Reconnecting with a dear old friend

After finishing my time on the farm, I travelled back to Chiang Mai, spent the day with some girls getting massages, then was picked up by Fran's friend. Me and Fran hadn't seen each other properly for about 4 or 5 years..so it was a really special weekend. As it does with old friends who you've known so well, it felt like no time had passed, and we spent the majority of the few days just catching up and chatting. It was so so lovely. So her friend Rosie took me to the International school were they live on campus, about 15 minutes out of town, on the back of her motorbike. It was a very fun experience that made me want to learn badly, but felt quite precarious with my big rucksack, because my balance was all off. The rest of the time, when we left campus, we went in the back of another friend's truck, which was also a lot of fun but incredibly hot in the daytime. The school that they live and teach on is beautiful - big grounds with great facilities, even an Olympic-sized swimming pool. It was a bit of a culture shock again, coming from such basic conditions to this fancy, airconditioned, real-showered environment!! I did feel very clean :)
We did great little trips.. like a bike tour of campus and the little farm, which turned into a mini adventure around the village and surrounding tracks through fields, ending with a beautiful view. One very hot afternoon we drove to a huge old quarry full of warm blue water, with different levels of cliff faces to jump from. Fran and her friends were very brave, me not so much, but it was lovely to swim about and watch the locals scaling the sides and throwing each other in. It was nice that is was so beautiful but not really discovered by tourists. We went out dancing one night, which was lots of fun too, and to the Sunday night market in Chiang mai, which was crazy busy and full of wonderful smells and crafts for sale. Ate mango sticky rice and bumped into people I'd met on the farm..which happened a couple of times, funny how that happens.

But too soon it came to an end, and I decided to make the trip to Pai, a beautiful, hippy little town in the mountains. I only had three days left, which I knew would be nowhere near enough, not least because the journey took 4 hours up winding horrible roads. I stayed at a circus school a bit above the town, with great views, and great people. I made friends walking up to the place, and the next two days were a whirlwind of watching incredible fire shows, circus skills, chatting to lovely people from all around the world, and peacefulness. A perfect end to my month in Thailand. Have left with the burning desire to go back again and explore more.

My craaaaazy long journey to New Zealand involving 5 airports and at least 30 hours (must remember that cheapest option is always the best) was bearable, and left me with wonderment at my ability to slip into sleep anywhere, under any circumstances (a blessing indeed) and a cold. A few days ago I was happy to be leaving the heat.. I'm already craving it again! Excited to see my friend Alex, and have a two-week adventure some place new.