Arrived in Pai on Dec. 20 after spending a few unexpectedly good days in Chiang Rai with Jeff the Mad Quebecoi and a very lovely and *very* California couple from SLO, River and Shandra, all of whom I met at the Akha Hill House. In a rush to find a place to lay my head over Christmas, I left Chiang Rai on my own and arrived in Pai with Melanie, Frauke and Sonja, three German girls I met at the Chiang Mai bus station where we spent one night en route to Pai. We stayed at a guesthouse owned by a plump and jolly-looking American named John, who cooked me up a full Turkey dinner with all the trimmings for an early Christmas or belated Thanksgiving treat. It was defrosted and microwaved, but still worth every baht (299 of them, about $7.50).

Turns out Pai is rather empty for this time of year and even today, open accommodation is easy to find. I love it here. It's like Vang Vieng with better food but not quite as spectacular a landscape. The small downtown area is surrounded by rivers, streams and rolling hills scattered with restaurants, bars, chillout spots and guesthouses best reached by motorbike, but I am a big uninsured chicken (I've been putting off getting travelers' insurance. If you think this is dumb, email me.) As such, I've been exploring on a mountainbike and have already ridden 34 kilometers in two days, up and down the hills to waterfalls and hot springs.

This morning, I took a Hatha yoga course taught by a 55-year old former Thai beauty queen who is having a tough time accepting the aging process and is quick to demonstrate how yoga has kept her so fit by routinely displaying her breasts to anyone willing to look. According to her, if I faithfully perform a proper Sun Salutation every morning, I too can have "strong boob muscle!"

The German girls and I were staying at the same guesthouse but I found they moved a bit too slowly for me particularly when heading in the general direction of food, so I've been spending most of my time alone. Yesterday at the hot springs I befriended a group of five Americans all traveling on their own but staying at the same guesthouse. This morning I moved over there (Golden Hut) and we are going to celebrate Christmas together along with anyone else we meet along the way. We're going to have a White Elephant gift exchange (150 baht limit) and a nice dinner somewhere. I feel very happy and could see myself spending a good amount of time here. I may head to Chiang Mai for New Year's though as I am beginning to feel the need for a night out in a town that doesn't go to sleep at 10 PM.

I hope those of you wanting one get a White Christmas. Pai is freezing at night, which I would be enjoying the seasonal-appropriateness of if I were properly attired. Instead, I've been lamenting the fact that I left all my warm clothes in Bangkok and have been sleeping in socks, two pairs of pants and three shirts with three blankets over me and still waking up cold. At least it feels like Christmas! Fortunately Pai has no shortage of cozy-feeling cafes (my favorite, Edible Jazz, has a good assortment of tea, makes really tasty brownies, and is a little too-conveniently located right next to my guesthouse).

I am heading out now to get an extremely overpriced (500 baht) haircut from an Australian girl who I discovered also makes a mean eggs benedict. (I knew I'd find it somewhere!)