The adventures

Although Pai is a sleepy town, there are plenty of outdoor activities. As it lies at the foot of the mountains, it is a good base for trekking and visiting hill tribes like the Karen, Hmong and Lisu tribes.

I signed up for a day trek covering 18km of rice and garlic fields, mountains and the Lisu tribe village. The trek is easy enough but isn't as enjoyable during the dry season because of the scorching sun. You can smell the smoke in the air as the dry forests are prone to accidental fires from the slash-and-burn method practised by the local farmers.

My guide said the locals have been practising this method for centuries. It is the easiest and cheapest way to clear land for crops and because the local farmers are poor, the government allows them to continue this practice. It was quite a shame to see charred trees and barren ground. Hopefully, the government can do something about this in the future.

The most interesting part of the trek was lunch. My guide prepared lunch by using material from the jungle. Our "picnic mat" was six huge banana leaves and the bowls were made from banana leaves held together by toothpicks made from bamboo. The bowls held the rice very well.

My guide built a fire near the stream, cut a piece of bamboo, filled it with water and brought it to boil over the fire. Our cups and stirrers were also made from bamboo. He served us hot coffee and tea! Amazing what you can do in the middle of the jungle.

White water and bamboo rafting are also popular during the rainy season (July-September). I've never been bamboo rafting before and really wanted to try it but, unfortunately, the operator said I could go bamboo "walking" instead because the water was only ankle-high and I would be walking on the river stones instead of rafting the rapids!

All was not lost as there is still another river-related activity that can be done during the dry season: swimming with elephants.

There are a number of elephant camps out of town which arrange one- or two-hour elephant rides. I opted for the two-hour package. The camp had three healthy elephants and they looked well fed.

The mahout placed some blankets, held together by a piece of rope, over the elephant's back and we were good to go.

No metal seats? The mahout explained that they had those if we wanted to use them but the elephants don't like the heavy contraptions. Blankets were more "authentic" and kinder on their backs.

I climbed up the ladder to a platform to get on an elephant. Each elephant can take two passengers and a mahout. It was initially quite scary as it is very high up. There was nothing to hold on to except for the blanket and the mahout in front of me.

I got used to the sway of the elephant after a while and began enjoying the walk through the jungle. It was very much like riding an oversized horse. We entered the river after a while and the mahout turned to me cheekily and asked: "You ready for a swim?"

Garlic from the fields which have been hung out to dry.

The blankets were removed and all that was left was a piece of rope around the elephant's belly. The elephant went into the water and the mahout asked me to swim to it. I clambered up the elephant and looked hesitantly at the mahout as he was grinning from ear to ear. What was he up to?

"Hang on!" he said, and instructed the elephant to roll from side to side. The elephant's sudden movement took me by surprise and I tumbled into the river. The elephant gave a loud trumpet as though it was laughing at me and sprayed me with water.

Ah, I will be ready for you next time. I clambered up the elephant's back, and this time, held on to the rope for dear life as it tried to throw me off its back again. It sounds dangerous but it is actually quite safe and fun. Although they are huge, the elephants are very gentle and made sure their movements were smooth enough so that we slid "gently" into the river.

It was a great experience bathing and playing with the gentle giants. They looked genuinely happy to be frolicking in the cool river on this hot day. I was.

The mahout asked me to sit on the elephant's neck for the remainder of the ride while he walked beside the elephant. It was a challenge at first as there was absolutely nothing to hold on to except for its head. I found out that if I wrapped my legs around its neck, I would be stable. I could finally relax and enjoy the ride. My elephant was very well-behaved.

The mahout kept up a constant friendly banter with the elephant. I didn't understand what he was saying as he was speaking in Thai but it looked like he loved his charge very much. He kept scouting the ground for fallen fruits to give the elephant. He gave a fruit to me too but I couldn't figure out what it was - some sort of mango, I think.

I felt that the ride was too short as it ended all too soon. I checked my watch and it was actually slightly over two hours! A pick-up truck was waiting to take us back to town, playing reggae all the way back.

I'm thinking of going back to Pai next January for the Reggae Festival. The locals told me that the whole town would be alive then. I hope to do some bamboo rafting instead of "walking" too.

Pai is accessible by bus/van from Chang Pheuak Bus Station in Chiang Mai. The trip costs B74-B150 (S$3.10 to S$6.30) and the journey takes four hours.

- The Star/Asia News Network