…and watching the rain:
Once the rain stopped, and the roads dried, we headed out for a drive through the country-side, in the opposite direction of Pai. Our hope was to find beautiful scenery, and a landscape free of tourists. We succeeded! Just around the corner from where we’re staying is a beautiful temple, Wat Sai Khao, with a large, white Buddha catching the sun’s rays as they poked through the pillowy clouds, highlighting the bright green rice growing in their patties:
We continued on our motorbike tour, and soon came to the end of a paved road. We parked the bike and walked along the dirt road (Mindy’s not confident enough to go off-roading just yet!) through lush farm fields. We saw corn almost ready for harvesting, some sort of squash, and a tree with cucumber vines draped over its branches.
The dirt road took us to a bridge that crossed the fast-moving Pai River. Amazingly, the wooden bridge was quite sturdy, and we saw a couple people drive their motorcycles across without hesitation. We were relieved to simply walk across!
One of our favorite subjects to photograph is mature bamboo. It’s mind-boggling to think that it’s just grass, and yet it can grow so high that you have to correct your brain when you think it’s a tree. We think bamboo looks so majestic and soft at the same time:
Along the dirt road back to our motorbike, we caught up to a mother and her toddler, who appeared to have recently learned to walk on her own. The pink umbrella contrasted so beautifully with the lush, green surroundings, we just had to share it with you!
Back on the bike, we drove through numerous rice fields. We’re not sure when exactly the rice will be ready to harvest, but each bunch now stands about a foot out of the flooded fields, and their light green color suggests that the crop is still quite young. Arguably, this is the best time to photograph the fields:
Day two of the motorbike adventure was a big success! Mindy’s getting more confident on the bike (notice how she can manage a smile while driving!) It’s also a benefit to have Ligeia as the “hot chick on the back of the bike”, wrapping her arms around Mindy’s waist like a seatbelt. We could definitely get used to the motorbike way of life!
We ate at the Curry House for dinner and got mango and sticky rice for dessert.
Stay tuned for more Pai adventures,
Mindy and Ligeia :):)