crazy world..... I was fortunate to find a 2 hour Hatha Yoga session in the morning. The building shown here ... opened on 3 sides... open to a view of the ocean, it's seductive breezes and all framed beautifully by bamboo and palm trees. A perfect place for yoga. Too bad it was so fucking hard!!! Immediately following, I visited the Buddhist temple on the island and reviewed a few of the teachings. An intense and memorable reminder of the noble truths and my love of the practice of being deliberate, accepting and proffering loving kindness.
Well what to say about the sex capital of the world. Well - I'll say this.. there is, for the most part, a very playful and fun aspect that permeates the numerous adult activities. Club Med it's not. No volleyball, Kanasta or sing-a-longs...though we were often invited to some kind of game where women played with ping pong balls....... Bangla Road at Patong Bay is a sexy fun carnival- like adult fun center with quite the assortment 5 ticket grown up rides at roadside. We visited a couple of gentlemen clubs along the strip and were a bit overwhelmed by our high-heeled g-strung smiling hostesses anxious to make sure we enjoyed our time in Phuket...fully!!! It's an eye-opening and strangely satisfying place given our (my) modern "sensitivities" and sometimes smothering rules rules rules. We had 3 5am nights and then days sleeping in the beach. It was Chang-tastic!
A small side bar... I really enjoy the creativity that goes into customizing 2 - wheeled machines in Southeast Asia... they take it seriously and do a great job with mods that are unique and creative. Love this little 2-stroke alongside. A lot of thought and resources went into creating this very personalized treasure. I spoke to the owner and congratulated him on a stunning and functional expression of his creativity! 
Thanks for reading...Layno
