The Great Dopamine Rush of 2025

I Started my day today around a campfire with a bunch of other travelers, Which is incredibly weird for me to say as normally back home we only have campfires at night. Here in the north of Thailand were nobody has heating as it only gets kind of chilly for about 2 months of the year, The morning is the coldest time of the day. So fires.

Around the fire I chatted with a German fellow named Klaus for nearly an Hour, Klaus who I met last year here is a semi permanent guest here at Bannamhoo, living here about 9 months of the year. I mean its pretty damn tempting for a monthly price tag of only $500ish Canadian. I could afford that.

After the fire I grabbed some cat treats I brought with me and went and fed the ten cats that live here on the property, I love kitties. When I had my fill of pussy I hopped on the scooter and froze my way to Tha Pai hot spring just 10 km away from the bungalows. It is a little pricey at 300baht entrance fee, But I’m a slut for a hot spring and the warm spring water did wonders for my sore cold ass.

I got back into town around Noon and decided to go check out a restaurant called Lek Lek that Klaus had recommended to me, he apparently eats there most days. It is run by 3 generations of a Thai family and it truly did not disappoint. I ordered Thai fried chicken and curried fried rice which had that classic Thai simplicity to it, That I really do enjoy about actual authentic Thai food. Not tourist Thai food.

When I finished lunch I went to the Bank here in Pai to exchange some money, It was a unique experience for me as there was pews in the bank just like a church and when you walked in, you were given a number and sat on a pew until your name was called. It was strange seeing a bank use an almost all paper filing system. We haven’t had that in Canada since I was a small child.

In the afternoon I took a jaunt out to Pai canyon and went for a short but very hot hike through the limestone and clay ridges that make Pai canyon such a tourist destination for sunset. Its incredibly beautiful to watch the sunset there, but I could not be bothered to deal with the crowds and I headed back to the bungalows to do some research on the latter parts of my trip.

As I was on my computer looking up train travel in Japan, Pak and Noom who run Bannamhoo suprised me with a delicious bowl of chicken, morning glory & cabbage soup. You know that Classic Thai simplicity I wrote about earlier, This bowl of soup was the epitome of it, served with a side of sweet chili sauce. It was an excellent albeit unexpected dinner. Just another one of the reasons I love this place

To finish off my day I scootered down to the walking street to see if I could find a windbreaker to make the cold morning rides a little more bearable. As I was leaving, Another traveler here who hasn’t yet mastered the art of the Thai scooter named Heun also wanted to visit the walking street so she came with me. It was quite nice hanging out with another traveler in a similar age group to me, She is from China but spoke quite good English, and she decided to help me find a windbreaker. Thankfully she was with me, because she spotted one in store from about 50 ft away in green (my favorite color) and my size. Which is incredibly rare in Thailand.

All in all today was a super chill Beautiful day. The type of day that attracts so many travelers from around the world to Pai.

“Don’t long for things you don’t have; instead, be grateful for the things you do have. Imagine how desirable they would seem if you didn’t already have them. At the same time, don’t become so attached to your possessions that you would be upset if they were damaged or lost.” – Marcus Aurelius

Ps. Here is some chickens, because well, chickens.