2025: A Girl, a Motorcycle, and a Gypsy Soul

I had been excited to start at the famed Circus hostel to see the shows and people watch. Oh and bask in the sunshine next to the pool. But I was more excited to ride around Pai on the scooter - oh the corners that awaited me!!!!  But After trying to sleep in a dorm room with 11 other people I realized I am old. I was in bed by midnight - while my 11 roomies were still out. Just as I was about to fall asleep, half my roomies came in, drunk. And shortly after, the same. This particular dorm had zero privacy curtains. And my bed was smack center of the room, bottom bunk. I had a sleep mask on and headphones with a white noise going but there was simply no hope for.me to sleep.  (where I woke up to pee in the middle of the night because I'm old.... This task cannot be done quietly no matter how hard I tried. Think zippers, metal bunkbed posts grinding together with the slightest hint of. movement, flashlight to find shoes, flashlight to not take a tumble over the 11 other...

Thankful that the rain had ended, I woke up early, had some breakfast, and was eager to get on the road from Chiang Mai to Pai with my two wheels. 1095 is the road, with 762 corners awaiting me. Super excited and a smidge nervous. The most nerve wracking part was the idea of getting out of Chiang Mai alive. The traffic is nowhere near as crazy as Bangkok, but still rather intimidating. I also needed gas not too far out of town and was worried how to work all of that - opening the gas tank, picking the gas when everything is in Thai, and figuring out logistics.  You know, overthinking 101. Turns out all of that just fell into place!    I made it out of Chiang Mai just fine - I rode as the lcoals do - very alert, not aggressive, but aggressive- and aware of the stray dogs, the kids, the bicyclists, the other scooters, the vehicles.... craziness somewhat contained. I pulled into a gas station, hopped off the scooter, and was happy to see gas station attendants. I had to d...

1. In Israel and the Netherlands, police officers do not carry guns. The biggest 'weapon' they carry is a taser "and a large stick". 2. Other countries (universally) think that America is "VERY dangerous" because we "always have mass killings and out of control gun (toting) people everywhere" 3. In Germany, people are REQUIRED to take a certain number of weeks off per year (I think 6 - might be four). No negotiations. They don't call it a vacation, they call it a 'work holiday'. They (I don't know if it depends on one's profession or if it is universal) also get a 'holiday stipend'. So time off with pay + money to take time off. Why do I live in the States???? They also get free higher education - its universal to anyone who wants to pursue higher ed. ZERO cost. WTH. 4. Canadians have a 'super hard time' getting into the USA 'without a huge hassle'.  They also still have Queen Elizabeth on their mon...

Time to check out of the new hostel and head to Chiang Mai. I decided, after talking to a ton of people, that I would rent a scooter for the 4 hour trip. I spoke with folks who ride bikes back home to the very inexperienced to the novice riders - all who had rented a scooter successfully while in town. I read the details of my travel insurance policy as I had heard a rumor that the insurance would be void upon rental of a scooter. Mine was not this way - so I was good to go! I researched rental places and got some word of mouth referrals and headed to Cat Motors - a little over a mile away. I saw a sign that said they were fully booked, and bummed, I called and got some help finding more places to rent. I walked in laps for a bit then when I passed Cat Motors again, I noticed two bikes up front and the sign was gone. I stopped in and there was a couple there in front of me, they took 1 bike and I got the last one!! a 125 Yamaha Scooter. Good enough. For 1300B I was on my way with...

So as I said, I had to move out of Stamps Hostel in Chiang Mai due to no openings... and go 50 feet across the alley to my new home. And when it came time to check in... I came to the realization that I MAY have misread something when booking the place.. Because when she handed me the room keys, I assumed we would head left, where I could see dorm room doors in brightly lit hallways, next to a bathroom and the shower room. From this angle, it looked promising. But then...we walked to the RIGHT of the check in desk. To get to the room, we had to walk around the towel station, down a 12" tall step onto plain concrete, around a dark, musty smelling open air corner area to room 'D' (also the grade I would give the place based on my experience)… The door was at least 1/3" away from the frame to the point the lock itself barely reached the frame abutment. The first thing I noticed was how DARK and DREARY it was.  Considering its super sunny out, one would never kno...