Despite all its sparkling wats, tree-lined alleys, and delicious cuisine, Nathan and I decided to spend our last day in Chiang Mai outside the city. The best way to get there is by scooter, of course. They're cheap, gas-efficient, and even old ladies can drive them, with a bag of rice and three little kids along for the ride. The lady at the rental shop held Nathan's passport hostage, handed us two ill-fitting helmets, and pointed us to the last bike in the row. Not the shiny black ones, oh no, not even the purple one, but the bright, nearly puce-colored, green steed who would carry our soon-to-be-sorry butts all around the country side.
Getting out of the city was a process of wrapping our heads around driving on the left side of the road, and then hunting down a gas station with super special petrol 95, the only stuff we were allowed to put in the tank. It's amazing how far those little things get with the gas gauge on E. We passed through a couple progressively smaller towns until the landscape gradually opened up into bright green rice fields and darker green mountains rising in the background, our rear ends gradually realizing how uncomfortable the seats actually were.
The real fun started when we reached the turn-off for Doi Inthanon National Park (between 47 and 58 km from Chiang Mai, depending on which sign you believed). We decided to forgo the main park in favor of a closer waterfall, and the little signs directed us through the back alleys of a small town to a serpentine road, twisty and hilly yet surprisingly well maintained. We discovered why when we reached a national park gate another couple of kilometers on. The guard gave us an odd look as we puttered by, but we were too busy navigating curves and dodging cows and their pies to really notice.
Mae Ya waterfall turned out to be a jaw-dropping 280 meter tall cascade at the end of the road. All three parking lots were eerily empty, as was the small village of bamboo-thatched snack bars. The park employees couldn't even be bothered to put on shirts as we walked by. There was another couple already at the waterfall but they left before too long, leaving us to gape at the pounding water and soaring dragonflies dodging through the mist. Soon after we were joined by a group of monks in orange robes who seemed just as excited to get their pictures taken with the waterfall as we were.
On the way back we got caught in a rainstorm, complained of the pain in our cheeks (those seats were not ergonomically designed), and navigated the one-way streets of Chiang Mai in the dark. Three cheers for scooters, especially green ones.
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