A delicious slice of Pai...

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There is a lot of love for Pai in North West Thailand, and after spending a few days there it's easy to see why. The small town has so much to offer travellers with it's bohemian relaxed feel, cheap accomodation, good food, beautiful scenery and lots of activities around the area, we can't believe we haven't been before. Most people come for a couple of days and end up staying much, much longer as Pai is just so endearing and easy to hang out in. The mini-van journey there from Chiang Mai was pretty hairy with the driver going at break neck speeds the whole way and the 762 bends being very windy, luckily we didn't get travel sick like we heard many people do, and three hours later we had arrived on Pai's 'walking street'. We quickly found a great room round the corner, went for a stroll around the town and had some lunch, knowing straight away we would love it here and already planning out our next few days.

When we had arrived in the day it was hot and sunny, and we had heard it got cold at night but weren't too worried about it, until we went out that evening and after an hour had to buy second hand jumpers because we were freezing after sending all our warm clothes home from Vietnam last month! We found a great restaurant for dinner called Mama Falafel and as we didn't fancy Thai food we had a feast of home made humus, warm pitta, fresh salad, chips and of course, falafel (and chicken schnitzel) which went down a treat - Pai has a lot of great Western food options if you need something different, although the Thai food we would have here was very good as well. As it was so cold we popped into a small cafe for hot chocolate and an epic game of Jenga before getting an early night - luckily our room wasn't too cold and we had a big blanket so slept really well.

On our first full day in Pai we rented out a moped so we could get out and explore the countryside which the town is so well known for. It was surprisingly chilly in the morning on the bike so after getting some petrol we had to go back to the room for a jumper for Vic, then we were on the way. First we drove to a nearby Wat which as always in Thailand, was very decorative and filled with Buddha statues and offerings. Then we continued on the road passing some great scenery until we got a lovely waterfall tucked away in the hills which was nice to see, the potholed road on the way back wasn't so nice though. Our last stop was a Chinese Village, which we thought was an actual Chinese settlement but was instead a man-made tourist attraction trying to emulate a Chinese town - it was pretty but not authentic at all. In the afternoon we chilled out at a pool called Fluid just outside of town with Amber and Jim who we met at Xmas in Koh Chang and were also in Pai, so it was good to catch up with them, as well as our friend Steve who had caught up with us again after spending some more time down on the islands and Kayzo, a friendly Japanese guy who Steve had met on the bus over. That night we all went to The Curry Shack in town for a yummy and cheap dinner and this is where we first tried Kao Soy curry, a Northern dish a bit like an Indian/yellow curry which was delicious, before heading to Ting Tong bar for a few drinks and games of cards around a bonfire. The bar scene here is quite relaxed with either chill out music or live bands playing (usually reggae), and most are open air so usually have a fire going to keep everyone warm which creates a nice atmosphere. We checked out a few other bars in town later that night but they were all pretty quiet so we headed back about 2am after another lovely evening in Pai.

The next day was about to be one of our best day’s on the road yet. Along with Steve, Amber and Kayzo, the five of us set off on moto-bikes for an epic adventure. First we grabbed a bit of breakfast in the form of our cheap and cheerful toasted sandwiches from the 7/11, then we headed out of town to a beautiful Wat perched high up on the side of a mountain. We all parked our bikes then started the ascent to the Wat via at least 300 steep steps but were rewarded by amazing panoramic views over the whole of Pai once we reached the top. We then explored the Wat which was, as usual, very decorative with lots of gold and Buddha statues inside it. After spending some time up there we climbed down to our bikes and continued on the road heading towards the hot springs, passing some incredible scenery, but before we got there we made another stop at an elephant camp which was just by the side of the road. We took it in turns to feed a huge nelly with bananas and bamboo which she scoffed and seemed to enjoy, and we did too – it’s not every day you get to be so close to one of these amazing animals. Back on our bikes we passed another elephant camp which we had heard of called Thom’s so stopped there to feed some more elephants and ended up booking onto a river trek for later that afternoon! We eventually got to the hot springs, which are in a national park, and managed to use our student cards for the first time since leaving China to get us all in for 100 Baht instead of 200 Baht, parked the bikes and headed in to the park. The hot springs are made up of several natural pools of different temperatures with minerals inside them so are really good for your skin and we wasted no time getting into the first pool which was a warm 32 degrees. It was awesome to be sitting in these pools with just nature around us, and we tried out a few other pools too but the hottest I could manage was 37 degrees – Scott had a dip in one which was 39 degrees and came out pretty red – and we then found one which was 90 degrees and could be used to boil eggs in but sadly we didn’t have any to try it out.

It was then time to head back to Thom’s and get ready for our river trek with the elephants which we were all looking forward to. Scott and I were on one elephant and the others were on another one, and once we had clambered on (no easy feat with just the elephant’s legs to use as steps!) we were off to the river, with the mahout’s (trainers) walking on the road beside us. When we had been on an elephant ride before we really didn’t enjoy it, and this time whilst it wasn’t the most comfortable experience we had ever had, we were riding ‘bare back’ without a seat so it’s much better for the elephant, which made us feel better about it. The mahout’s are brilliant with these animals and just by giving commands and changing the tone of their voice the elephants know whether to stop, go, turn etc, it’s really clever and we were pleased to see that they only used the sticks they were holding as a visual for the ele’s rather than on them as we have seen previously elsewhere. After about 20 minutes we were at the river and as the ele’s went into the water with us still on their backs we all thought ‘great we get to bathe them properly’ but the mahouts had other things in mind and before we knew it they had given the ele’s commands and they splashed us with their huge trunks then threw us off their back’s into the freezing cold river! We all laughed though and got back on and they did it again and again, it was so much fun and a really great experience which we loved. We were so glad we got to interact with elephants here as we didn’t do it in Chiang Mai and thought the opportunity had gone, and for about £10 each we had a brilliant time. We then rode back to the camp soaking wet but we soon changed into dry clothes, said bye to the elephants and were on our way to Pai Canyon to catch the sunset.

The ride took about 15 minutes and we timed it really well as by the time we had got to a good viewing point on the canyon the sun was glowing orange and starting to go down. The five of us sat and contemplated our amazing day while watching the sunset which was gorgeous, and by the time it had gone down so had the temperatures so we ended our day and headed back to town on our bikes. The whole day had been brilliant and it was nice to share it with others, we all enjoyed it and agreed it was one of the best days of our travels so far. Pai is a really special place and this just topped it off for us. That night we wrapped up warm again, had a bite to eat and went to our usual spot in Ting Tong where we sat round the bonfire, chatted and played cards whilst having a few Sangsom (Thai rum) and cokes until the bar closed.

Our last full day in Pai was spent wondering round the pretty town and relaxing at Fluid pool before we had dinner with Amber and Jim at Mama Falafel’s, which was just as tasty as before. We had made the difficult decision to leave the next day as our Thai visa’s only had 2 more days on them and we needed to get to the Laos border to cross over on time to avoid being fined. After dinner we had one more drink in Ting Tong sitting around the bonfire reminiscing over the last few days and talking about how much we had loved Pai and could easily stay longer – this place had really captured our hearts and we would love to come back one day, you never know.

We are also really sad that our month in Thailand is almost over, it's gone so quickly and we have had the best time, we wish we got a 2 month visa before coming as we would have liked to have stayed longer but at least we will be back in a few weeks. We are looking forward to crossing into Laos though and seeing what it is like there, but first we have to get to the border...

S&V's Travel Info & Tips:

General Info: Approx 48 Baht to £1.

Transportation: We got a mini-bus from Chiang Mai to Pai which cost 180 Baht per person for the 3 hour ride - we found out after there is also a local bus for less which takes 4 hours. Moto-bike hire was the cheapest we had ever seen in Pai with a basic bike costing just 100 Baht (£2) for the day + 40 Baht for insurance. The town itself was easy to walk around.

Food: Lots of delicous food available in Pai. The night market sets up stalls every evening with a range of Thai street food. The food at Tik Tok (?) on walking street is good with Thai dishes costing just 40 Baht and the curries at the Curry Shack round the corner for 50 Baht were also yummy. Mama Falafel is great for a change and the Witching Well does delicious sandwiches and other meals including lots of veggie options. Burger Queen does a mean burger if you need a feast after a night in Ting Tong! We also heard good things about Om Garden but didn't get to try it.

Accomodation: We were lucky and found a nice clean room at Pravee Guesthouse, just off Walking Street, for 300 Baht a night. It also wasn't cold inside at night like some of the bamboo/wooden bungalows around town.

Other observations:

x) All the restaurants seem to close early by 9pm but some of the street stalls stay open until later. A lot of them also only opened for dinner or in the late afternoon, rather than at lunch time.

xx) So many people we met said they had only meant to stay in Pai a few days but had ended up staying a lot longer - make sure you account for a few extra days if you go!

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Comments

[deleted_49612]

Pai
I have been wanting to go to Pai for years, because it is such a legendary hippy haunt. I'm glad to hear it is still nice there, because I didn't get around to going yet. Next year maybe. The Andaman Islands is this year. :)