The Road Provides

A fellow traveler once told me that "The Road provides." What he meant by this is that when you're traveling (on the road), positive things happen when you least expect them to. I've found this to be true time and time again. It's especially apparent during low points in travel when things magically works out. The Road provides.

I have another saying that I've come to accept lately: The Road thinks your plans are stupid.

In the early days of my travel, I had a number of frustrating experiences that I attributed to a lack of planning. I vowed to start planning better and to a certain extent, I did. The problem is that none of the plans ever work out. I've found, however, that the best experiences I've had on this trip so far have all come out of plans that didn't work out.

There is no better example of this than my plans to visit Pai. I first planned to go to Pai nearly a week ago after my time in Chiang Mai. Then I heard about Shambhala and went to Chiang Dao. After Chiang Dao, I tried hitchhiking to Pai but ended up back in Chiang Mai. I spent a couple more nights in Chiang Mai then again tried to go to Pai. I decided to give hitchhiking another try. I took a songthaew to the highway and started walking and trying to get a ride. People stopped for me a couple times but they were never going the way I needed to go. I walked for at least an hour in the hot sun and was ready to give up when a pickup with half a dozen young Thai hippies in the back stopped for me. They were going to Shambhala (duh) but I asked if they would drop me off at the exit to Pai. They said yes but they drove right past the exit and dropped me off at the bus station. It was frustrating but it got me closer to where I needed to be and they arrived right as I was thinking about giving up. The Road provides.

I started walking toward the Pai exit but it was pretty far and I was getting quite tired. As I walked past three men building a deck by the side of the road, one of them called me over. He told me to sit down and poured me a glass of water. He admitted that he hadn't spoken English for years but I found that his English was nearly perfect. We talked for a while and he offered me more and more stuff (a pear, some chicken with rice, coffee) and eventually offered me a palace to stay for the night. He said there was no pressure but if I wanted to rest for a bit then I'd be welcome to stay for a day or two.

My host was named named Piak and he gave me the keys to his guesthouse. Not a mat on the floor or a couch or even a spare room (all of which are perfectly alright for a good night's sleep). A whole guesthouse to myself. It was the nicest place I've stayed on this trip so far. The shower even had hot water which is a luxury I haven't had for weeks.

Piak (left) and me (right).

Piak and I drove to the Friday night market and he bought food from several vendors and some rose plants that he to plant in his garden. We went back to his place and ate dinner with Pon, who had been helping build the deck. Piak mentioned at some point that he knew how to sew so I asked if he had a scrap of fabric I could use to patch my vest with. He found a very nice piece of blue fabric and I was able to patch up my vest once more. Another patch, another story.

The new patch.

In the morning, I was awoken by the sound of the roosters that Piak keeps. Piak drove me to the exit to Pai. I said goodbye and thanked him again and he drove off. I started walking but there weren't many cars passing by. After half an hour, someone in a pickup stopped and told me that I was on a smaller road to Pai and that he would take me to the main road. The ride in the back of the pickup was only about five minutes long but it would have been at least twenty on foot so it was good I got it.

I walked past this sign while trying to get a ride.

The main road wasn't much busier. I started walking and it was about an hour until two guys in a car stopped for me. They didn't speak much English but they made it clear that they weren't heading to Pai. I asked if they would take me further and they agreed. They drove me for about half an hour and dropped me off at a rest stop. 

This turned out to be a brilliant move because all I had to do was talk to drivers getting back into their cars. Within ten minutes, I was in the back of another pickup heading into Pai. I got dropped off at a gas station and walked until I saw a sign for a hostel. I booked one night and that's where I am now. I'm pretty tired so I think I'm going to take a nap then try to find something to do.