After a few glorious days of being lost in Chiang Mai, I decided to head to Pai.  i really hadn’t thought about going to Pai but after publicy posting I was in Chainag Mai, the messages and comments started pouring in. “You HAVE to go to Pai”.  I guess it’s the place to be.

So at the last minute, I left my air-conditioned room to seek out a travel agent.  The first one I went to pretended to not see me.  The second one was eating and just said “full” so I continued.   I walked past a tattoo shop that had some travel brochures out front.  There was a man cooking food over a small bbq outside.  He smiled and asked what I was looking for.  Turns out he does tattoos and she is a travel agent.  She was happy to book me on the 9am bus to Pai the next morning.  However, the price was 2ooB.  200!!!!??????  But….the other places are all selling for 170!  I was reluctant at first until I remembered that 30B is just over $1.  Haha – I booked it.  The lady didn’t have enough change for me so she hopped on her scooter and went to break the bill. I sat with the gentleman and browsed his portfolio over a bit over conversation.   Very friendly.  Very talented.

The next morning I was picked up right on time and driven to the bus station where we would board a minivan for the duration of the trip.  Once inside, I snickered at a sign warning against bringing durian onboard and puking.  This route has quite a reputation for making people sick.  You are expected to bring your own barf-bag.  Splendid!  The girl sitting next to me brought Gravol for everyone.  There was no way anyone was going to be sick in her presence!  Good stuff – I was a bit worried since it was such a small vehicle.

And what a ride it was!  I was glad I skipped breakfast.  This road was really crazy and the drivers are not shy to pass on a switchback!!  But I was having some wonderful conversation with some bus-buddies so I wasn’t really paying attention.  The drive takes more than 4 hours and in the last 10 minutes a sudden commotion and in a flash, the girl next to me throws her plastic bag of fruit into the back seat and ducks.  I’ve never seen anyone move so fast but thanks to her, the crisis was averted and we were all saved from visiting spew-town.  And no, the bus does not stop.  You have to sit there and deal with it until the destination is reached.

Pai is really a nifty little town but it seems to cater to the hippie westerners and young partiers.  It wasn’t particularly loud or rowdy but I did feel the town was lacking in the traditional culture I had sort of expected from a remote town.  Though, each evening the food carts set up along the main street with delicious offerings including Chinese food, pasta, pizza, fruit smoothies and Thai food, of course.

My choice of accommodation was a bamboo hut down at the riverside. It was so peaceful.  The roof was made of leaves so when there was a breeze, it would gently swirl through the hut.  There was a little deck out front with lounge pillows and a hammock!  Also, bamboo tables and swings along the river.  Neat!  There was no shortage of places to relax so I took full advantage.    In the mornings, the weird old hippie at the end of the property would sit by the river and play a wooden flute.  It was really nice until he overdid it with the wine and weed and began shouting obscenities and tooting his flute really loudly.    He was unusual. He also told me I looked like a horse so……

The afternoons were a bit noisy with new grass roofs being put on the huts but the evenings were silent and I loved sitting on my little porch listening to the music and laughter begin to rise from the town across the river.  Oh, and evening is also when the geckos get a bit rowdy and fall from the leafy ceiling.  They would just run away and scold me from afar like it was somehow my fault they didn’t stick. Amateurs!

I had a lot of ideas of what I wanted to do in Pai.  Waterfalls, hiking, river tubing, elephant feeding, etc.  But, it’s the end of the dry season an has been so hot for so long, the waterfalls were reportedly “not really there”.  The same for the river.  I was staying right there and it looked way too shallow to do much.  Hiking in the heat was one thing but hiking in the heat AND dense smoke was not so appealing.  The smoke was so thick, the mountains were barely visible.  In fact, I fell asleep on my hammock one afternoon and woke up with ash all over me.  I decided that was what I would do in Pai – lay in the hammock and collect ash.  I ventured out for food and had a fun evening at a small bar but that was it.  A party town for some, a chance to do sweet F-all for others.  Oh, and the food was all fantastic!

I spent 3 completely chill nights there and then took the vomit-comet back to Chiang Mai.  This time, I booked a guesthouse close to the night bazaar so I wouldn’t get friggin’ lost again!  It was a good plan.  The bazaar was ok but I have found that buying stuff in Thailand isn’t really worth it since most of the trinkets and anything NOT handmade is readily available in dollar stores back home.  The one thing I really enjoyed was the food court!  There are bales of hay and all sorts of old wooden tables.  I listened to the live band, drank a Chang beer, ate khao soi and said my farewells to Thailand.  At the guesthouse, I was lulled to sleep by the sweet smell of the frangipani wafting through my room, and the sound of cats screeching right outside my window. All. Night. Long.

Up next: Cambodia!  I am flying into Siem Reap to spare myself from having a border-related horror story to share 🙂