Some lazy days...

Once again a couple of days rest turned into a week.
we couldn't just leave Jao and her family that quick, nether we could ignore the fact that there where a few walls to be climbed and ticked off to finish a sector in our book; some new neighbours and the most amazing local celebration i ever assisted in Thailand made us stay one day longer, than another one, then another one...
It's much hotter now and the climbing routine is changed, we can either go early in the morning and climb till one or two o'clock, the last couple of hours preferably in a cave, or start around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, then only a few walls are available because the rock gets too hot and even if in the shadow it feels like climbing on a toaster.

Some shitty pictures of a great event.

The infinite line of people entering the temple with all sort of donations.

One morning, Jao tells us about a party at the temple that evening and we should go take part all together. I have been to a few party in a temple and normally what happens is a snack at a stall, bungee castle for the kids, unnecessary loud P.A. for music and speeches then the Buddhist do the Buddhist thing, with prayers and offers to the monks and everybody goes home in peace or whatever.
The whole home stay rode their scooter on a convoy some villages away from Mae On, when we got closer the small road was jammed with hundreds of cars all going to the event. I could already hear the music, actually many different ones all blasting and overlapping each other. There was a market all around the temple filled with all sorts of snacks and from a small road coming from the fields and getting straight through the main gate all the different communities of the area wearing their traditional bright dress where dancing to their anthem and bringing offers to the temple.
Some crazy colours and sounds and so many ethnic groups. My favourite where the hill tribe which wear the most shocking outfit, huge jewellery and metal hanging everywhere.
Everybody brought their donation to the monks then jumped on a stage to perform their traditional dance, i assisted to many, it went on forever, till the point i was really spaced out from the music of the three stages, a monk presenting every group, everything so loud and going on at the same time.
On the back of the temple another party was going on, with dancers, lady boys and liters and liters of beer! Being the only westerners, many of the locals insisted we sat at their table, many couldn't stand anymore. Since Bangkok i haven't been drinking and i certainly wasn't gonna do it that night, so jumped back on the motorbike and went home.

Leaving Jira, Jao and her husband, we never got his name
 but he was a funny man!

Passing by San Kamphaerng by
a nice road lined with threes

Then getting to Chiang Mai, traffic hell. I'm considering
start smoking, that will give me
a valid excuse for an eventual lung cancer...

The camp at Bell's guest house that just opened and is
more of a home/building site, he let us camp for a good price.

Time for the next move finally came, one late afternoon we started riding to Chiang Mai to meet Carlos and Blanca, two friends living in the city, spend some days with them and make a plan for the next section of the trip.