So we’ve decided to move to a little town called Pai. JB is going to open up a little web design business and I’m going to sell my cards by the side of the road like a local. It will be quite the life. Well, maybe someday….Don’t worry, we’ve not thrown away our US passports just yet, but we’ve fallen for this little Northern Thai village –hard. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet, last you heard of us we were still in Chang Mai.

On Thurday morning a minivan pulled up outside of our guesthouse. As we throw our backpacks in the back of the van we hear the thundrous Thai pop music that is to fill our ears for the next five hours as we make the journey from Chang Mai to Pai. We pile into the minivan and reach for our seatbelts to find…hmmm, there are none. The rest is history, not one that we want to relive to soon. The road from Chang Mai to Pai was winding and mountainous and had spectacular views. When we stepped of the bus into Pai, we felt like we had finally arrived in Thailand. Pai is a small sleepy town which has only recently been discovered by farangs (foreigners, like us). In fact, today we learned that the road that we took to Pai was only paved about 10 years ago and before that, the journey from Chang Mai to Pai took about a week!

We had been given a recommendation by some friends that we met in Chang Mai to go and stay at a place called Ban Pai Village. We couldn’t be happier there. We are staying in a cute little bungalow with a hot shower and fan, for about 10 bucks a night. Unreal! On our first night in Pai we got a real taste of Northern Thai living when the power went out around 6:30 and then didn’t go back on til sometime in the middle of the night when our fan magically started working. But no matter, there was a groan that echoed around the town when the lights went out but then candles were lit and people just went back to doing whatever they were doing. Besides, no power made the stars pop out of the sky like I haven’t seen since being in the outback. We walked the few little streets of Pai in the candlelight and ate delicious food from the streets. Today we got up early and decided that we would hike to a waterfalls that was supposedly 7km away. Well…we didn’t quite make it to the falls but we had a peaceful walk through the rice paddies. When we got back to our bungalow, we hopped on the motorbike that has become the replacement for JB’s obsession with computers. We drove to the nearby Pai canyon and left the motorbike at the base and explored it on foot. After the canyon, we got lost (again) searching for a nearby waterfall. After giving up, a friendly British couple who just moved to Pai gave us proper directions and we were finally able to find it. Thank goodness we met them otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to have had such a special experience. When we got back to town we climbed up to the temple on the hill for the sunset. And this was just our first day.

 

First sunset in Pai:

 

Baan Pai Village, our bungalow in Pai:

 

Our morning walk through the paddies:

 

On our morning walk:

 

The Pai canyon:

 

Trying not to fall:

 

On the motorbike, in search of a waterfall; not lost, well, sorta lost:

 

Up to Pam Bok waterfall:

 

Across an old bridge near Pam Bok waterfall:

 

Pam Bok waterfall:

 

Up to the Temple on the Hill:

 

Sunset from the Temple on the Hill near Pai:

5 Responses to “A little piece of paradise called Pai”

1. Stunning! Audacious! Brilliant! …and those are descriptions of you 2…not to mention the photos of your paradise. Sure makes Indy look like the prairie that it is. No matter. Just get the address and we’ll all meet you there :*) It’s a busy Friday here, and I’ll be making homemade spinach (yes, spinach) and cheese ravioli for Tim’s parents, visiting from Scotland. We’ll be talking about you…with love xo MumMom

   posted by Mum on October 13th, 2006 at 9:38 am

2. pretty sweet. looks like my kind of place. thanks for the pictures. i’m having fun “traveling” with you guys. cheers, and be safe. i.e., meg, watch out for jnu.

   –patrick

   posted by Patrick on October 13th, 2006 at 2:41 pm

3. Awesome photos….nice writing Meg…
   Reilly got your card from Hong Kong today and has you plotted on the map…she definitely appreciates them.

   JN has a bit of a history on mopeds from other trips….just be sure that he keeps his eyes open when he drives..

   Stay safe…
   Sean, Reilly and LIsa

   posted by Sean, Reilly and Lisa on October 13th, 2006 at 7:51 pm

4. REILLY UITERWYK THANKS

   (the above was written by reilly

   posted by Sean, Reilly and Lisa on October 13th, 2006 at 8:11 pm

5. I suggest that jnu sticks with his addiction to computers and leave the driving of mopeds to others. It is alot healthier. The pictures are awesome. keep them coming. Also provided they have a 4 star hotel somewhere between the thatched huts I will join you if you decide to stay.

   Be careful and dont drink the water

   Dad

   posted by dad on October 15th, 2006 at 12:06 pm

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