We spent time in Pai

---

http://thailand.sawadee.com/index.html
This link will give you an idea where we were at. We were at Mae Hong Son (#45)

On Dec 25, we left Mae Hong Son to go to Soppong (also called Pang Ma Pha).

http://thailand.sawadee.com/maehongson/map.htm
This map shows Mae Hong Son, Pang Ma Pha & Pai.

It took 2 hours on the public bus. There is a cave called Lod Cave, which is supposed to be quite interesting.

We arrived in Soppong at 12:30 pm, but all the guesthouses were full. It was also raining.

So, we decided to take the next bus and go onto Pai.

After an hour away from Soppong, there is a stretch of road construction for about 2 KM. The bus driver asked all of us to get off the bus, as the road is muddy and slippery. It was wise of him. We walked on the road, while the bus driver drove the bus, and it skidded sideways. It looks like it will hit the side of the hill, but somehow he managed to get the bus safely onto a paved area. We all got back onto the bus, except for one little old Thai lady. We all supposed she hitched a ride with a pickup truck while we all walked.

When we get to Pai, it was raining. Although we have a reservation with a guesthouse, Phyllis asked Gary to check out other guesthouses. He looked around, saw more foreigners (farangs) than Thais, and did not want to stay in Pai for too long.

We were glad we did not leave Pai the next day. The sun started to come out, and we rented a motorbike to an elephant camp.

We rode on an elephant for an hour and a half, through the forest. We have a chair strapped onto the elephant. For most part of the journey, Gary was riding on the neck of the elephant (while the trainer walked). The elephant was a 47 years old female. It was more interested in looking for food, than walking. We find the elephant trainer pretty patient and gentle. For an elephant that is not really cooperating, he did not use any violence, although he has some kind of hook tool with him. The 1.5 hour ride was good enough for us, as we need to use our legs to keep our balance, especially when the elephant was walking downhill. Therefore our legs are tired. The ride cost us 600B (about US$15).

After the elephant ride, we went to Thai Pa Hotsprings, which is 10 minutes away from the elephant camp. We thought it is one of those places that charges about 40B to get in, and you can soak in one of their tubs for about 30 minutes. We were wrong. It was actually a part of a National Park. There is free admission. The hotsprings are natural streams. The park rangers (or someone) used the rocks to build small pools (about 1 foot deep) along the stream. We found a spot and soaked for about 2 hours. It was wonderful, especially with the hotsprings in the natural setting. Camping is allowed at the Hotsprings. We saw candle drippings at the rocks. The campers must have a wonderful time soaking at night, under starlight and candlelight, how romantic !

We enjoyed the hotsprings so much, we went back everyday for the next 3 days.

After we were finished with soaking at the Hotsprings, we went to the Pai Canyon. It is a small canyon, but about 200 feet deep. Most of the trails ride the ridges of the canyon, and some parts are narrow that it is pretty scary.

On the second day, Dec 27 Tuesday, we went straight to the hot springs right after breakfast. We bought raw eggs (3 in a little basket, 20B) from the Hotsprings store. We took the eggs up to the hottest pool (80 degree C) and cooked it for 15 minutes and got soft boiled eggs. We soaked in pools about 50 yards downstream and the temperature was (estimated) to be about 40 to 45 degrees C. We have a different and a better spot this time. The pool was fed by a very hot stream and and a cooler stream. We divert the streams with rocks and mix the water to a more comfortable temperate. It was so much fun that we soaked for 3 hours this time. After a short ride (about 12 Km) back to Pai for lunch, we head out to a near by waterfall (about 17 Km away). The waterfall was not very attractive, the water is muddy, but the ride to get there on the bike was fun. The ride was even longer when we get lost on the return trip. We also ventured into a Chinese refuge (KuoMingTong) village, like Mae Aw.

On the third day, Dec 28, we tried to go to Huai Nam Dang National Park. Well, we didn't make it because Gary chickened out after going about 20 Km. The road was hilly, twisty and some curves were so steep, it is like running into a wall with full throttle in first gear. Besides, there was quite a bit of traffic on that mornig.
After the nerve racking ride, Gary has just to calm himself down. Where else to go? Relax in the hotsprings of course! Which is on the way back to town anyway. After 2 hours of hot water relaxation treatment, which is not enough, we went to a hilltribe village where we each get an hour of Thai massage at 100B/hr. It was the best massage we had so far in the journey. It was so good that Phyllis wanted more the next day.

On the fourth day, Dec 29 Thurday, we went back for another hour of Thai massage in the afternoon, but not before we have our 2 hour of hotspings in the morning.

Life is so good at Pai that it sounds almost ... boring !!!

To summarize, we rented a motorbike and went to the hotsprings everyday in Pai. We had an elephant ride, visited a canyon, a waterfall, and almost a national park. (But we did pass by the gate of the park on our way to Chiang Mai two days later)

We eat like a pig in Pai like in Mae Hong Son. Maybe not as bad. Street vendors are just 20 meters away from our room. We can hear them, we can smell their food. Our minds are weak. We had:
Roti's (5B plain, 10B with whole banana),
BBQ chicken (30B),
sticky rice (5B),
papaya salad (20B) ,
paper thin cripy crepe (15B),
Soya milk (3B) and
tiny chinese donuts (1B each),
spring rolls, (5B each)

I (Gary) enjoyed riding the motorbike and praised Phyllis' courage to sit behind me for all that time 😉

---