February 17th - 19th

Owner of " coffee in love" let us fly from their property. Cute toilet sign.
Bottom field was full of horses, but didn't seem to mind the noise of the burners.
My favourite house on top of the hill. Actually got paying passengers for this afternoons flight. So far the afternoon winds have taken us towards the mountains, resulting in a 10-15 min flight. The winds seem to die about 6.30, but by then the sun's setting and it's too dark to fly. Will try one more time, then start looking for other launch sites further back towards the base of the mountains to the west.
Flight lasted 15 mins, sat on the ground for 10 mins waiting for winds to change/die ,but nothing happened. Customers were still happy with flight, but decided to take them up again tomorrow morning.
Once the sun sets, it gets dark pretty quickly. Couldn't find any champagne in town, so we had wine coolers. Cake and fruit are served for the picnic.
In the evening, the crew showed us how to use the korean BBQ plate we bought at the market. Thin slices of chicken and pork are placed on the plate, and the drippings go into a soup funnel around the edges. Cabbage, mushrooms, stock, toms, and herbs are added. Great meal, will definately try this when we get home.
Nice way to relax, ate too much as grazed all evening long. The crew were great company, even with limited english we all talked , laughed and ate well.
This is our open kitchen. The owner built this himself, the stairs lead to an enclosed bedroom for the manager of the units. It's amazing what can be cooked on a 2 ring propane gas unit. They use the Wok, as the main cooking vessel, and usually a large pot for the soup. Everthing has tasted great. The open style allows for the afternoon winds to cool everyone down.

This is our view from the kitchen. Not a bad way to wake up each morning.
The next morning, we flew towards the coffee house.
Coffee in love, one of the main attractions of Pai. Hoping to get the attention of the coffee drinkers.

One of the coffee decks has a garden on top. This guy has to be careful where he stands, when he's doing the weeding.
Didn't make the coffee landing, but enough people saw the balloon-good advertising.
The next morning, we took up the general manager of a fancy resort, to get the word out. She has a great flight, and invited us back to the resort for breakfast. We had a choice of western or Thai breakfast. We opted for western, bacon and eggs for a change!! Nicely landscaped resort with fancy rooms. All for $50 per night.
In the afternoon, we went to check out Pai Canyon. Quite a nice place with numerous walking paths along the "canyon" edge. Nice views from up there, but some of the paths were only 12' wide, so you have to be VERY careful as there is a sheer drop on each side!

The paths go along the top of these cliffs. Quite a nice place to hike.
Some of the paths included climbing up the rocks. We had trouble as we had our flip flops on!! Decided to try this tomorrow with our boots on.
Tourist board showing Pai Canyon.
Derek found an afternoon launch site . As far west as we could go, but there was a forest fire on the mountain, about 50meters from the road. We decided to go for it anyway.
Setting up on the road.
Inflation went good despite all the smoke around. Wind was going in the right direction.
Took off , heading towards the mountains to the east.
As we were packing up, firetruck arrived to put out the forest fire. (Ongoing problem here) But not before watching the balloon, and taking photos and talking to the crew. Not many people have seen balloons before, so there's a lot of interest.
Did get a 25 min flight in, but not enough to justify advertising afternoon flights. Landed at a resort at the base of the east mountains. Lots of interest, but mainly backpackers who are on a budget. Think we should stick to the fancy resorts.
In the evening, we had to do a night glow 9 pm to midnight. Captain Jack Sparrow turned up, so we had to get him in the basket!! Great guy, as he walked around getting people to try the tether. Seems he has a stall down the market , and most people know him.
Just an update, Amy was released from the hospital with a weeks supply of anti-biotics, and despite feeling weak is doing well. The other guys seemed okay after a days rest. Language barrier prevented us from all the details, but they were all okay to crew for the evenings flight, so we think they're okay!! Derek and myself had no problems. Think we've picked up enough bacteria on our travels to cope with most thing now!