Pai

We were dropped off at the main bus station in Pai on a fairly busy street called ‘Walking Street’, which was encouraging as we had absolutely no idea where we should be heading. We walked along the bustling road until we got to a restaurant, called FineRice, with wifi to try and suss out the area. We were greeted by a really lovely lady who found someone to direct us towards the nearest cluster of guesthouses. We were suspicious that she may be doing this for some sort of personal gain, however when we ended up finding some nice, cheap accommodation it started to become clear that in the north locals are generally a lot more friendly and helpful than in Bangkok and southern parts of Thailand. Once settled, we went to find a restaurant and enjoyed some delicious curries followed by a night in a Thai reggae bar (these are more common than you would imagine). On first impressions Pai seemed like a friendly, small but bustling place. There is one main street called ‘Walking Street’ so it is fairly easy to get around on foot to find places to eat, drink or get a massage. There were also a lot less tourists around than I have previously experienced in Southern Thailand. Another major positive was the pricing; most things were about a third of the cost compared to the south.

Whilst in the reggae bar we were given some information by other tourists that we had chatted to who said we should get a moped to go and see some of the sights on the outskirts of Pai. Bearing this in mind, we struggled out of bed the next day with the idea of hiring a moped and attempting to navigate our way around. We decided to go to FineRice for breakfast as the lady there had been so nice. Unfortunately they didn’t really have a breakfast menu so, feeling too awkward to leave, Dibbs ordered some noodles and I got a soup. Wow- my soup was a cross between the most delicious, flavoursome soup and also the spiciest I have ever had. It certainly woke me up. After my spicy start to the day, I wandered off to get a £3.00 pedicure while Dibbs went in search of a moped. Half an hour later I looked up to see Dibbs at the window cheerfully revving away with what looked like a bowling ball on his head. I happily hopped on the back donning my own helmet and became chief navigator for the day. We set off, weaving through the busy streets, me on the back with an open map blowing in my face while I shouted out vague directions. We were soon on our way to a viewpoint that had a good reputation. I was glad of Dibbs being the driver as some of the roads were closer to the dirt track variety- it was also really steep and we were both giggling as we struggled to get up all the hills on our sweet ride.

When we reached the top the view did not disappoint. A payment of 20 baht is required to walk to the peak of Yun Lai Viewpoint but a pot of tasty peach tea is included to sip whilst taking in the views.

After relaxing here for a while we were back on the moped heading towards Mor Phaeng Waterfall. To find this, my navigating skills went out the window as we slyly joined a group of Chinese on mopeds also heading in that direction. We reached the waterfall along with our Chinese biker gang and took a short walk from the little car park to get to the water. Mor Phaeng wasn’t the most spectacular fall I have seen, however it was pretty and had a few small tiers that we stood in the middle of. One of the main draws of this waterfall for adventurous tourists is that it is possible to slide down the fast stream and into the pool below. After watching a few people shoot out at painful looking angles I lost my nerve and decided against trying.

Before returning to Pai we had spotted one final attraction on our map that we wished to visit; a piranha farm. We excitedly set off towards to farm and had just turned off from the main road when a spluttering noise could be heard as our engine slowly cut out. After a small initial panic of thinking that we had broken down turning into the realisation that, actually, we had run out of fuel we both began to snigger. Possibly we should have checked the amount of fuel that we had at one point during our trip but we had been too busy scooting around with our Chinese biker gang to notice. The lack of fuel didn’t stop us from pushing the moped back up to the main road and free-wheeling for about 6km, once at 60kmph, overtaking other mopeds. It was lucky that we had broken down at the top of a mountain as when it flattened out we had no hope of keeping up our pace. After a while we found a place on the road selling gas and, still chuckling, got back on to ride to Pai.

Although we have been keen on eating Thai food and trying new things, that night, we couldn’t resist having a bite at the quirky burger cafe at the end of our street. They sold every burger from the standard beef and chicken to crocodile and venison. We tried the ostrich and beef which did not disappoint. Happy and full we had a few drinks and went to bed ready for another day of biking ahead of us.

Map in hand we set off in a different direction the following day to see Pai Lake. The road to the lake was rough to say the least. Eventually, we abandoned the bike and trekked through some trees and muck to get to the lake’s edge. We were greeted with a stunning view of a still, mirror lake. However, the entire thing was completely surrounded by thick trees and not very accessible. I was also a bit dubious about possible wildlife lurking beneath the water and chose not to take a dip. It was still worth a look though and I’m glad we persevered in finding it.

Next stop on the map was Pai Canyon. This was easy to find being just off the main road that loops around Pai. As with many places in Thailand, when we arrived there was no health and safety which left us to explore the canyon as we wished. Most days we will do something that one of us wants to do more than the other and on this day I had wanted to visit the lake and Dibbs the canyon. I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing dry rock. My pre-conceived ideas about the canyon were proved completely inaccurate when we reached the edge as it was absolutely stunning. We could see for miles over a completely different part of the landscape that we had seen from the viewpoint. Trees everywhere in addition to the peculiar rock formations of the canyon created interesting scenery. We were also able to scrabble down the rocks and through the canyon to explore even further and see more of the tree filled valleys all around us.

Our final stop was the Hot Springs which we rode to but never saw when we realised that we were being charged four times the price of the locals. As frequently as this happens in Asia it is always frustrating to see the immense price difference. We were imagining trying to charge a foreigner different prices in the UK; I think you’d get fined for being racist.

Leaving the hot springs we sadly returned our moped in exchange for some bicycles hoping to reach the nearby public swimming pool on our map. The weather in Pai had been glorious since we’d arrived so we were desperate to soak up some sun by the pool. Unfortunately, despite the maps of Pai being informative and clear they can also be slightly ambitious.... The pool wasn’t actually quite finished being built yet. I was devastated by this as I had been really looking forward to launching myself into some cold water. As a consolation Dibbs suggested that we try and find a waterfall that we could see nearby on the map. We set off- me moodily trailing behind- until we reached a stream, turning into a river which put a clear stop to our cycling up to the waterfall plan. This plan was scuppered further when we met a couple of guys who said it took three hours to walk up to the fall and we would need hiking shoes. Forcing myself to cheer up, we did a bit more racing around town on our bicycles, dinging our bells at surprised passersby before returning them and booking a white water rafting trip for the next day.

After a freezing two hour journey the following morning we finally reached the river that we would be rafting down. Dibbs was thrilled to find that our raft contained a couple of other girls from Cambridge and some boys from Oxford and we excitedly set off down the river with our enthusiastic guide, Chai. Chai, incidentally, called me the perfect lady- what a wise man. He also pulled the sleeves of my t-shirt up to curiously peer at my freckles and ask me how I got them. The rafting began fairly slowly in the morning and we were worried that it would be more of a ‘water rafting’ rather than ‘white water rafting’ trip. As we continued, Chai pulled our raft over to the shore so that we could climb up a small waterfall which was quite exciting. Cruising alongside the other boat on our tour, we were glad to be in our raft; the other boat contained the most showy Israeli guy who smoked weed at lunchtime, harped on about how much opium he smoked in Laos and argued with the rafting guide the entire way downriver. The temptation to grab the back of his lifejacket and pull him into the river as we passed by was overwhelming.  

After a tasty rice lunch, we hopped back onto the raft to be thrust into some much faster flowing water. We were not disappointed by the water now. I was soaking wet within minutes as we went up and down over huge rapids, got stuck under a rock and jumped out under our guide’s instruction to be carried along by the strong current. Another highlight to the afternoon was an opportunity to do a cliff jump. After assessing the height of the jump only a few people left the boat which caused me to think carefully about whether or not to jump. Not that carefully though; thirty seconds later I was climbing up the rocks to the top. I’ll admit, the careful thoughts returned as I peered over the cliff edge and I turned back more than once as the others were jumping over. However as each person came bobbing back up with a grin on their face I couldn’t resist and finally took the terrifying leap. I’m glad I did, it was scary but amazingly fun. I was also proud to say that I was the only girl who would do it.

Exhausted but thrilled we began the long, long journey back to Pai in the back of an open truck that was soon freezing again as night fell. Somehow we managed to drag ourselves out for a few drinks with team Oxbridge that night before leaving Pai the next morning to begin our long journey to the south.

I’m so glad that we included Pai in our trip. It was cheap the people were friendly; there was so much to do, or not do, depending on what you felt like. The scenery was stunning as was the food. It was also easy; pick up a map and a moped and you can see so much within a couple of days. I would definitely recommend Pai to anyone visiting Thailand.