June 19,

Up and about, we had our Javas. Then we went out to a laundromat, put in a load of laundry and went to a Lotus Express to get some yogurt. Back at our place, we had the last of our muesli with the yogurt for breakfast, then it was time to put the clothes in the dryer. Once the clothes were done we sorted them and watched some YouTube.

Around 1330, we noticed the sun was shining! So taking advantage of this, we set out. We went to a waterfall, but noticed a raised price. It was 200 THB for each foreigner! That’s just over six bucks each, and then another 2 bucks for parking the car. Jeff decided to look up pictures of the waterfall. We both decided it wasn’t worth $14! So we moved on.

Next we went to Kho Ku So Bamboo Bridge. It is touted to be the longest bamboo bridge in Thailand. Upon arriving, we paid the entry fee of 30 THB each, which was 91 cents each. The bridge is made of bamboo and is elevated over many tiered rice paddies with vistas of mountain backdrops- it was very picturesque! The bamboo walkway structure is of concrete and steel footings that snakes 815 m (2,674 feet) in length from the beginning to the end – at a Wat. It is a bit eerie walking on bamboo meshwork, but reassuring to see glimpses of the concrete/steel undergirding… plus we are not far off the ground. But I linked with Jeff’s steady arm for extra encouragement! (There were no handrails.)

As we walked, there were places to stop for Instagram shots and little gazebo type areas to rest and to get out of the sun. It was quite lovely. We actually even saw some farmers tending the rice paddies. At the other end we watched some monks working. They were putting in a bamboo “pipe” for irrigation into a paddy. When we got close to the temple we saw a very long line of industrial Army ants, going to who knows where from who knows where. We arrived at the temple, then turned around and traipsed our way back. Quite a few others showed up now. The venture was fun, but watching locals working seemed almost like an invasion.

Last we drove around to the outskirts of Pai. We went to Yun Lai Viewpoint.The road narrowed but our little car made it all the way up to the top. We got out, paying the fee of 20 THB each, which is 61 cents; and took in the sweeping views of the whole valley around Pai. We noticed a large dark cloud that was coming in so we figured we better skedaddle back to our place.

When we arrived, we met a lady who was staying above us. I had not actually noticed that there was a second & third story to our little place. We talked a tiny bit, mostly just introductions…I did ask her where to put the trash because we hadn’t figured that out yet. After we unloaded we went to Barbari bakery that was less than a block away. We ordered a Cumin Barbari Bread; a Mushroom & Cheese Puri, that was like a pocket of cheese crusted bread with a zillion mushrooms; and a bowl of Babaganoush as takeaway. We paid 330 THB and took our goods home.

We ate this and the last of our hummus over lunch and supper. It made for a great ending of the already good day!