February 25-March 2, 2007
Our time in Pai was a mixture of making the best of it and some disappointment. The mountains did not lend themselves, we felt, to a great deal of independent trekking, or awe for that matter. It was dry season and there were many fires on the mountains. We did take a great six hour hike into the mountains to see an impressive waterfall. I don't think many tourists brave that hike. We met one older couple on their second hike to the waterfall but speculated no other tourists made it there that day. The only other couple we saw had turned around because it was too far away. It was a great hike. We only got lost once.
We finally got a chance in Pai to rent mopeds and ride them around. This was a great place to learn as there was not much traffic and there was a long looping road on which to drive, with interesting sights to see along the way such as a canyonlands, a WWII bridge and domesticated elephants. There were other things as well but really the fun part for me was in pushing the speed out of the little 125cc's. Vroom vroom.
Returning the bikes, we booked a bus ride back to Chiang Mai where I was ready to do a bit of temple touring. The ride back caused terrible motion sickness and we were happy to get to the city three hours later and find a room.
