Bridge over the River Pai
Bridge over the River Pai
Feb 17-19, part II: I procrastinated at calling places in Pai for availability, because I was too timid to try it in Thai. Wuss. When I get really nervous like that I stammer a bit, which believe me, does not improve accuracy in tonal languages. I called one place, no space but they'll call my second choice if I call them back in a couple of minutes. Mai pen rai. But the place they call isn't the place I was looking for. The good news is it's available. The bad news is it's a dump. I called them back — my Thai won't do it, their English non-existent.
Finally called Rim Pai; billed as "the only middle class property in Pai". This might be an overstatement, but it is in a compound more lovely than anything else I saw during my stay:
Built with care, nicely kept gardens, view of the Pai River (but not from my cabin). Rim Pai Cottages seemed quite serene until the two tour groups arrived almost simultaneously. All of the sudden the place was awash with rambunctious Dutchmen (and women).
They left the next morning for Mae Hong Son — about when I left for Chiang Mai. However, well prior to that, about 3:30am, I'm assuming in the throws of passion, some Dutchman lets out a appreciative moan. Very appreciative. Perhaps it was "yelp-like". Unfortunately the neighborhood dogs have never heard anything quite like this (apparently). And they're quite upset about it. En masse. The howling goes on for another half hour. The Dutchman is not heard from again. Maybe his wife killed him.
View from breakfast
Day breaks. I get up, carrying my head in my hands (as it would not stay up of its own accord). I order scrambled eggs ("khay khon"), coffee. They come with toast (dry, edible), and bacon (greasy, in-). The eggs were a balanced lot: about 1/3rd-each palm kernel oil, eggs, and salt. They're "properly" cooked (when scrambled eggs are cooked too hot, the proteins seize and release their liquid), yet they seem to be swimming in a sea of liquid But, it's the oil. Here are attractive looking eggs and I'm starving — didn't get dinner the previous night. And I'd put salt on them before tasting (insult to injury...) further decreasing their palatability. They were... revolting. At first I attempted to pick up chunks of egg, drain them and move them to the toast plate. This was not successful. You have to feel my pain here, Gentle Readers. I found another restaurant. And a pharmacy for some Tylenol. "Well", I thought — "at least it's included in the room price, I'd feel bad if I'd paid for this". Ha. When I checked out on the morning of the 3rd day, they told me that the breakfasts weren't included. This added fully 20% to the bill. More insult to injury.
It all could have been worse: I could have had to get on the bus that day. That would have been memorable for all the passengers.
