Life of... Pai, Thailand

We never thought we would be going to Pai on this trip. A lot of our friends adventured up here, but we never did. But that's all about to change. It's only a three hour drive from Chiang Mai, with some of our friends coming up here on bikes. Unfortunately, we took a minibus up. It's kinda awkward with all the luggage, but it would have been pretty cool to drive up, especially going through the mountains. The place we wanted to stay in, 'Spicy Pai Backpackers' was fully booked when we arrived, so we ended up staying in a bungalow up the road from there called 'Pai Highlands Resort.' The room was fine. We have nothing bad to say about it, except for the fact it was very quiet. The next day we checked into Spicy Pai. It's a really cool place that is filled with backpackers. There is two big huts, with each of them holding twenty six beds. That's a lot of people to get to know! There is a cool commune area where everyone hangs out. You have to climb up a ladder to it. It's really cool! The first night we arrived, they had a really nice BBQ for everyone, which was super tasty! While enjoying my dinner, this girl from South Africa sat beside me. I think she fancied me. She didn't make any effort to talk to Jason and Kathrin. It was a bit awkward, she was very strange, and she came across as very fake. Later on, anytime we bumped into her, she completely blanked poor Kathrin. I guess she was jealous of her being so friendly with me, I don't know why. Like I said, she was very strange. One of the main attractions in Pai is the 'Big White Buddha' in the mountain. It was a nice ride up to it on our scooters. There is a nice temple next to it. After climbing up to the Buddha, you are rewarded with lovely views of the whole countryside. It's definitely worth a visit. There really is a lot to do Pai, such as visiting a 'Hot Springs. The one we visited wasn't natural, bit it was still really nice. It was a bit too hot and none of us could spend a lot of time in it, but they did have a small little pool filled with cold water which was like stepping into heaven. The hot springs is so good for your skin, especially for dead skin. It also really helped Jason's bites. The poor, brave soldier has been plagued with bites since day one. The mosquitoes seem to be quite attached to him, and like I am always telling him, he is helping the mosquito population. I don't think he was too impressed knowing that! Later on in the evening we all went for a few drinks where we waited in anticipation for the World Cup final where Germany took on Argentina. Yeah, really, it was like waiting for Santa Claus. Finally, at 2am the match began. I was so bored! We didn't get to bed till 5am, and it wasn't even a wild night. Watching football isn't exactly my idea of a great night out, but at least Jason enjoyed it! There are so many beautiful waterfalls in this part of the world. After driving up to one of them, it started pouring down, but that didn't stop me getting into the water, it may have been cold and it may have been raining cats and dogs, but it was so refreshing. Definitely worth a dip! One of the nicest places we have visited here is the 'Chinese Village.' It was a nice drive up to it, even though I got completely drenched, I was dry before I knew it. Our first stop was for some nice Chinese food. It was different, but it was really tasty. A little bit up from there was this really nice area, which was designed like a traditional village, with nice shops housed in traditional hut style buildings surrounded by a nice river filled with large fish and some grass. There is a really nice bridge for decorative purposes. They even have a horse. He wasn't the most friendliest, I guess he was just too busy eating. When someone is enjoying their grass, you don't disturb them! It was all very picturesque. Further up, at the top of the mountain is a viewpoint of the whole area. When we reached the top, we were greeted with some free bananas and a pot of tea. While enjoying them, we got chatting to a family from Taiwan who were on their summer holiday. They were very friendly. The daughter had really good English. She told us she studied in Australia, so I guess that's why her English is so good. Later on, we went for some amazing Indian food in 'Be Be Spice.' When I say amazing, it really was. The woman running it was very a bubbly person. We got talking and she was telling us how she lived in the UK for ten years, working as a chef in some of the top restaurants. I'm not surprised as her food was incredible. It was filled with so much flavour. For food like that back home, it would easily be over €100 for two people. Everything is so cheap here. It's great! After enjoying some nice food, we adventured to the 'Pai Circus School' for a bit of entertainment. Its a real hippy place with most of the people stoned. Myself and Jason took full use of the infinity pool and Kathrin even had fun on the trampoline. It was good fun. They even had a guy doing tricks. It was a cool night out. When we got back to the hostel, we got talking to a guy called Chris from the UK, who was in the bed above me. He's a really sound bloke. I think Kathrin liked him. Unfortunately, he was leaving the next day. It would have been nice to have gone for a drink with him! You never know, our paths could cross again! One of the things I like about Pai is that there are so many interesting cafés and bars scattered around with some in the middle of nowhere. Chris told us about this place near where we are staying. It's a really relaxing place, with nice comfortable hammocks! The lady running it is very friendly. She is very easy going. The food she serves isn't instant, it's 'Slow Food.' Chris told us that when he was there, he waited forty five minutes for his order. When the food arrived, she told him that she wanted to watch the end of her programme before cooking his food! Everything in life is so rush rush rush, so why not just slow down and take your time! Another place we found 'Art in Chai' which specializes in different types of tea and nice healthy cakes. It's a real hippy place, where you can come and spend a couple of hours just relaxing! Wanting to check all the cool cafés out, we found another really cool place called 'The Witching Well!' As I'm sure you can guess, it was filled with all witchery stuff. They serve cups of tea that claim to be potions offering different things such as love! It was the perfect place for our favourite witch, Kathrin. She felt right at home and they even had a spot for her broom. One of the guys staying in the hostel who was from the UK had a really bad accident on his bike. He was an experienced driver, who drove up from Bangkok. His bike lost control even though he wasn't going that fast. He was a really nice bloke! I have to say we have seen some amazing waterfalls so far. The latest one we saw was really nice. It was kind of enclosed with cliffs and caves surrounding it with lots of nice green trees. When I say it was stunning, it really was! I've said it before, and I will say it again, nature really is amazing! Everyone that comes to Pai always visits the 'Pai Canyon,' which is an amazing natural place to visit. It's so beautiful! Poor Jason was having heart failure as I kept on getting too close to the edge in order to get some nice photos. I was very careful though. Kathrin was in heaven as there were loads of trees there. Unfortunately, our favourite tree hugger couldn't get to hug all of them! It's such a beautiful area to visit! That evening, I told Jason that I want to come back to Pai. I guess I have been consumed by the power and charm of Pai! While we enjoyed our stay in Spicy Pai, the owners are money mad. The day before we were due to leave, we went for breakfast and we were told that we couldn't stay another night as they were fully booked. They didn't even ask us if we wanted to stay another night. Definitely bad customer service! The good news is that we booked ourselves into a really nice bungalow next door in 'Bann Ing Na.' It's really nice. A mother and daughter run it and they are both lovely! The food they serve here is so tasty and so cheap. One of the best things about being a backpacker is that you have the opportunity to do things and taste things that you wouldn't normally get to do! Walking through a street market filled with different food stalls serving a variety of tasty treats, I suddenly found one serving chicken feet. A little bit weird, I thought to myself, why not, I'll give it a go! It was tasty, very bony with not much meat. I even bit all the toes off and ate them! There's no waste when it comes to me. Jason was a bit freaked out by it. For the first time since we have been travelling, Kathrin weighed herself. She was shocked that she had gone up to 50KG which is less than 8ST. The crazy Alps Queen is tiny. She's like a little doll, but she thinks she is fat. I guess even the skinny ones want to be skinnier! If there is one place in the world everyone should visit, it has to be Pai. It's such a cool chilled out place to be. I would love to come back and stay for a few months, engrossed in some books while chilling on a nice hammock!

By Andrew

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