The Minibus Came By, and We Got On...

...that's how it all began...in Pai.

Pai is a laidback artist/hippie outpost in Northern Thailand. The locals mix with Thai transplants and ex-pats alike, and it's a big happy party.

A few defining moments:

- It took two hours for everyone orders to arrive at dinner on our first night. The next night dinner took forever again, and someone said, "I think we're learning to be patient." Our group of 12 type-A go-getters needed this shock to our system at the beginning of our adventure. We'll keep on truckin'.

- At Phu Pai, a super chill bar in town run by the owner of our hotel, the Phu Pai Art Resort, the lights went out at 11:30p. All electricity was shot for the entire block. Apparently this is not uncommon during monsoon season. The kicker is that we were the only ones to blink an eye when things went black. The party kept going under candle light, and the band literally played on. Don't stop a-rockin' Pai!

And the cast of characters:

- Joey: The heart and soul of Pai. A hippie to the core, he passes his time leading horse tours for tourists. His advertising is minimal cuz he doesn't like to work hard. When asked what he does, he says "I enjoy life." He lives in a teepee and a treehouse. He spouts quotable wisdom all day, and his favorite question is "Why Not?" He's now bunking up with a girl from CA who ditched her friends a few days ago to stay in Pai. Our ladies were all intensely jealous.

He makes music, not war. The BB gun is just for the horses.

- Bang: One of the resort owners, from Phuket, allegedly lost 200,000,000 Baht ($60M+) in businesses/properties in the tsunamis. He was traveling through Pai, saw a large chunk of idyllic paradise, and decided to build the resort.

- The Movie Star (name withheld): Sadly, has a secret girlfriend, both to protect his image and his gf from the paparazzi. According to a source, after some bad press in Bangkok, he went to a Budhist temple for two weeks, shaved his long hair, and became a monk. We saw pics of him in prayer posture and saffron robes. He reached inside to relinquish all desire in order to end suffering and find inner peace. Maybe that's what Britney was really up to. Anyways, we heart the movie star. He's a really sweet guy.

- Tim: Another resort owner. Kinda looks like Tim Robbins, and definitely carries himself with that TB cool aloofness. Several minutes of conversation revealed no other details other than that he's badass.

- Pong: Local business owner. Runs Monkey Bar, Monkey Magic Tattoo Parlour, a paintball operation, and several local guesthouses. He makes more money running his bar for one hour a night (it's part of a nightly bar crawl) than most locals do in two months. He was once a directionless youth and carried a gun to bars. Now he's a savvy businessman.

Right now all the ladies are looking through all the GSB dudes' profiles in the student directory. A lot can be deduced from a name, compressed photo, and three self-reported interests. It's time to log off!