Self Made Tour ..The Mae Hong Song Loop

so, at long last we have our guest house license. before we open we have decided to take a much needed holiday to recharge our batteries before cracking on with the guest house.
so , after much flaffing around this morning, we finally left Chiang Mai at midday, on my JRD 150cc chopper.
it took us about an hour and a half to get onto the road to Pai, a left turn at Mae Tang. not far up that road we stopped at a nice little Thai cafe, next to a small stream, and had Kanna Muu Krop(fried kale and pork with rice, and a couple of Birdy tinned coffees. it was a lovely little spot with a cool breeze running up the stream, as good as any fan, and we sat watching several large butterflies frolicking in the sunlight that broke through the trees along the stream. we had considered renting a more powerful bike for this trip but after realizing that it would cost us about 3000 baht, changed our minds. glad about that as the road to Pai has turned out to be not so bad, steepness wise. it is how ever extremely twisty. great fun tho. we made several rest stops along the way, taking in some of the stunning mountain views.
arrived in Pai at just after 5.30pm.
Pai turns out to be a beautiful little town on a delightful river. how long it stays that way is anyones guess as tourism is here in a big way. clearly very popular with tourists of all kinds, the town is packed with guest houses, small and large riversaide resorts, eateries of every sort you could imagine, and bars , bars and more bars, a couple of which with excellent live music and even one where you can go and join in a live jam.
its still bearable right now and if i wasnt so tired from our journey right now, im sure id be out enjoying the night atmosphere some more. its got a bit of a festival feeling to it. sadly, its popularity is likely to lead to being less bearable by the year, so i'd say get here while its still fun.
after checking a couple of riverside places out and getting prices around the 5-600 baht mark for anything decent , we settled for The Tonga Guest house just off what appears to be the main Bar Street leading down to the river.
our stuff dumped in the very pleasant, clean room,(lovely ensuite shower room), that set us back 300 baht, we took a walk into town, went for pizza and more thai food at Baan Pai restaurant; more walk around, ginger tea at the Tick cafe, bought a couple of second hand books from the shop opposite The Tick and are debating whther to take a massage before bed.
todays costs;
fuel ....tank filled for 300baht.
food and drinks on the way ...118+95+40
food and drinks here.....80+285+20+50
books....... 630
room.........300
total...............1918

Bicycle riding in Chiang mai

will i be glad when we finally open our rooms up to guests. it will hopefully be a much needed boost to a flagging high season here in Chiang Mai. we actually had quite a flurry of custom this morning and early afternoon. but since then business has been very slow and appeared so for everyone in the street.
The chefs son , Duhn , had no school today and very kindly went to the market for me today so i got to relax for much of the time.
this afternoon i went out for a bicycle ride on my 24 speed Mongoose. i bought it a couple of weeks ago in an effort to battle the bulge that has appeared from too much good eating and lack of exercise. a bicycle is a great way to get out and about in Chiang mai and perfect for exploring all the backstreets and narrow soi's in the Old City. not that i did too much of that today. i actually rode straight to Buak Hard Park and went and got some much needed sleep by the water.
we've just got back from the Arcade Bus Station, getting Boons bus ticket to Maesai for tomorrow. he has to go up to vote in the national elections.

Fire Safety at The Brick Road Cafe and Guest House, Chiang Mai

we have at last had our fire extinguishers fitted today, one on the top floor one on the lounge level and one on the kitchen wall.
very quiet day, business wise, where are you all, lol.
Did the usual market run this morning whilst Boon had his usual lie in.
i just love the market, so much life going on. and i usually have some fun exchanges with many of the market vendors as i am seen as pretty much a local now.
the police were at their regular spot at the top of Moon Muang with the motorcy helmet check, but i was ok as i always wear it to the market.
spent most of the day just chilling out today, had a nice walk around Wat Chedi Luang Temple grounds, in the afternoon. to my mind its the best Temple complex to visit in Chiang Mai, with its four different Temples , two of which are being restored right now and of course the massive ancient Chedi; not to mention the excellent Monk Chat corner. got many friendly greetings from many of the Monks and Novices. i feel so lucky being in this location, good for my soul.
if you happened to be in Ratchadamneon rd tonight , you may have heard distant strains of some crazy flute playing. that was me practicing upstairs on the balcony of one of the rooms.

First Post

welcome to The Brick Road cafe and Guest House blog.
although that should be 'nearly Guest House' at the present moment.
The Cafe has been up and running for around 7 months now but the opening of our Guest House above the cafe will not happen until early March. Official opening date coming soon.
i came to Thailand a little over 2 years ago, on january 13th 2006, for a much needed 3 month break after 7 years of working with Autistic adults and children in South Wales, UK.
It didnt take me long to fall in love with this wonderful country and decide to do all i could to make it my permanent home.
after a year of travelling around thaioland and a couple of visits back to the UK to sort out selling my house and sorting a 12 month visa, i finally got round to acquiring the cafe business last july and its been pretty full on ever since.
its been alot of hard work to get to the point where we,(myself and my Thai partner of two years, Somboon), are happy with the look of the cafe and menu. we acquired the extra space upstairs for the guest house in october and it was even more work getting that sorted, furnishing and decorating, fitting showers, etc. That all done it was then a long wait to sort out proper licensing.
just about everything sorted now so we actually plan to take a week or so's holiday before finally opening up the guest house rooms , which will no doubt increase our workload but hopefully do the world of good to our businesses long term prospects.
hope you'll look in again and follow our progress.
if you are in Chiang Mai you'll find us on the main walking street through the centre of the Old City from Thapae gate to Wat Phra Sing. we are about half way down just past the secong crossroads, at the rear entrance to Wat Chedi Luang.