THAILAND - Pai - Part 2

So I woke up early at my hostel with surprisingly a good nights rest. It was very hot and stuffy in that shack but no one came in loud and a drunken mess, which is what I expected. I was up early enough to find a nice table to sit to myself and charge my phone. Free breakfast still wasn't available because it was so early. I was first in line to get breakfast since I was so hungry but I realized I didn't have a ticket to show because the front desk never gave me one. So I went up to the desk and asked about it and they said they would give it to me after this big group of people got their breakfast first because they had to catch a bus. I was a little irritated about this because some of the people were hungover and waited to get their food. Finally I was able to get my food and it was just eggs, toast, fruit, salad, and delicious homemade Thai Tea. I sat alone at my table and everyone surrounded me with their large friend groups. A couple came up to me and sat down so I chatted with them a little while. Another annoying young kid sat down and just talked on and on about himself and how wild of a night he had. Super annoying. But I face-timed my best friend back home and talked about what my plans were for the rest of the day. Before I left to start my days adventure a man ran into the seating area and called out this girls named multiple times and asked around for this girl. No one knew where she was, but according to his man she had a bus arrangement made to leave this second. He disappeared onto the property and I took my time getting ready for my day, very slowly because for some reason I had no motivation.  Once I was ready to head out with my nifty secret map of treasures, the man came back with the girl he was looking for and she looked like she had a pretty rough night and had overslept. Kind of funny I guess, glad it wasn't me. My first plan of the day was to stop at a 7-eleven and get some snacks for my big hike. After getting ice cold drinks I biked the same dirt road towards the long neck tribe village, but this time continued a little further and parked at the end of the road when it turned into a river. I locked my bike and hoped for the best it wouldn't get stolen. I had no idea how long this "secret" hike would take, but I had a whole day! Little did I know to bring snacks... I started trekking knee deep into the river until I crossed it and found a path right next to a fruit tree farm. Huge papayas hung from the tall trees and lots of bundles of avocado trees surrounded them. I continued walking trying to get the distant gun shots out of my mind. I looked off to my left to the farm watching the women mending to their plants. I passed a food hut to my right but their was no one there. After I looked over their menu I realized I didn't have any food for my adventure, but I didn't think it would take that long so I ignored that aspect. Little did I know what was ahead of me... I continue without a soul in site for about an hour. At some points I would scare myself thinking too much about the fact that I am so far into this foreign forest that if I got killed no one would ever know. But I quickly turned my thoughts towards something better. This was a very long hike alone, but so peaceful at the same time. I ran into my first couple about 2 hours in. They were walking slower than me so I passed them, they were dutch and probably around 70 years old, dang. I said hello and continued on my way. Parts of the trail crossed the river and I almost got lost but found the trail. One part was burned and still smoking, which scared me thinking it was some sort of trap, but I just ran passed it. The flora and fauna continued to grow thicker and wilder as I made my way deeper into the valley. I came to my first sign at the edge of a steep mountain. It said to climb over the mountain and to not follow the river any further. I was getting very excited to finally make it to the waterfall, I kept tricking myself into thinking I heard it. The mountain was very very steep, I had to use my hands sometimes to basically rock climb. 30 minutes later I finally made it to the top and traversed the side until I started going down hill. Thank god. Once I turned on the hill a little more I heard the water falling and crashing. Almost there! As I got closer I saw through the trees the massive waterfall. There was a lady down below with a dog. I ran to the edge and took off my clothes to jump in. There were so many bugs, bees, flies, and mosquitoes around me but I just hopped in to refresh myself. It felt soooo good. I dunked my head. I walked up to the waterfall and put my hand under the water and it was so powerful. I stood a little in the water occasionally talking to the nice foreign lady. Turns out the dog isn't hers and just followed her the entire trial to the waterfall, how interesting. I was finished quick and was ready to head back to town because I was starving and I had nothing. I quickly put my clothes on after the the lady left with the dog. The bugs were horrible. Once I was all cooled off I started walking fast to try and cut my time to get back home. The mountain was hard to climb and my bathing suit dried quickly. Going down the opposite side was easy. At the bottom I ran into the lady again who had been stopped by the old couple I had passed when I first started hiking. The dog was no longer with the lady and she asked me if I saw it but I didn't, I guess he just disappeared into the forest. I passed the people talking and power walked on through the river. About an hour in I heard sticks breaking behind me and I walked faster and then the noise got louder so I stopped and turned around in fear of something watching me. It was the lady again. She scared me and she apologized but wanted to walk together. Turns out she was from Holland and asked a lot of questions which I was getting very tired of answering to be honest. But it was nice to have company. We had to cross the river a few more times and the area started getting more and more familiar that we are approaching the end of the journey. The lady had to stop and change her shoes since her feet were hurting and she told me I could go ahead since she would be a while. We said our goodbyes and I power walked all the way to the end. I passed the abandon food hut and the farm of vegetables. Finally came to the last river crossing and saw my bike, thankfully it was still there. As I was leaving on my bike a bunch of loud traveler groups showed up to to the like, and lets say they were not prepared with the way they were dressed... The sun was getting low in the sky as I drove back to town. I decided to avoid going back to my horrible hostel and parked my bike to get another mango smoothie at the same place I did before. Across the street was a book store which I spent many hours in trying to find the perfect book for my long boat ride in 2 days. After book shopping I went to a massage place to treat myself after a long and unexpected adventure. It was nice and the place had AC so I got to cool off again, I felt bad for the lady touching my feet because they were so dirty from the hike, but she washed them which was nice. After my massage I walked around the night market that was starting to set up and there was a lot of tye dye and hippie stuff to attract the main type of person that visits Pai. I was amused though and refrained from spending my money on overpriced stuff that wasn't even authentic. It was getting dark so I found my bike and bought some more fruit to snack on back in the room. I did end up buying a book by Ernest Hemingway about his illegal fairs in Cuba which I was very excited to read that night. It was going to be a relaxing night for me and not too crazy since I was very tired. Back in the hostel I dodged drunk girls and guys making out and smoking pot as I walked to the showers. I took a cold shower which was the best decision I made. I hoped in my bed and started reading and snacking on bananas. Tomorrow I would finish the list of stuff to go see on Etiens list and book my 2 day long boat ride to continue my travels to Laos.