Before leaving Mae Hong Son we stopped at the market as it is always very interesting for westerners to witness those authentic places that are the locals market. We are always amazed by the number of bikes parked outside the markets...this time we had to park our scooter, it was not that easy to find a free space! Mae Hong Son market is quite small and quick to visit but there was some very interesting stall selling food that we really don't know what it was! The weather was much better so this time we saw all the beautiful landscapes between Mae Hong Son and Soppong. We had to stop at a few army checkpoints on the way to show our passport. There are a lots of army bases along the Myanmar border. We also did a quick stop at Mae Lana, a very poor village located in beautiful landscapes 11km before Soppong. In Soppong we had a nice meal at the Northern Hill guesthouse before continuing our journey to Pai. We were less than 20km away from Pai when it started raining. We stopped for a while and went back on the road...not for long as Laurence drove through fruits squashed on the road and within seconds we were on the floor. Our first scooter accident! We did not drive fast because of the rain so we did not get badly injured...just a few scratches at the elbows and knees on the side we fell. Our scooter had a few scratches also but nothing major. We were soon back on the road and arrived without problems in Pai...no more sliding...Gosia was driving!
