It was only 3 days before on the night train that I met Nang, a real local girl, sitting in front of me with a bike helmet on her lap. That was the easiest conversation starter ever...and I found out that she works and live in an organic farm 70km north of Chaing Mai. She had loaded her bike on the train and she was gonna cycle there. Awesome.Fascinated by her tales in broken English, I ask for more info and reveal my intention of making my way to the farm one day.._..And here is where the magic starts to happen..._She's drawing a map… involving cross roads, collective trucks, turns to take...random landmarks. Not really a standard google-map. But that's how you do it in Asia. How can God guide you if you already got all the details?
Days later, it's my last day in the North of Thailand. I leave my bag at the hostel in Chaing Mai and make an early start of the day, heading straight north, with the intention of getting "somehow" to the Farm - called Pun Pun- which by the way also had a website, and which therefore I was considering as a landmark of utmost importance in Thailand.
Never an assumption proved to be more wrong...
I flagged down a truck going approximately in the right direction. The only problem is the truck was red and not white (as per instructions) and that –despite the initial promises- the driver had picked up other folks and was now heading totally elsewhere. The driver technique was simple...talking in my ears with no interruption hoping to distract me from the fact that he was trying to scam me big time. He was painstakingly building a father & son relationship, teaching me the basics of Thai language and laughing uncontrollably after I successfully “parroted” some Thai words. His bonding skills were pretty remarkable.. Only when I mentioned again destination and fare cost, his understanding magically disappeared.... His brilliant plan was to bring me up Doi Southep for two hours with those other guys and then finally up north, obviously charging me 5 times the agreed price...I just opened the truck door. He almost lost control of the car. Jumping off, I returned his favour and taught him some fine Italian words (Vaffanculo and the like). “This Thai people are so nice, that I lost touch with reality these past few days. But in the end, I am glad to have had this reality check. Scammers are everywhere in the world” I said to myself to sweeten the pill.
In the middle of nowhere I flagged down another truck back, then another one (a white one this time, yay!) going north. I then decided that I had become an expert of local transport. The only problem is that no one seems to understand my English and even less my home-made map, so I ended up dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Talking to some people in the language of signs for about 45 min I find out I am about 25 km away from the junction I need to reach. Somehow I pickup another truck and get there, but there's an issue. Instead of being at a walkable distance, I am told by a local moto-taxi driver that the farm is still 20 km away. Maybe. Indeed earlier I had some suspicions already that Nang's scribbled map was probably not on scale...
What should I do? If I get a moto-taxi there, how do I come back the day after? Considering what happened so far…the chances of making my way back the next day in time for my flight from Chain Mai seemed pretty slim, had I decided to rely on the moto-taxi. So, in a moment of doubt and self-introspection, I finally decide to give up..go to the previous village for lunch in a picturesque local market, before lazily heading to Chaing Mai. My delicious meal at the village, tough, was not enough to erase the bitter taste of defeat.
Then, a shop in front of me. One of those random, anonymous places that sell about everything. I noticed a road-bike on the pavement. As it turns out, it belongs to the owner, but it’s not for rent/sale. This is were capitalism comes in handy, as I offer to rent the bicycle for a hefty and unspecified sum of money. The negotiations are challenging, not for a reason of price (both sides were following the sacred rule that you never mention numbers first), but for the mere fact that the guy had no intention whatsoever to give me his personal bicycle…and apparently he was not even acquainted with the rules of capitalism (lucky him!)…but then, when I am almost walking away, the wife announces that they accept my proposal of handing in my passport and that he was going to give me the bike for free. Heaven’s bells are ringing. After insisting to pay something and discussing the fine details of the return of the bike the early morning of the following day, I am cycling out, like a boss. The bike’s not as good as it looks. But it does an honest job. Riding free!
Born again, back to the junction with a big smile, I swoosh in front of the astonished motor-taxi driver, and towards the farm. Obviously, what I thought was going to be a straightforward way turned out to be another challenge.. as I was passing through farming villages and along rice fields and canals, I started focusing on the beauty of the landscape and forgetting the fact that I was lost. I was actually following some yellow signs which were for something else than the farm but seemed to go roughly the right direction (not really..) and were the only thing I could follow anyway…(This is when you should stop making too many questions to yourself and start believing in your sixth sense). The road was now a dirt path heading up in the hills with amazing views on the surrounding fields…lush tropical vegetation, local houses from time to time, the outline of layers of mountain peaks belonging to the Sanna National Park on the landscape. A feeling of joy and freedom taking control of my body. It was indeed a remarkable afternoon. I even discovered a small lake where I could watch the beginning of the sunset. Then, as a swiss clock, right before sunset, I found my way to the farm and embraced Nang and the other guys, right when they were finishing work in a puddle of mud (they were making sustainable bricks). I can feel the coolness and glamorousness of the moment. I now had mud and straw everywhere…
There’s still time for a personalized tour of the farm, then some other night cycling in the beautiful surroundings, followed by dinner all together, some sort of coconut opening context using big knives, and some chatting with the farm boys and volunteers. It was an early night, because the following morning I already had an appointment at 6am with Art and Nang to cycle up the dam and see the National park and have breakfast at the lake, before heading back. Everyone showed up on time, we had our ride, got back fast like hell, got my passport with no issues, grabbed a truck back to Chaing mai. It was bursting-full so that I had the chance to hang suspended outside, holding on to an external ladder on the back of the car, where I could feel the wind in my face and enoy the views.
Couldn’t stop smiling for days.