I should have listened to the bike-rental-man who muttered something about "needing gears" to get to the waterfall. It didn't really matter, I didn't get to the waterfall anyway.

Eager to see a few sights (before returning to the hammock), I started the hot, slow, five kilometre (uphill) ride to the waterfall but ended up at a Chinese Village, about five kilometres out of Pai.

And then I saw her. Resplendent in red, traditional Chinese clothing, sitting on a horse, being led along a dirt path. So of course I followed her. It transpired that she was a TV star, filming a documentary, with the final dramatic scene at a Chinese castle/fort-like structure that just did not seem to belong. Not wanting to look too obvious, I followed them, waving and taking photos. After all, it's not often I get to mix with celebrities (and she just loved the adoration). The Chinese Village was an amazing mix of traditional, gaudy and just plain interesting stuff. And there was lots of very photogenic corn.

My celebrity red lady appeared again later that evening, filming at the market restaurant where I had dinner (no, I was not stalking them). I went on to stare at my new celebrity friend, before being joined for a meal by a Thai Tourist Policeman of the non-corrupt variety. He shared with me his disappointment about how little respect many travellers show for the Thai culture. In his words "in your country, would the men eat in a restaurant with no shirt on"?

Hard to argue with that.