Finding Nic.k.o

We left the Mindfulness Project heading up North towards Chiang Mai.

Little did we know that our adventure was only starting.

One of the only connections we had in Thailand was a friend of Liam’s called Lorenz. He is currently working in Pai, building a little community projects with some locals. He invited us over so we were planning on staying in Chiang Mai for one night and head over to Pai the day after.

Chiang Mai

We travelled from the project with three volunteers and new friends Andrea, Richard and Marine. We got to Chiang Mai and found a place to stay, grabbed some food with these guys and got a text from Lorenz informing us that his friend Nick, who was also staying in Chiang Mai, was travelling to Pai very soon. We went on our way to find him, thinking we could do the trip together.

When we got to his hostel, the Pineapple Express, how disappointing! We only just missed him.

Because it was hot and we had walked all this way and we didn’t know what better to do we decided to sit at the bar and get some coco juice. Within 30 seconds of being there Liam got into a lively conversation with an American couple. (Liam has this outstanding ability to engage with people and create a strong connection with them in very little time. I have witnessed this phenomenon happen many times and it still amazes me. To the point that I sometimes arrive in the middle of a conversation he is having with a complete stranger to me and I assume they already know each other very well. I stand there expecting to be introduced only to realise that they have only just met 5 minutes before and he does not even know their name yet. Always found this funny.) Within 3 minutes of this conversation this American couple respectively Keany and Tommy, had let us know that they were off for their annual trip back home in a couple of days and they were offering us their house and their cat to look after for the next couple of weeks.

It took me a while to actually digest what had just happened. We had spent the night in a bus, had walked around Chiang Mai in the sun to find Nick who was not even in town anymore but instead we found a free house to stay… With a cat!!

Keane explained to us that they were supposed to leave the house to their other friend Nico but Nico had left about 10 days ago for a Visa run in Laos and he hadn’t come back yet. They were getting quite worried about it. They were glad to know their house was not going to be empty now they’d met us but were feeling guilty of leaving the country while not having heard from their friend, who could be in any kind of tricky situation, so they assumed, lost in the middle of South East Asia.

Eager to help and excited by the perspective of a new pirate adventure, we decided to launch the campaign Finding Nico. We imagined the T-shirt, started planning the videos and we planned on meeting up with these guys on the following day to move in to their house and get on the track-down.

Lamphun

So here we are, the next morning, riding our just rented motorbike (feeling like gangsters driving on two wheels, ignoring the fact that it is only a little red Scoopy I) towards the little town of Lamphun. Liam is having all of the fun driving, I am hanging on the back, trying not to get too scared when he powers through a red light or slaloms between two pickups.

^{The view from Keane and Tommy's house}

We arrive at our new friends’ house and as soon as we get off the bike who comes to welcome us at the door? Nico, their lost housekeeper, who made it back the day before their departure and introduces himself with a huge smile on his face. Somewhat glad that he is found, and putting aside our plan for the Finding Nico campaign, we only get happier when we start chatting to Nico and get to know our new housemate. He is a lovely charming Swedish guy, and also a chef (that only makes things better, right…)

^{Nico and I cooking dinner}

Pai

Settled in a bit and remembering our friend Lorenz after all of this action of the last couple of days, we jump back on the bike the next morning to face up the 762 turns between Chiang Mai and Pai. Once again the passenger on the back of the bike, I attempt to be as light as possible and we both fly up in about 4 hours. In Pai, we were advised to go and check out the bar Valhalla, and upon arrival we are thrilled to find this guys called Nick. Lorenz’s friend.

^{A little statue in a café on the way to Pai}

Now, let’s rewind a little. The only reason why we went to the Pineapple Express in Chiang Mai in the first place, where we met Keane and Tommy, was to find Nick. That led us to a 48 hours madness of renting a motorbike, moving into new place, planning out a Finding Nico campaign, riding up to Pai and finally finding Nick there.

Having this pleasant feeling of having closed down a circle, we enjoyed our couple of days in Pai and rode back to our new house, and our new little cat.

^{This adorable yet very needy little thing}