Songkran has begun. Happy new year everybody. We're in Chiang Mai for what must be the worlds biggest water fight. Just remember, the wetter you get, the more luck you have for the new year. So I plan to get drenched.

The last few days have been incredible. After a brutal overnight bus trip up to Chiang Mai, we spent one night then were off again to Pai, where we found a delightful mix of hippie, Thai and tourist culture. We immediately ventured out to explore the surrounding hills on 2 scooters, one of which was a finely tuned machine and one a struggling piece of junk that left Cody all but pushing with his feet up hills. We found a refreshing waterfall, great views at Pai canyon and a smoking hotspring where the tradition was to boil eggs right in the water that was bubbling up. We sat for a while and boiled ourselves a little downstream.

The next day we ventured out on a trek. Guided by the all knowledgable Mr. Day (the self described Brad Pitt of Thailand) we marched for a good 5 hours to a hill tribe of the Karen people who immigrated from China 70 years ago. The entire experience was surreal, as we explored caves (where Tina had a brief panic attack due to a malfunctioning headlamp), played a pickup soccer game with the local kids (who proceeded to quickly score 2 goals on me in the 3 minutes I stepped in goal), ate a delicious home cooked meal, drank home brewed whiskey and slept in the house of one of the families. After a 3 am wake up call thanks to an eager rooster, we set off to find a great waterfall swimming hole. The drive back to Pai was highlighted by a 5 foot Cobra sunning itself in the middle of the road. We all agreed it was a good thing we saw that fella after the hike and not before.

And now we find ourselves in the heart of Chiang Mai, with the entire town, young and old, tourist and local, sporting a water gun or bucket and ready to soak their nearest neighbor in the name of cleansing for the new year. Wish us luck.

Much love,

Mar