Living the Dream

For the last year Tom and I have talked about the things we wanted to do while on our travels throughout Southeast Asia. See the temples at Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Take a junk out on Halong Bay for a few nights just to watch the sun set and rise each day over the limestone karsts and watch the changing colors of the water. We dreamed of riding elephants (mostly so we could impress our grandkids) and rafting down the rivers for the sheer excitement of it. We talked about renting motorcycles and riding through the countryside on two wheels. We wanted time to read and rest, time to talk and breathe…I am here to say that our travels thus far have been successful.

We rented a motorcycle the other day and wandered through the Mae Sae Valley and up through Doi Sutrep National park. I am sure that we were the only couple with a GPS on board but we needed every advantage we could get. Riding a motorcycle is the most popular mode of travel for most…families. They maneuver in and out of several lanes of traffic with children on their bikes, groceries in their hands, holding an umbrella, and talking on the phone all at the same time. They can squeeze into any small opening in traffic and never have to put their feet on the ground. It can be raining like crazy and they never flinch while they are driving. Lets just say we were slightly behind the curve on this one but we are here to tell you it was one of our most enjoyable days ever.

For a mere 200B (less than $7.00) we could rent the bike all day. We picked it up early in the morning and drove over to the train station and purchased our tickets for later in the week. Driving through the many lanes of traffic we acclimated ourselves to this 150cc Honda. We were soon following the direction of our friend "Betty" (GPS) and entered onto the Super Highway out of Chiang Mai heading North. Whether you are the driver or the navigator you've got to be on your game around here. We managed the 13 km drive and were soon heading northward to the countryside. There, the most beautiful transformation occurred. The traffic virtually disappeared, the air felt distinctively cooler, the only sound we could hear was the hum of our motor, and it was outright beautiful. We drove through the small villages and thought of our friends in Solomon Islands. This area is so lush and beautiful. We hiked over to the water falls in Doi Intanond. We could hear a most sonorous thunderstorm brewing nearby. We ducked for cover during a small rainstorm and ate a bowl of hot noodle soup from a covered roadside stand. Soon we were on the road again heading home before nightfall.

At the end of the day, we took a nice warm shower and headed for our favorite massage parlor where our usual girls worked away all the tensions of the day…we are ready for our next adventures!