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Pai
THE river of PaiI can hear my dad sing that same song every time we pull out of the driveway: "
....on the road again...", and that's exactly what I was thinking when I took off for Pai this past weekend. I left Friday afternoon with two friends; 128 kilometers/80 miles and probably about 431 twists and turns, we finally arrived in the small, somewhat hippie town called
Pai.
Friday: We arrived late in the afternoon, around 1600 hours and with no reservations we take off to find lodging. We agreed to have it be as cheap as possible so we head to THE river; I was told that lodging is cheaper on the other side of the river. Sounds good to me! We check the first place, Bamboo Bar, which apparently also has "huts" as accommodation. Earlier that week we met a German woman who recommend this place to us, so we checked it out - looks fine! The setting is great and the hut makes a good story to tell (as you can see in the pictures). It stands up on eight concrete/wooden legs and our bathroom is attached somewhere in the back. Not sure if you can tell but the roof
Pai
The huts you see is also the place where we stayed, Bamboo Bar (and Huts). was made out of banana leaves! But hey, for 150 Baht ($4.40) a night AND split among three people, is fine with me!!
We drop our bags and take off to explore! First thing we do, besides taking loads of photos, is eat. We had lunch at The House and I had this delicious yellow curry, but like always, before ordering, you get the inevitable question: "
You want cheecken or pork?", "
No thanks, JAY please...yellow curry JAY." The woman nods and takes off to put in our orders. "Jay" means "vegetarian", something extremely crucial to know when traveling in Thailand as a vegetarian; it's probably also one of the first things I learned: "
Gin jay" ("
I'm vegetarian").
I decided to keep somewhat of a "photography food diary" while in Pai so I added a couple of photos of some of the amazing things I ate. It's been difficult, for me, to find legit salads in Chiang Mai (although I just found a delicious "salad stand" on Monday!), so I decided to splurge a little while in Pai. And I also have to admit that I have treated myself to
Starbucks three times already since I found one 10
minutes from my "house". Every now and then you just need a Double Tall Soy Latte, even in 32°C/90°F weather (I don't like cold coffee anyway)!
Anyway, Pai is truly only four streets big, or small, whichever way you look at it. There are restaurants and cafes all along the streets, every other building is a tattoo shop where they also advertise "bamboo tattooing", little cute cafes offer health shakes/smoothies and wheat grass shots, people ride around on either bicycles or motorbikes/scooters, and everyone knows each other! As the evening rolls around, locals slowly open up more stores and set up shop along the street selling tribal clothing, shoes, bikinis, earrings, necklaces, souvenirs, rings, and of course, more food!
Saturday: As my two friends take off for elephant riding, something which I did last summer and didn't feel like doing again, I slowly make my way to the Witching Well for breakfast. After strolling around town on the beautiful (but sticky) Saturday morning and taking some pictures, I grab a small table in the corner of the quiet restaurant. Everything in Pai does seem a little more pricey than in Chiang Mai, but I decide to splurge a
Dinner @ The House
Yellow curry and brown rice little since I'm on "vacation" for the weekend. Chocolate-nut pancake with coffee (I brought my own unsweetened soy milk to add to the coffee since many of the soy milks I have been finding here add some kind of sweetener). As I sit at my table, enjoying my breakfast, writing and doing some work for WEAVE, the inevitable happens: An elderly woman, who doesn't speak any English, and child come by the restaurant, make their way over to my table (since it's right at the front) and try to sell me all sorts things so "her child can eat". Now, I add the quotations marks because unfortunately so many people in developing countries, in my experience, use this phrase to sell their products to foreigners. I have even witnessed parents/adults sending out kids to tug on people's clothing, begging for food or money, and then running back to hand their winnings over. With this in mind, I thank the woman but tell her I'm not interested. She then starts taking all the Vera Bradley-looking wallets and purses out of her plastic bag, points toward the kid and then moves her hand towards her mouth. The fact that the kid keeps
One Love
Bob's everywhere! eying my choco-nut pancake isn't helping either. I look around the restaurant and notice the only other person sitting in the restaurant, a western man, is not trying to help. I am on my own; even the restaurant staff are not trying to "shoo" them away. I know, it's terrible, but I refuse to give in. I thank her again and start writing again. She finally walks away.
I struggle and tell myself that I'll get something later, maybe even buy the woman and child lunch if I see them again. What are the chances of that happening in such a small town? I don't know.
Almost three hours later, after a glorious breakfast, a serious intrapersonal conflict and meeting several unique characters, I leave to explore a little more of Pai (PS. the woman and child passed the restaurant once more while I was there). I buy some water from a local convenient store run by a blind man and make my way over across the street. As I am about to sit down to figure out where the local fruit/veggie market is, I see, lo and behold, the woman and child! I smile and wave to
Pai
One of the ....maybe four streets in Pai. NOTE: Witching Well, THE best restaurant in town! them. Although confused at first, they motion for me to come over. Since I was kind of settled on the sidewalk, I pack up my things only to see them walking over to me already. Again, the woman tries to sell me her goodies and although I believe in simplicity and not buying all those "gimme things" or dust catchers, I give in and prepare to strike a deal with her. I mean, after all, I did always want a pen/pencil bag (in Dutch:
pennenetui - is handig dadelijk voor bij de UvA haha)! So for 30 Baht ($0.88) I buy the little bag she picks out for me. Then, as I promised myself, I ask her and the kid if they want an ice cream. They don't understand so I motion for them to walk with me back to the convenient store. I point to the freezer and tell them to pick out an ice cream. The boy's brown eyes light up as he picks out some 8 Baht ($0.23) chocolate and vanilla ice cream. I motion for the woman to also pick out an ice cream. As they sit down on the curb, I pay the cashier,
Bamboo Hut
This is our hut, which consisted of a bed, mosquito net, a fan... who was curiously looking over along with some other locals. I sit down across from them and ask if it's ok to take some pictures; she nods and smiles. They enjoy their ice cream and I snap some photos. As we say good bye, she keeps giving me the thumbs up saying "
Good, good!" and "
thank you". To show my respect, I press my palms together and place them near my chest, bow down and thank her in Thai, "
khob kun ka"; we part ways.
I think that was my favorite part the weekend!
Later that afternoon I met up with my friends again for lunch. Afterwards we strolled around town since that's one of the main things you can do in a town that's only four streets big. We found the afternoon market and bought some fruit. Saturday evening was spent eating delicious Falafel at Mama Falafel, having drinks at makeshift bar in the streets and chatting it up with locals until early in the morning.
Sunday: After packing up our things, we set off for breakfast. In Chiang Mai my breakfast usually consists of muesli, fresh fruit and either yogurt or soy milk. In Pai,
Bamboo Hut
Our yard... however, both mornings I had pancakes...YUM! Sunday morning I had apple-cinnamon pancakes, enough said; they were amazing! Care to guess what we did after breakfast? We walked around haha we finally settled in my favorite restaurant, the Witching Well, for lunch. I tried a shot of wheat grass which was great! If you haven't had one before, try it, it's interesting! After our meals and making new friends, we walked to the bus station and left for Chiang Mai at 14:30, arriving back "home" at 1800 hours. Off to the Sunday Walking Market again!
Chiang Mai
In Chiang Mai, I spend anywhere from $3.50 - $30 per week on things such as food, water/coffee, transportation/travel, etc. There are a couple markets around Chiang Mai where I buy local fruits which I have for breakfast. I'll also have muesli with soy milk, which I buy from the grocery and keep in my room. Lunch and dinner usually consists of random street stands/vendor, where I have delicious
Pad Thai Jay or
Pad Pak Ruam Jay, vegetables with rice, for only 25 Baht ($0.73). As I mentioned before though, I now found a salad stand, which will
Bamboo Hut
...our bathroom... become my new best friend. Unfortunately the guest house in which I'm staying,
Walai House, won't let me use their stove so I can't do much cooking. Last week, I did some grocery shopping and forgot I couldn't use the stove. I bought spaghetti sauce and whole wheat pasta but they would not let me make it. I couldn't return it so I had to get creative....Dear Google: How to cook pasta in a microwave? I tried to speed up the cooking time by adding boiling water into the biggest bowl they had, which really wasn't that big at all. Long story short, I sent my friend on a mission: Find us a stove!! Five minutes later, "
Nikki, I found a stove around the corner that we can use!" In Thailand, many of the houses have little shops in front of their houses, selling fruits, veggies, meat and fish which have been marinating in the sun all day, snack items and random household supplies. So with our pots and pans, we wobble a block over, greet the family and their friends, "
sawadika", and begin cooking away. Fifteen minutes later, a solid conversation with intrigued locals, and buying a bundle of bananas
(15 Baht) from them since they wouldn't accept our money, we walk back over to have our dinner!
To end, something completely different, Michael Jackson's passing. I am still in shock about it. Although he has nothing to do with this blog, I find meaning in many of his songs/lyrics, one of which being the following:
As I turned up the collar on
A favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind
Pretending not to see their needs
A summer's disregard
A broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They follow each other
On the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know
Michael Jackson, King of Pop, may you rest in peace.
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Oliva
non-member comment
Lieve Nikki,
Wat leuk weer wat van je te horen, en fijn dat we even mogen 'meereizen'. Geniet van al je ervaringen, want voor je het weet zit je weer aan de studie... We zien elkaar sowieso in augustus geloof ik, en hopelijk ook wat vaker gedurende je Amsterdamtijd! Heel veel liefs en groetjes van ons allemaal.