January birthday in a warm-ish climate! That's a first!

Last Friday afternoon I had a half day at school to celebrate Wai Kru (teacher appreciation) so Fuad & hopped a minibus (15 people including the driver) and headed to the town of Pai, a lovely spot nestled in a valley.  We'd heard that this 3 hour ride can be miserable because of the 762 turns up & down & around the mountains and since I tend to suffer from motion sickness, we popped some pills and hoped for the best...it was awful. Without a doubt it was one of the worst rides I've ever experienced!  The nature of the road is one thing, but the driver of the van was taking the turns (some of them hairpin turns) at such high speeds, I actually thought to myself "We're going to die," and I turned to Fuad and said "I don't want to die like this." His response was "me neither!" We were on the same page...the last leg of the journey was the worst; it was dark, there was hardly a stretch of road that went straight and I felt like I was in some sort of torture experiment, but we arrived to our destination in one piece. I could hardly wrap my head around the fact that we were going to have to take the return journey in a few days.
We loved Pai! It's a small charming town jammed with both Thai tourists & backpackers alike. There's nature to be seen, nightlife with live music, a walking street market and good food! After sleeping in the morning of my birthday we grabbed some brunch (where we experienced the Passion Roll @Witching Well) Delicious!!! Mangoes wrapped in a pancake with passion fruit sauce on top! Then we got a short ride just out of town to soak in a mineral hot spring! Fabulous!!! After relaxing in the spring, we came back to town and got coconut oil massages! Incredible!!! By then, we were so relaxed, we needed a nap : ) Back in our room we rested & watched a few episodes of Lost (we're in the final season now). By the time we got showered up and headed out the door for dinner, the temperature had dropped significantly! It was freezing, like see-your-breath freezing!
I've always wanted to celebrate my birthday in warm weather, since I was born in the Winter and lived in the Mid-west my entire life...I finally got to do that (at least during the daytime). It was like the best of both worlds; a hot, sunny day, and a cool night.
Fuad & I plan to return to Pai next year, not for my birthday weekend but perhaps for the the weekend following, which is when they have their annual reggae festival.
Overall, a wonderful birthday weekend!