Cheers To You

Chiang Mai and Pai, Thailand

I am leaving northern Thailand tonight, heading to the Laos border to then start the two-day journey down the Mekong into Luang Prabang. I spent two weeks on top of the original planned ten days in northern Thailand; it just sucked me in. Perhaps it was the food, perhaps it was the atmosphere, perhaps it was the relaxation, perhaps it was the scenery, but I’m sure the real reason I stayed so long was because of the people I met and the fellow travellers I shared my time with. So cheers to the walled city of Chiang Mai. Cheers to the sleepy hippie village of Pai. Cheers to the rivers, to bamboo huts, and to songkran water fights. Cheers to mango with sticky rice, chicken satay, khao soi, pad thai, spring rolls, and friend bananas. Cheers to the hill tribe people I met, cheers to the motorbike rides, cheers to all the temples that wowed me so. Cheers to every relaxing day I spent here in the north. But mostly, cheers to Marie-Helene, Rory, Rick, Hew, Max, Tim, Hannah, Zoe, John, Jeff, Aaron, Sam, and Dave. Cheers to Alex, Alex, Alex, and Alex. Cheers to all the random people from around the world with whom I shared a drink or a laugh. Cheers to Adam, Noria, Emil, and Mikkel. Cheers to Shea and to Mika. A massive cheers to Aidy and Henry. And a very, very special cheers to Ella.