A road trip to Pai. Pai is located 108 kms from Mae Hong Son. Pai is a well known backpackers destination purely for its relaxed atmosphere, cheap guesthouses, souvenir shops and restaurants. In the proximity of the town are spas and elephant camps. Gina, Dawid and I took off on our bikes and started the journey early in the morning. We have 764 nasty curves ahead of us, however I know we will be driving through an amazing scenery - so this compensates for the scary drive. We stopped at the viewpoint that we stopped by last week to give our buttocks a rest. We had been riding for 1.5hrs and sitting on the bike for that long was actually quite tiring. The view was a little hazy today but we were glad that it didn't rain.
We finally made a stop in Sappong (where we were last weekend) and dropped in a small street restaurant and had noodle soups. The lady spilt the bowl of noodles all over my phone, seeing that my phone has a cracked screen the soup seeped through my phone (I was devastated). My phone had just dried up from last weeks drive through the heavy rain and having this happen again, I have a feeling that my mobile will not make it through this trip. The sound of my phone stopped working for a bit - I was freaking out. After about 15 minutes, it fixed itself. Phew.
We left Mae Hong Son really early, the three of us were quite sleepy. After breakfast we dropped in a little cosy coffee shop - Lemonhill Garden and had coffee to wake us up a little for a long drive ahead of us. Dawid also had some brownies which tasted ok - the coffees were great.
We stopped by another viewpoint and admired the view. It was so beautiful. Besides the beautiful view, there was a 'Pai taxi' bolted down at this location - a cycle rickshaw. I jumped on and pretended to drive Dawid. So apparently, the form of transport through Pai are via cycle rickshaws. In Mae Hong Son, they do not have taxis - the only thing closest are the tuk tuks, and there's barely any around. Most of the time, we get around by foot or motorbikes.
After 3 hours of riding, 764 curves later - we made it to Pai. Pai is a pretty small place with a very simple layout. Nothing is far away. Pai's main tourist drag is Chaisongkran Road, which winds from the rive and footbridge up past the bus station to the crossroads with Rungsiyanon Road before heading out west past the hospital to the town's edge. The section between the river and bus station is the liveliest being lined almost with non stop guesthouses, cafes, restaurants, trekking agents, internet shops, motorbike hire shops and bars. Pai is really nice but very different to Mae Hong Son. Everything here is definitely more expensive to Mae Hong Son. However, it felt good to be out of Mae Hong Son for the weekend - it was a different environment - another peaceful one.
Gina had been in Pai before, so she directed us to the guesthouse that she has stayed in previously - Darling Point View Resort, owned by a Shan lady named Darling and her German husband, Peter. We were greeted with the most friendliest warm greeting by Peter. Dawid and I walked in wide eyed opened and jaws dropped as we were so shocked about how nice this guesthouse presented itself - it was as though we were walking through a mansion. We had a little tour around the place and Peter showed us the available bedrooms. We shared a dorm with three beds. Bathrooms and toilets are communal at this guesthouse and accessible from all rooms. We had a gorgeous view of the whole of Pai - featuring burbling streams, impeccable manicured fields and surrounding mountains - Pai is an amazing small town. I couldn't ask for a better view than the one we have in front of us.The room was 150 baht per a person - ridiculously cheap - low season prices. Peter and Darling were absolutely delightful. They both had such awesome energy and genuine pleasure to help for information around town. Darling is a sweetheart - I can't even describe her beautiful personality (you have to meet this lady yourself) - she is a very bubbly 52 year old lady, full of energy, always giggling and wanting to dance. She provided us with a map of Pai and marked down all the main attractions. It surprises me that their only intentions are to ensure their guests have the best time possible. The guesthouse is so unbelievably charming. There is a swimming pool, a bonfire area and the most stunning views. Even the furniture has its charm - hammocks, original wooden furniture and very interestingly decorated.
We went out for a late lunch - rode our bikes into town and briefly strolled the streets. Eventually, I found a restaurant and ordered the typical Thai dishes - penang curry, westernised tuna salad and chicken and cashew nuts - all dishes were amazing. As mentioned before, I have not once been disappointed with food in Thailand. They have a very random pet who sat at the back of a restaurant - a toucan. It looked nearly as fake as it sat posing like a statue. I only knew it was real when I saw it hopping. I've always read about toucans or seen them in cartoons, but have never seen one is person. Random but interesting indeed.
After lunch, we hopped on our bikes and took off again in hope to do some sight seeing around town. We stopped by an elephant camp and took photos with it. These elephants are 40 years old, which explains why they do look a little old and wrinkly. One of the cutest thing I saw was that the lighter coloured elephant was standing with his back legs crossed eating away his greens - this was so adorable. These elephants weighs in at 3 tonnes. Gosh, that's heavy. Surely, no one would like to be stomped by one.
Our next stop was a famous five star resort - Pai Treehouse Resort. Dawid had read up about this awesome resort so we decided to check it out. Upon arrival at the entrance, you actually see a setting of a treehouse set high up - forming as a frame of their gates. The property offers enchanting views of lowlands, tropical landscape and a beautiful mountain view. One of the main bedrooms (which I think this is the master) is set high up in an ancient tree. You have to literally climb the tree to get into the room. I felt like a monkey climbing the tree, but it was so cool to see such concept existing and posing as proper accommodation. These wooden houses boasts traditional Thai architecture with touches of fresh flowers.
There was a viewpoint that really caught our attention. It was a very colourful playground-like area with nicely laid turf, plenty of egg swing chairs, a London giant phone booth and an awesome view of Pai. It appeared to us that they also offer accommodation in their colourfully painted little houses onsite. While we were there, there were many tourists sitting up on the balcony egg chairs and admiring the view. Driving through the highway of Pai, all you see are colourful display of signs, animals figures, colourful themed cafes etc. It was a very fun and playful area for everyone.
We wanted to see a waterfall so we followed the directions on a map to get to Pam Bok Waterfall. We drove through a village with the stunning views - just off the main road for 8kms before reaching the parking area of the waterfall. When we arrived, we heard the water gushing but didn't see a fascinating waterfall. We thought, oh gosh, please don't us that we drove 8km on some the crazy narrow mountainous terrain and we only get to see a tiny waterfall. Soon after, we saw a sign directing to walk uphill along the bridge for about 150 metres before reaching THE actual waterfall. It wasn't a easy walk - it was a hike. Pam Bok Waterfall is a small stream running over the cliff. It is approximately 40 meters high. It was nice and cool as the cliffs surrounds making it a nice place to escape the heat. While we were there, a young group of tourist had also just arrived and decided to bathe in the water. The water was refreshing. It was a little tricky to get a good view of the waterfall, as you have to leap from rock to rock and walk through the water. I didn't want to risk slipping so this photo was taken courtesy of Dawid. (Thank you Dawid for letting me use it)
We drove to the hot springs but found it too expensive for entry, also because we didn't have any swimming gear with us and paying 200 baht wasn't worth it if it was just for a look around. Instead, Gina suggested to go to the Pai Hot Springs Spa and Resort. The resort is well known for its private therapeutic hot springs (they bring the mineral water from the actual hot springs), spa, health treatment and ultimate relaxation. It was such a nice stroll through the cosy resort, super quiet as though they didn't have any guest. We made our way to the restaurant (of course) and sat down for some nibbles and watermelon shakes. We sat, talked, laughed, dodged the temperamental rain and took photos of the awesome scenery. It really felt like a fabulous place for relaxation or retreat of some sort.
We rode on our bikes back while the sun was setting, just meters from our guesthouse we stopped by the side of the road to capture this awesome view. It was another break taking moment (we've had a few of these, but they just keep on coming).
Prior to leaving the guesthouse earlier in the day. We were advised by Peter and Darling that they were having a farewell party for one of the guest - Jason from America, and that everyone was invited. The sweet couple even gave us business cards to hand out to random people (if we met any) on the street and invite them to the party tonight. We bought a bottle of Vodka for the party. We sat by the bonfire while they roasted the pig that was strapped to bamboo. Dinner was served with rice and vegetables. The night started sensibly where everyone from the guesthouse and random people all from around the world acquainted themselves. We drank beers and vodka over dinner. The strangest thing was that they had rap concert clips (Tupac, Eminem, Snoop etc) playing on the projector - something a little unusual to hear in Thailand.
After dinner, everyone got up and started dancing the night away. We met people from America, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Switzerland and even an Australian. Peter and Darling also joined us on the dance floor. I can't even begin to tell you how adorable they were. Darling was full of energy even though she was sober - bare in mind that we were also dancing to some hardcore music. Dawid and I didn't like the music very much but it was fun to actually party with our new friends. Gina sat and spoke to Stacey (a girl from the UK who plans to move to New Zealand) all night. Jason was heavily intoxicated and slurring all his words. After throwing up several times he eventually found his way to his bedroom. It was a sweaty but fun night. Everyone got a little drunk and started to play with toilet paper - it was hilarious seeing them do silly things with it. Dawid was a little intoxicated and decided to jump into the pool with his clothes on and then ended up in the kitchen playing with pots, pans and cutlery. It was a great night. The party ended at 12:30am and Dawid jumped into bed smelling like chlorine.
Good night world.
XOXO
