Pai (spelled Bp-ah-y in Thai) is a remote village in the mountains outside of Chiang Mai. It is praised for being a chill, hippy village that we had heard a lot of positive things about on our first trip to Thailand but hadn't had time to visit yet. The only way to get there is to take a 4 hour mini van ride up the most winding roads we have ever been on. We took Dramamine prior to leaving because we heard that people often get motion sickness on the ride. Fortunately, neither one of us got sick and Tracker slept most of the way while I crocheted. The van arrived in the early evening and dropped us off in downtown Pai. The center of town was bustling, but I hadn't realized how far the place I had booked for us was outside of town. Unfortunately, there is no Grab service available in Pai and no taxis roaming the streets. So, we walked 30 minutes with our luggage to a remote, dead end road where our hotel was. The road was very busy, dark, and had no sidewalk. This was quite stressful and sweaty. I was particularly concerned about stepping on something dangerous while in sandals in the dark along the way. Fortunately, this didn't happen.
Our accommodations at Pho Rak Nah Pai were much more rustic than I had anticipated. We stayed in a round mud hut, complete with gecko and cockroach roommates. The windows were very small and only had screens in the bedroom. I wasn't willing to risk inviting more guests into the bathroom through open windows, so the bathroom stayed closed and wasn't able to air out while we were there. It looks like many guests before us felt the same way, because the shower area was coated with black mold from never being aired out and cleaned properly. The room was not air conditioned, which was fine in the cooler temps of Pai, but we had to keep the fan running while in the room. Unfortunately, the fan was not pointing at the bed, so it got stuffy at night. The door to our hut had holes and gaps along the bottom, which is no doubt how our unwanted guests were getting in. So in order to try and keep them out, we stuffed an area rug into the holes and held it in place with our shoes. Tracker was heroic by chasing out intruders every evening before bedtime and even carried a gecko out in his bare hands. I know they're harmless, but I didn't want to risk having one poop on my face while I was sleeping. The host at Pho Rak Nah Pai was very friendly and helpful. He welcomed us when we arrived and gave us fresh oranges from his neighbor. The best part about staying there was the little porch off the side of our hut. There was an adorable hammock and table with pillows for lounging. We both enjoyed spending time relaxing there, even though the geckos tried to poop on me a few times.
We really enjoyed the cooler weather in Pai. The mornings were overcast and in the mid 60's while we were there. The locals kept asking me if I was cold (because I was wearing summer dresses), and I was able to respond in Thai that I was not cold, which made me really happy. They were in parkas, so I understand their confusion. :D Downtown Pai is packed with tourists and tons of restaurants, bars, and weed shops. It is legal to buy marijuana in Thailand but illegal to smoke it in public. Not many tourists seem to be aware of this, but the Thai authorities weren't cracking down on anyone while we were there. Other than these three categories of businesses, we also saw motorbike rental shops, massage businesses, and tourism shops. The sidewalks were very small even though there was a lot of foot traffic. People mostly walk in the street and squeeze out of the way when vehicles come through. We had foot massages, went to a night market, and ate great food while we were there. A highlight was listening to an incredible singer while we had ramen and peanut noodles for dinner at a restaurant called Super Moon. We were blown away by her powerful voice as she sang a variety of difficult songs by artists like Adele, Sam Smith, and Lady Gaga.
On our last full day in Pai, we booked an all day tour to see the major tourist attractions around the area:
[FIXME] Add pictures
We were expecting to be picked up in an air conditioned van like we had been in previous tours, but that wasn't the case this time. Instead, we rode in a Song Thao. This is a truck with covered bench seating in the truck bed. The truck bed seats were full when they picked us up though, so we got to ride in the air conditioned cab. By the end of the day, I was feeling really sore from all the walking. We were both really glad we had gone on the tour since we were able to pack so much into one day.
