The morning after Loy Krathong, with three days left of our vacation, we hopped on a dreaded minibus (van) and headed for one of our last wish-list cities up north, Pai. The road from Chiang Mai to Pai is infamous as the Road of 562 Curves, and Sara and I suffered in the back seat through every single one of them. We crawled up and around the mountains for what seemed like an eternity, several times considering jumping out and hurling ourselves over the cliff to avoid hurling on ourselves.
When we finally arrived and were dropped unceremoniously near downtown Pai, we were dazed, nauseous, and had no idea where our guesthouse was (or where we were dropped). After a little over an hour of wandering, having encountered several helpful people who sent us in the wrong direction entirely, we made it safely to Good Morning Pai, a beautiful place to stay in the foothills of the mountains surrounding the city. (Pro tip: Always ask at least three different people for directions. Many times people won’t admit they don’t know and send you in any particular direction.)We had a nice little bungalow to ourselves at Good Morning Pai, and as far as I know we were the only ones staying at the resort. It was the cleanest place we’ve stayed in Thailand.
Although it was a bit out of town, we couldn’t complain with these views and neighbors.
Located in the far northwest of Thailand, Pai began to grow as a tourist destination as a stopover for people headed to the more well-known city of Mae Hong Song, famous for its mountainous valleys and national parks. Nowadays, Pai itself is very popular with tourists, as is evidenced by just how farang-friendly it is. There is a central walking street market that features shop after shop of souvenir t-shirts, key chains, magnets, and handicrafts. There are nine or ten restaurants serving western-style breakfast and lunch, several internet cafes, motorbike rentals, and travel agents, and almost everyone spoke at least a little English. Despite our preference for less-touristy, more authentic destinations, we definitely appreciated how easy everything was in Pai.
Sara did the most shopping I've ever seen her do over the next two days, and came home with a backpack filled with souvenirs. We also rented a motorbike for a day and did a little exploring around the city. Some of the more famous sights were on steep dirt roads that we didn't think our little bike could handle, so we missed out on a waterfall or two and a scenic spot known as Pai Canyon. (We’ll save those for next time.) We were in the area of a little spot on our map labeled Chinese village so we made the stop not knowing exactly what to expect. It turned out to be a great idea, as this village has many interesting buildings, souvenirs, and activities (including a freakin’ castle).
We were also able to visit the city's most famous business, a coffee shop/restaurant called Coffee in Love, which was featured in the Thai movie Pai in Love. It had one of the most stunning views we'd seen in Thailand.
After our miserable minibus adventure, we looked into flying back to Chiang Mai. I didn't think I could face the Road of 562 Curves again, so I basically forced Sara into agreeing to buy a ticket on literally the only flight out of Pai, on the no-relation-to-Nic-Cage Kan Air airline. Although Sara was quite vocal about being just fine taking the minibus and not wanting to spend the money on the flight, she changed her tune after our incredible experience in the air.
The Pai airport was about the size of a small bus station, with seating for about fifteen people and one employee; two employees if you count the guy who chased dogs off the runway. There was only one ticket counter and one check-in counter.
Our plane sat twelve people, but only seven other people took the flight with us.
We were in the second row and literally could have tapped the pilots on the shoulder and asked them for a stick of gum.
We flew below the clouds for most of the trip, and were able to get a one-of-a-kind view of the area from 20,000 feet up. The whole flight lasted about a half hour, and it was the first time I'd ever wanted a flight to be longer.
The funniest part was when we deplaned, they loaded us into a minibus with our luggage in the back, and they dropped us off near the baggage claim. Instead of just giving us our luggage, they led us inside and had us wait at the carousel. Like we had taken an actual flight!
So after this big adventure, we headed back to Hang Chat; me happy to be home, Sara busy planning a trip back to Pai.
When we finally arrived and were dropped unceremoniously near downtown Pai, we were dazed, nauseous, and had no idea where our guesthouse was (or where we were dropped). After a little over an hour of wandering, having encountered several helpful people who sent us in the wrong direction entirely, we made it safely to Good Morning Pai, a beautiful place to stay in the foothills of the mountains surrounding the city. (Pro tip: Always ask at least three different people for directions. Many times people won’t admit they don’t know and send you in any particular direction.)We had a nice little bungalow to ourselves at Good Morning Pai, and as far as I know we were the only ones staying at the resort. It was the cleanest place we’ve stayed in Thailand.
Although it was a bit out of town, we couldn’t complain with these views and neighbors.
Located in the far northwest of Thailand, Pai began to grow as a tourist destination as a stopover for people headed to the more well-known city of Mae Hong Song, famous for its mountainous valleys and national parks. Nowadays, Pai itself is very popular with tourists, as is evidenced by just how farang-friendly it is. There is a central walking street market that features shop after shop of souvenir t-shirts, key chains, magnets, and handicrafts. There are nine or ten restaurants serving western-style breakfast and lunch, several internet cafes, motorbike rentals, and travel agents, and almost everyone spoke at least a little English. Despite our preference for less-touristy, more authentic destinations, we definitely appreciated how easy everything was in Pai.
Sara did the most shopping I've ever seen her do over the next two days, and came home with a backpack filled with souvenirs. We also rented a motorbike for a day and did a little exploring around the city. Some of the more famous sights were on steep dirt roads that we didn't think our little bike could handle, so we missed out on a waterfall or two and a scenic spot known as Pai Canyon. (We’ll save those for next time.) We were in the area of a little spot on our map labeled Chinese village so we made the stop not knowing exactly what to expect. It turned out to be a great idea, as this village has many interesting buildings, souvenirs, and activities (including a freakin’ castle).
We were also able to visit the city's most famous business, a coffee shop/restaurant called Coffee in Love, which was featured in the Thai movie Pai in Love. It had one of the most stunning views we'd seen in Thailand.
After our miserable minibus adventure, we looked into flying back to Chiang Mai. I didn't think I could face the Road of 562 Curves again, so I basically forced Sara into agreeing to buy a ticket on literally the only flight out of Pai, on the no-relation-to-Nic-Cage Kan Air airline. Although Sara was quite vocal about being just fine taking the minibus and not wanting to spend the money on the flight, she changed her tune after our incredible experience in the air.
The Pai airport was about the size of a small bus station, with seating for about fifteen people and one employee; two employees if you count the guy who chased dogs off the runway. There was only one ticket counter and one check-in counter.
Our plane sat twelve people, but only seven other people took the flight with us.
We were in the second row and literally could have tapped the pilots on the shoulder and asked them for a stick of gum.
We flew below the clouds for most of the trip, and were able to get a one-of-a-kind view of the area from 20,000 feet up. The whole flight lasted about a half hour, and it was the first time I'd ever wanted a flight to be longer.
The funniest part was when we deplaned, they loaded us into a minibus with our luggage in the back, and they dropped us off near the baggage claim. Instead of just giving us our luggage, they led us inside and had us wait at the carousel. Like we had taken an actual flight!
So after this big adventure, we headed back to Hang Chat; me happy to be home, Sara busy planning a trip back to Pai.
No comments:
Post a Comment