Pai in the sky

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Wow....we finally found Asian Nirvana. Pai is a wonderland. Located about 2.5 hours northwest of Chiang Mai (near the border of Burma/Myanmar), Pai is a beautiful little town which has the most amazing mix of Thai and American counter-culture. Pai (as it is today) was put on the map in the 1960's when various ex-pats from the U.S. and Europe decided that it would be a good idea to settle in a little village where the temperature is more moderate, the landscape is incredible, and the living is cheap. Pai is now filled with this wild blend of native Thai hippies (old and young) as well as foreign (farang) hippies. It is a unique blend of cultures which shows itself in the great music and bar scene, awesome restaurants, and spa resorts dotting the countryside. There's also this beautiful river which snakes through town.
Donna and I started off our adventure in Pai with our best investment to date... spending 100 baht (3 dollars) on a scooter for a day. We drove around Pai and checked out the beautiful countryside. Along the way we decided to take an elephant trek through the jungle. It culminated in a bath for the elephant and both of us in the Pai river. After our elephant trek we made our way to this awesome restaurant with a breathtaking view of Pai. Then we took a hike in Pai canyon which had awesome sandstone pathways with sharp drop-offs on either side. Later that night we went to a couple of bars with DJ's and a live band.
Today Donna and I started off our day with a soak in Pai's own natural hot spring water followed by a 2 hour Thai massage at "Spa Exotic". Good times...good times.
Tomorrow, we're taking a plane to Luang Prabang in Laos. We've heard so many great things about this next city. We're extremely excited.
Life has been treating us great in Asia so far. We hope everyone back home is doing well.

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Photos

Welcome to paradise!
Pai kicks ass. Our first day started off with this beautiful sight....definitely a good sign!

Good times....
Man...I look like such a bad-ass on this 100cc purple scooter.

Baan Pai bungalow
Our bungalow is on the left. Our bungalow is part of this awesome village of bungalows. There are little streams filled with koi fish along the walkways.

our elephant trek
our asses are still sore from this ride!

water for elephants
Lorin getting dirty...

Donna eating native northern Thai food
this restaurant was amazing.

Donna in Pai canyon
We checked out the sunset from here.

Pai canyon @ sunset
really beautiful...and the canyon and sunset looked good too! ; )

Comments

[Amanda]

Amazing!
I am so jealous. What an awesome advenute for both of you. And Lorin -- you should take many more elephant baths. It looks so clean and so fresh. Love you guys! A

[Trevor]

Elephants
My biggest regret from my trip to Asia was that I didn't hang out with an elephant. That is so cool. At least I will get to ride a camel when I go to Israel next month. That will be a very lucky camel.

[Jon Vogel]

Who is bathing who?
Your trip sounds fantastic. I hope that there was nothing wierd in the water, other than you and the elephant. Check your shorts for leaches. We just got back from Scotland and are jet lagged. Good trip. Your photos look amazing. Sissy and I look forward to the next update. Mom and Dad.

[Heather]

Glad to hear things are going well, and you're safe. Can't wait until I see you guys in July to tell you our good news, so I'm posting on the blog with the beautiful rainbow!! Donna, you're going to be a new auntie....of a baby girl!!! Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. Miss you. Love Heather

[Mel]

amazing
Everything looks so amazing. What an awesome experience. Enjoy every minute of it, I'm sure the time will fly. Glad to here you two are enjoying yourselves.

[Debi G]

WOW!!
This is awesome, LOVE the pictures, Love your stories, I just had to catch up on your entire trip today, but I will be sure to keep up now! What a great way to keep in touch with everyone. Thanks for the "thai" lesson, I'm going to start speaking it at work! Donna, you are a legend at Katzen Eye Group... PTL, Big Daddy, Janna, Marty, Bao, Karl and I wish you well on this fabulous adventure... I cannot wait to hear what you two do next!!! (Two hour massages, i might be on the next plane...) Deb