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Published: October 5th 2013
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Pai...well...let's just say I can now say "yes" when someone asks me if I have ever been to Pai. It's been many years of people telling me "it's such a special place", or "you will LOVE Pai". When I ask them why it is so important that I need to go there, they say such things as "live music everywhere", "small mountain town", "it's just a special place", or many other phrases about it's wonderfulness without any specific reasons. Just the feeling of the town.
After being in Pai for at least a week, here is my impressions of this place. A backpacker haven whose only difference from that of places like Vang Vieng in Laos, Ko Phangnan, or Sihanoukville in Cambodia, is that it is a smaller town, the streets are narrower, and the locals are actually really friendly. This also seems to be a hotbed for traveling hippies, or aspiring ones. Also, I have never met so many Canadians in Asia thus far.Canada (meaning all people from Canada, you don't get names), I love you.
I spend my days in fear of being run over by a drunk 20 year old riding a moped for his first
Michelle, going native
The bartender at our favorite wore this every night. Very beautiful, but confusing. time. The town is like a walking urgent care ward. The doctor here makes a fortune in selling bandages and antibiotics. My friend had to go one night for an infection he had and the doctor was wearing a pink shirt, wore sunglasses the whole time (it was midnight), and looked and acted like a Thai gangster. If you want to run a small clinic in Thailand, this is the place. This also seems to be a popular place for Muay Thai boxing, so a lot of the injuries you see are from that, as well as people falling off their scooters. The other side of this town's tourism revolves around yoga and meditation. For a lot of people it is a very special place where they can relax, find themselves, and write their next novel. Not so much for me.
The one new and unique thing I did experience here was my first Thai boyfriend. Well, he thought he was my boyfriend. The extent of our "relationship", which lasted an astounding 2 days, was his telling me constantly that I was breaking his heart by not letting him touch me. He was in his mid-twenties, but I felt
Beetle fight!
Hard to actually see the beetles, but the man in the background makes the picture. like I was being courted by a 13 year old boy. He was aggressive and well trained in the art of "guilt tripping". Luckily, he found a new victim, after asking me if it was ok of course. Easiest break up ever. He promised me a necklace, which I am still waiting for.
We have met some nice people here and had some fun nights out. I witnessed my first beetle fight. Thank you Canada for finding me on the street and yelling "come with me NOW!", and dragging me into an alley where my world was forever changed. It was similar to a cock fight but with beetles. The stage was surrounded by beetles tied into ropes getting amped up for their match. The beetles were put onto a log, and a man on each side aggravated his beetle by poking them and shaking noise makers until it started to attack the other beetle. Bets were and shouts were flying between the Thai men. It was marvelous for about 1 minute, and then I walked next door to the bar.
Our time in Pai is over. We have decided to leave rainy Thailand and head to Laos,
back to Thakhek and Green Climbers Home, where we can climb and chill out for a month disconnected from internet and the crowded tourist trail. All in all, Pai wasn't so bad. I am glad I had no built in expectations. I finished 3 books and met some nice people. We stayed in a really nice place as well. It was called Evergreen Guesthouse, and was cheap and the owners are amazing. I highly recommend this place to anyone passing through Pai.
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