Pai

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We arrived in Chaing Mai in the early morning having taken the overnight but from Bangkok. We spend only a few hours in the town before deciding to head further north to the viallage of Pai.

We caught a rickshaw to the bus station and caught the local bus to Pai. Four hours later and a bit sore from the bumpy, twisty ride, we arrived in Pai to find a small town and the sun shining. We found a place to stay quickly (Blue Lagoon Hotel) and immediately ventured out to get someting to eat.

It wasn't long until we found out that this sleepy town was ravaged weeks ago by a massive overflow from the river that runs through town. Most of the riverside huts and restaurants were wiped out.

The next day we rented a scooter and took in the sights including a small waterfall, two temples and the river (seeing the damage first hand). In the late afternoon, we both got massages at Twins. A downpour occured as our messages ended so we had to ride the scooter in the rain back to our guesthouse. At night we attended the open mic night at Walk In bar but neither of us ventured on the stage.

The next day, we rode the scooter up to the Temple on the Hill before we boarded a noon bus back to Chaing Mai.

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Photos

bike Gang
early Sunday morning rides pose outside gate in Chaing Mai.

Scary local bus
With no room for my knees, I crammed into this small bus for a four hour, twisty road climb over the hills to Pai.

Flood Damage
Only weeks ago the river overflowed fiercely. You can see the damage to some of the riverside huts.

Locals
On my way back from making a call to the US, I snap this photo as the rain finally stopped.

Street View
This is the view looking down one of the 10 or so streets of Pai. Notice the plethora of scooters. Steve, I am gaining expertise on the subject for our shop in Angola.

Chorta
Small temple chorta in Pai.

Temple
One of the temples in the Pai area. I liked how their orange and yellow cleaning on the line compared to the green of the trees and blue of the sky.

River damage
Tamar and I pose on the rocks of the river which only weeks earlier had tore through the valley (notice the fallen trees on the sides of river).

Scooter boy
I gave up on my "macho" motorcycle needs and rented a scooter (125 cc) cause that is the economical and environmental thing to do. I did run into a bit of difficulty navigating through some muddy paths with the narrow tires on the scooter but my driving expertise pulled us through.

Fruit Stand
This farmer hawks his fresh fruits at the local street fair. The strange looking pink fruit in the front is Mango (I think).

Thai fun
I play on a large wooden/steel rocking horse with this young Thai boy.

Scooter Time
No matter the weather, it is always time to ride your scooter in Thailand. Here I am with a poncho as the monsoon pours down.

Dragon on the hilll
There is a temple on the hill in Pai that also has great views of the village.

Sleeping Buddha
On its side, this Buddha is more than 20 feet long.

Flowers at the Temple
Something about the colors caught my eye.

Color Tiles
These color tiles are used for the walkway that surrounds the temple on the hill.

Pai from Temple
The village of Pai from the Temple on the Hill.

Dragon Stairway
The long stairway up to the temple has the dragons body for its railings.