Pai-Land Chapter 1

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This blog by Lucas:

After a short one-hour flight on Lao Airlines, which many foreign embassies and international businesses will not let their people fly on, we arrive to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai (pop. 200K) is the major cultural and economic center of northern Thailand, and is supposedly famed for its art, temples, culture, and nightlife. We are a bit disappointed by its hazy skies (all of SE Asia is on fire at the moment - slash and burn farming) and unattractive buildings, especially compared to places like Hoi An and Luang Prabang. We had met a girl on our bus to Vang Vieng in Laos who recommended a cool little hotel called Pagoda Inn, and it was there that we fortuitously met some new friends who ran a guest house (Paddy Fields) in Pai (3 hours north), so we decided to bail on Chiang Mai and head for higher hills and a smaller town the next day.

But of course we had to do Chiang Mai justice for one night, so with our new friends Sara/Pishta/John/Asala we proceeded to toast to new friends with some unbelievably smooth vodka acquired from some Ukranian chaps the night before (thanks John), followed by dinner at an upscale restaurant called MAZE that basically sold the same food you find on the street but in nicer surroundings, followed by drinks with the local moneyed college crowd at some live music venues, followed by a visit to the disco Bubbles, where we tried our hardest to figure out which of the beautiful thai women were actually women. There are some more stories from this night but they are not fit for public internet consumption - this is a family-oriented TravelBlog.

So the next day we take a cramped minivan on a super windy road into the mountains. It is hard to describe Pai - there is a certain essential Pai-ness to it. It is not really Thai, but it is not touristy either - it is Pai-Land, a little oasis stuck in the middle of nowhere in the Golden Triangle. It is what happens when you mix Jazz musicians, chefs, bikers, hippy Thais, muslim Chinese, ex-corporate expats, lost souls, opium dealers, artists, backpackers, entrepreneurs, and street vendors in a beautiful mountain environment by a river and demand that everybody chill out, be peaceful and make merriment. It is one of the few places in Asia we have seen where everyone hangs out together regardless of being a local Thai, local Farang* or traveling Farang.

After a few days in a bungalow right on the river, we move to Pai Chan Cottages in the countryside, which perhaps is the nicest place you can reside for a night on this planet in the $10-$15 price range (you can find a bungalow in Pai for $5 a night, but hey, we are big spenders). It is run by a man and wife (Ae) and their daughter (Hanom Tee), and you basically feel like you are guests in their amazing home rather than at a hostel or resort.

By day two local business owners and new friends are waving to us in the street, and for the first time on this trip we feel like we are 'home' and not really travelers anymore. We easily fill our days with thai cooking lessons, Jazz concerts at the post office, partying at Bepop's live music bar, moped-ing through the countryside, checking out the elephant camps, hanging out at Paddy Fields' excellent outdoor lounge and cafe with John/Faye/Sara/Pishta/the crazy Scottish couple, and swimming in the pool at Pai

We decide that Pai will remain home for our soon-to-arrive visitors Jake & Alexis, so we will take up Chapter 2 in the next blog.

* Farang (in Thai: ฝรั่ง), sometimes pronounced falang, is the generic Thai word for a white foreigner. While generally farang is a neutral word, it can be used in a mocking manner or even as an insult depending on context.

Recommendations in Pai:

Stay at Paddy Field's or Pai Chan Cottages - don't even bother looking elsewhere we already checked them all out.

Bepop's for loud live music

Phu Pai Cafe for mellow live music

Fubar to get fubar'd late, late night

Bebe's Wok'n'Roll Cooking Class

Pagoda Inn (Chiang Mai)

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Photos

View from our bungalow
The whole wall opened up so you could essentially sleep outside with the rice and cows

Sara and Pishta
sorry if I spelled your name wrong Peeshka!

Saturday Night at Bepop Bar
It was a busy night as the guy who writes Lonely Planet Thailand was playing in the band for the bar's 5th anniversary

Making thai curry
no joke, the best we've ever eaten