Pai

Wow, I don’t even know where to begin with this amazing city. On my return to Chiang Mai I met a few people (Kiwi and Luke) at the hostel who were also going to Pai the next day. Little did I know that this was the start to a whole new mindset and part of my journey. I took a van up to the little town. It was a 3.5 hour drive on a very curvy road (about 706 turns I believe) which can make many people sick. Luckily I was not one of those people and no one threw up in my van. Upon arrival I went and rented a motor bike which was a great call even though it is a little town. You have so much more freedom! I drove up to the hostel (Pai Circus School) which was a very interesting place. So many interesting people there. It was a diverse group with people from all over Europe, the most Americans I’ve ran into, lots of Canadians and even a few from South America.

There was always something to do in both the town and at the hostel. They had a pool, yoga, fire shows, quiz nights, beer pong and many other activities. It was an open hostel with lots of room to relax. I don’t believe I’ve ever been more relaxed in my life than in Pai. This was one of the reasons it was so hard to leave. But anyways back to the group of people. I ran into Kiwi and Luke and actually met their friend Gioia (Joy) before I even knew she was with the other two. It’s great how things work out like that. This was the first time I was with a group of people for more than a few days. Before this I had started to miss home a little bit because of this. Everything changed once I met them and an amazing Australian girl named Hannah. I explored the town and area around with the three of them the first few days and after they left I was with Hannah almost all the time. She was the main reason I stayed for as long as I did. The other reasons were because the town was great, I met so many friendly people, there was a great inexpensive café which I went to everyday, and fantastic street food. The night life was pretty fun as well though it meant spending more money (it was worth it!).

Giant Buddha

In my explorations I went to a great waterfall, a giant cave called Lod cave, drove around and enjoyed all the views, visited a giant Buddha on the hill, and learned the town almost by heart. There were street dogs everywhere and I became friends with quite a few of them! It definitely fulfilled my missing of our dogs back home for a while. Those dogs were so kind and will be missed. Hopefully the remember me the next time I am there.

My camp in a mango tree!

I stayed at three different places while in Pai. The second was a small hostel in town which was very convenient as it was so close to everything thing. The third place was Valhalla Campground. This was a very chill and relaxed place and I camped in a Mango tree for four days! Finally got some use out of my hammock!

Well to finish this off since I could go on for a while about Pai as it is a great place and by far my favorite place in Thailand, thus far. It was so hard to leave but I finally managed to get myself out of there. I really understand why so many people get stuck there. I cannot wait to go back later in life and enjoy the small town life once again. I was very disconnected from technology for the first time since I got a cell phone nine years ago. That will be missed. 

Do you see the gecko?