What happened in Pai

Finally getting around the write what really happened during my Pai getaway. 

I had done some research on Pai in Chiang Mai as I only had three days in the town, I wanted to make sure I'll see the best of it. I found this article online, standard ''ten best things to do in Pai'', and I decided to go with it. http://www.jonesaroundtheworld.com/10-amazing-things-to-do-in-pai-thailand/ 

I had booked myself into a very nice resort with a pool and a private rooftop as I felt like I earned some peace, quiet and luxury. 

The first day was spent scrambling around, scouting for good places and getting myself settled, motorbike and all that. The sunset was magical and the people in Pai are such sweethearts, I had reached my happy place. 

The second day I took my new ''Bob'' out for a ride. I went to greet the big white Buddha and cruised around the river. I drove up to the Chinese village to look over Pai from the view point. It was great though the hills on the way up nearly killed my bike. There is a small cafe on top and a good 360 view over the Pai and the hills surrounding it. On the way back to town I stopped by a waterfall. It was dry season so there wasn't as much water as there normally would be. 

Pai is a small place but there are great things surrounding it so I would definitely recommend renting a motorbike, makes getting around so much easier and allows you to find fantastic hidden places where tours won't take you. We had agreed to fast the afternoon so that we could stuff ourselves full with the night market food. Which is super yummy by the way. 

Next morning we decided to expand our radius, I taught my company how to ride a motorbike, and tick of a few things from our ''ten things to do'' list. We started off with The Om Garden Cafe. The best food I have eaten in 10 months. I cannot even describe it, absolutely mouthwatering and delicious. You HAVE TO go there if you ever go to Pai. Then, with our bellies full, we headed out to the Pai canyon. The canyon is not huge but it is fun, you can climb on the rocks and jump around. It's great for photos, just remember to wear good shoes. We also stopped by the Land Split. A crack between two rock caused by two tiny earthquakes in 2009 and 2011, truly nothing to see there. 

On the way back to town we found of the locations from the list I had not been able to find online; the Container cafe. It's a cafe on the side of the big main road half way to the Pai canyon where you can sit in huge nest chairs and look over the vale. We sat there for ages enjoying nice, cold, matcha tea and taking awesome colourful photos (by now you will understand that I took thousands of photos, perks of finally having someone to travel with for real). 

We decided to go enjoy the sunset at the big Buddha. I would say best place to see it in Pai. They do daily trips to the canyon for sunset, which is lovely, but the view from the sanctuary is better. 

The next day we went for a hunt for a secret waterfall by some river, a few local friends were suppose to show us where it was but they were too hungover. Of course, we failed to find it but ended up finding another waterfall where a Thai family was having a day out. I don't even know how many kids were in that pool, they just kept on popping up from everywhere and jumping off the cliffs. It was amazing, the joy in them is indescribably. They didn't mind us at all, only more targets in their water fight so we had a great time unleashing our inner children. 

In the afternoon we had a serious talk, check up our ticket prices again, decided to miss our transport on the morning after and stay in Pai for another three days. We looked up an accommodation for both of us and moved into a lovely resort by the river. 

We finally managed to stay up long enough to go have a night out at the Don't Cry reggae bar (another thing on the list). The vibe was chilled and the music was amazing, nothing to complain about. Sums up Pai quite well. 

We decided to lazy up as we now had loads more time and spent the following day by the Fluid Pool (also recommended online). The place is cool; 60 k for entering for the day, a big pool and a bar that also serves food. It's quite popular among the tourists and the expats but the vibe still remains good. We had yoga plans at the Buddha at sunrise so the night was short. 

Woke up at six am, drove to the Buddha and waited for the sun to come up. No one else was out there so it was very peaceful and quiet. Completed our yoga and drove to the Om Garden Cafe again. you might not have realised but we did eat there every single day. I'm not joking, the food was out of this world. It was healing for my little vegetarian hippie soul. Our final day mostly rotated around food and chilling in different reggae places loving life. 

My feelings on Pai; absolutely fantastic, small but so filled little hippie place in the middle of what seems to be nowhere. Gorgeous food and fabulous people. I got the rest I so desperately needed and I got a reminder of how lucky and blessed I actually am. I met my kind of people who are keen on caring about the environment, their health and what they put in their bodies. 

Zen out, 

Mira