September 17th, 2019
Today we texted our new friend Greg, who we met on the slow boat from Laos and had already been here for a couple days. He said his plan for the day was to go on a hike to a waterfall. We thought that sounded good so tagged along. It was supposed to be a six hour roundtrip hike so we filled our bag with water, food and bug spray and went to meet him. When we pulled up Google maps to find the trailhead, it said it was over an hour drive from where we were. We both rented a motorbike ($3.25 for the day) and hit the road. It was a beautiful day and we were on the mountain road with all the corners. It was a really nice drive which was good. When we got there, it turned out Google had the wrong information and the trailhead was actually right in the town of Pai where we didn’t need to drive at all. By the time we would get back to town, it would be too late in the day to start a six hour hike. We changed our plans and went to a couple other falls in the area that did not require hiking. They were cool and like I said, it was a beautiful day.
After Laos I think my waterfall bar is set pretty high, but it was a fun thing to do even though the falls didn’t impress us. One of the falls, we could slide down the rocks into the pool below. Brendan and I opted out of this activity as it looked like it hurt sliding down those rocks. The people who did it said it didn’t hurt, but I still had my doubts and kept picturing the huge bruises I had after the waterslide in Cheryl’s backyard that was on grass. I also still have a skinned knee and both feet from the last waterfall, so I just watched. Our friend Greg did it though and said it was fun.
After that we drove into the country where they have bamboo bridges going through rice fields.
We then went to Pai Canyon to watch the sunset. That was a really cool place! It had great views of the surrounding area and narrow dirt paths we could walk on with cliffs on either side. Some of it required some scrambling, but we found a nice spot to sit and watch the sunset, and Greg even threw up his hammock on a couple of trees for us.
We stayed at the canyon taking in the scenery and chatting with others. Once it was dark, the three of us went back to town. Greg was staying at the hostel right across the street from our hotel so we all put our stuff down and headed to ‘walking street’ for some dinner. On our way, we met our two other friends from the slow boat who had just arrived in Pai. Our group was back to five and we all walked around and got food together.
Tonight Brendan and I had more gyozas, and veggie lasagna with a salad. B also found what he thought was the best fried chicken he ever had, and got a huge piece of boneless skinless chicken breast fried with sauce for 10 baht (33 cents). He went back to that stand for more chicken several times. Before calling it a night, we stopped for a drink with the group at a little bar. All the bars here have live music every night.
Pai is full of dreadlocked Westerners and has an amazing, cheap food scene with a really chilled out vibe. There are tons of yoga classes and meditation retreats, cooking classes, and places to watch the sunset. Outside of town, there is a lot to explore by hiking, finding waterfalls, caving, and enjoying the farmland and mountain scenery. I definitely see why so many backpackers love Pai. However, this is not somewhere you go to experience local culture. I’m pretty sure there are more white people here than Asians. Our friend from Singapore said she was the only Asian on the bus ride here! Pai has become a Western tourist hub, so if that is what you are after on your trip to Asia, it is an amazing place. Or, if you have been in Asia for a while and want to relax with some Western amenities, it is also a great place.
I am totally happy to spend some time relaxing here before the next leg of our trip in Nepal. However, I do not think Pai would be on the top of my list if I had a limited time to see places in Asia. It is beautiful here, but the natural beauty doesn’t compare to what we have seen in Northern Vietnam. It also doesn’t have the local cultural component. Just my personal opinion though. Like I said, we have met many people who just keep coming back to Pai because they love it so much.