A piece of Pai

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To commemorate Makha Bucha Day (Buddhist celebration) and the long weekend, the 3 MHS girls and our friend Claire from Chiang Mai travelled to Pai. Located halfway between Chiang Mai and MHS, about 2.5 hours drive away (135kms), nestled in a large green valley surrounded by mountains, lying along the Pai River is Pai. What probably once was a small rural town, not much different to that of MHS is now a thriving tourist hub for both foreigners and Thais. It has a certain bohemian and hippy feel unlike places I have visited in Thailand. You could almost say it is the Khao San Road of Northern Thailand if this hasn’t been said before.

I was surprised to see just how many western restaurants and cafes were on offer particularly after coming from quiet MHS. On the Sunday we hired a motorbike and visited an elephant camp, Pai Canyon to search for a waterfall walking track and stopped off at the famous café, “Coffee in Love.” This café has featured in two popular Thai made romantic movies and as you can see from the photos Pai does offer some breathtaking scenery. Early the next morning I walked up to Wat Phra That Mae Yen, the temple on a hilltop to get a view overlooking the valley and then joined the girls for a relaxing bathe in Tha Pai Hot springs, nestled amongst a forest.

Being a public holiday we decided to leave early that afternoon and had no luck with getting on the public bus which was full of passengers from Chiang Mai. A man offered to drive us to MHS in a minivan if we could find a total of 10-12 people. I tried to sell the idea to people standing on the bus steps before it departed, Lou was using her promotion skills with other tourists and eventually we got the numbers and didn’t need to wait at the bus stop for another 4 hours to find yet another full bus. The minivan ride will be a memorable one because I think the driver tried to take at least a couple of the hundred curves with him around the mountains and by the end of the journey not only did I want to get out and walk the rest of the way but we were lucky to survive. It was a Thai minivan rollercoaster without the seatbelts!

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Photos

Mae Nam Pai
Pai River runs through the town - you can go white water rafting and bamboo rafting on the river

Cultural celebration
Perhaps in preparation for the Buddhist event - Makha Bucha Day