Life of Pai
When we reached Chiangmai I northern Thailand (one of my favorite towns in Thailand so far) we were told by everyone to check out Pai, a town even further up in the mountains three hours north. Betsy had found a circus school/hostel in Pai too that seemed right up Kruger's alley so we booked a bus and headed up. The road to Pai is one gigantic mountain pass and they even count the number of turns (it's written on shirts sold all over Pai). 762 to be exact; so after a windy three hours north we we're dropped off in Pai.
Our first impressions were pretty awesome. One of the first things I noticed is the HUGE Rastafarian influence in the town. Thai men walking around like they could have been straight out of Jamaica. Rasta bars everywhere and live music at every corner.
After getting their we asked directions to our circus school that we had booked a night at. Not going to name any names of the hostel but after noticing the extreme amount of ants crawling all over what would have been Kruger's bunk, we decided to seek other accommodations. A priceless moment of realizing that we weren't going to stick it out was when we told one of the hostel workers about the ants and he came in with a broom and literally swept all the ants onto the open backpack of the poor person (who was not there to witness this) below the top bunk. After "brushing the ants off the bed" he simply told Kruger to sleep with his head on the opposite side of the one with the ants. Haha we weren't impressed and moved on.
What we did find was an amazing hostel called the Kwang House just over a VERY haggard bamboo bridge on the quiet side of the river that Pai sits on. $4 or $5 a night got us our own bungalow with a hammock on the porch. The staff were so friendly and laid back and the dogs they owned that roamed the grounds were adorable. We were also given huge papayas grown on the trees in front of our bungalows one of the mornings which was very sweet of the men who worked there. Spending my mornings watching the jungle mist burn off reading a book in our hammock was such a cathartic way to start my mornings.
The street market that seemed to run every night had a very cool feel to it. Not the same stuff all over Bangkok. The food in Pai was the best food I've had on the trip thus far.
Food carts everywhere and we found an amazing falafel restaurant that became a favorite (go figure Betsy and I are digging on some falafel). Amazing Indian food in Pai, $1 fresh fruit smoothies, $0.15 fresh potato samosas...couldn't beat the food. The nightlife was super fun there as well. Live music everywhere and like I said a huge reggae influence. The bars all closed at midnight and everyone made their way to the popular late night hang out, the Don't Cry Reggae Bar.
Our first real evening in Pai Betsy and I hiked out to a waterfall (started a little too late to make it all the way) but the views of the sun setting over the mountains was gorgeous. Also the dirt road out to the start of the trail was littered with adorable little hippie commune type hostels.
The next day Betsy and I decided to rent bikes (not motorbikes, not bikes with gears)...Betsy's was literally a heavy old school beach cruiser. We were told by the guy we rented them from (about $1 or $2 for the day) that we could take them up to the Mor Prang waterfall...that was both ambitious and highly misleading of him. After biking/ walking our bikes for several hours (tons of hours) + an accidental detour through the Chinese village of Lisu we made it to the waterfall. Gorgeous as it was it was too late to really enjoy the swimming so we headed back. We were really high up so we had beautiful views of the town of Pai from up there. And the bike ride down (even though we got lost and had to take
a different road into Pai) was pretty epic after our long day.
The next day we decided we'd try out renting a motorbike which seemed to be the thing to do for about $4 a day and take another loop around Pai for sightseeing...hahah we didn't make it far. Seems
like riding a motorbike should be simple? We were trying to start it on a pretty busy street and the rental guy was giving us a hard time when we were trying to start it...embarrassing, hilarious & possibly for our own good he took the bike away and gave us our money back...only after we'd already filled the tank.... So back to our bicycle man from day 1! This time my bike had gears and brakes that worked but I think Betsy got the same beach cruiser as before. She killed it regardless! The bike tour was so fun!! We were just given a map and told to go for it.
First stop was a gorgeous coffee plantation followed by a stop at the 'land crack' which is a farmers land that has been pretty rapidly splitting into small canyons and ravines over the past couple years. As soon as we got there he invited us to sit in the much needed shade and brought us a FEAST. Roselle fruit was a big part of their farm. We got fresh Roselle, Roselle wine, Roselle jam, Roselle juice, banana chips, peanuts, sweet potato wedges and tamarind. This entire meal was totally donation based and everything was grown on their farm. The couple was so adorable and I think this was highlight of my day.
Next stop the weirdest strawberry farm I've ever been to. Interesting to check out... Sarah mc Lachlan in Thai and other soft jams like that playing with super cheesy wooden cutouts to stick your face in and take pics. Very, very....very weird.
After that the 'grand canyon' of Pai which was actually super awesome. Reminded me a lot of hiking in Utah. This was the end of our loop so we headed back at sunset. Such a fun day!
Yet another highlight of our 5 days in Pai was the last night when Betsy and I went to the Pai Reggae on the River Festival. Flyers all over town said 12pm~12am so logically we thought the festival started during the day...we were told on our walk to the festival that it didn't start til midnight which turned out to be misinformation. Turns out 12pm~12am actually means 12pm~12am...even though when we checked it out at 4pm they were still just setting up. So that night after dinner we found our way to a carnival happening on the otherside of town, we were the only non locals there and it looked awesome but was closing up. After that we headed to the reggae festival only to be told it was about to be over but they let us in for free. I'm SO glad we still went because when we left at 2:30am the music was still cranking. Lots of bob Marley and typical covers but Small Axe and Soul Shakedown were highlights for sure. Also there's something about a Thai Rastafarian that is so interesting, such a cool blend of culture.
So this was our week in Pai in a nutshell. Lots of exercise (get ready mountain bike season, we're training on fixed bikes this spring), lots of sun, lots of great food, tons of awesome music. If you every find yourself in Thailand and have the opportunity to head north DO IT. You def won't regret that pretty little hippie town :)
~ Binksy
