Still in Thailand

Right, so we left Chiang Mai and headed for a tiny little village called Pai. It is a pure hippy place. You know how you always wondered where hippies go when the get older. Well they all come to Pai. There are more hippies there than would be at a hippy convention. Its a cool little place. totally laid back and easy going. We rented scooters and away we went. No drivers licence needed or anything. No obligation to wear helmets either. Health and Safety where are ya!!!! It was so cheap too, only about $3 for 24 hours. We drove around and did touristy things. It was fun. Unfortunately Colin got sick that night. The first time in nearly 3 months. He reckons it was the mango and stick rice he bought from a street vendor. It could have been worse. He threw up a few times but that was it. We were meant to leave the next day but Col was feeling a tad tender so we stayed another day. Around these parts the people celebrate the Lunar New Year. They do so with a water festival. In Pai the festivaties begin a bit early and there were some people throwing water at every cyclist passing by. I felt an obligation to partake so I bought a water pistol in the shape of a sword and found poeple who had a barrel of water and started soaking everyone around me. Obviously I was drenched myself. It was mad craic though. The fun had to end and so the next day we packed our bags and headed back to Chiang Mai. Julie's once again. I swear, I could stay in this guest house for weeks. We decided to bail out of Thailand and go to Laos. I'm realy looking forward to Laos because everyone who we talk to says that it is the best country in Southeast Asia. We shall wait and see.