WHERE IS PAI?
Just a minor 4 hour drive north of Chiang Mai is a quaint little country town called Pai. Imagine boho. Views. Country roads. Coffee dates. Bars. Huts. Farmhouses. There’s a reason they call it the Pai Hole, because you get stuck in it.
HOW TO GET TO PAI?
I debated going to Pai and it was purely because of the journey there. The journey to Pai is a 4 hour drive by car or van, along a brutal 700+ turn road. So when you imagine Thai driving, on top of a 4 hour stuffy van ride and an excessive amount of twist and turns, it makes your stomach turn just thinking about it. I had heard horror stories of fellow travellers getting sick on the road and only one opportunity to stop along the way. But I just knew I couldn’t miss it, it looked incredible and so many people had raved about it. So I got myself some Kwells and bit the bullet.
We booked a van on 12Go and were collected from our hotel in the morning. The van was full and the A/C was lacking but I had taken my Kwells in advance and thankfully it had knocked me out for most of the journey and I survived without getting ill. Piki experienced some nausea and she typically is not someone who gets motion sickness so that’s saying something.
Luckily, no passengers on our van got sick and we all made it safely to Pai around 12pm.
IS PAI OVERHYPED?
Reviews on Pai are mixed. Many say it’s overrated and just as many say it’s not one to miss. Immediately when we arrived, we knew we would love it. It felt as though we were walking through a rustic, bohemian little town. Cafes, restaurants and shops lined the Main Street and you could see it was overcome with tourists. Westerners were everywhere! There is plenty to do in Pai and 3 days a great amount of time to spend here.
WHERE TO STAY IN PAI?
Pai is extremely backpacker friendly. There is an abundance of hostels and accomodation to suit all budgets. Pai town is the best place to stay because it is central and accessible to bars, restaurants and shops. We stayed at Farmhouse Boutique Hotel which was absolutely gorgeous. It was a massive property that had Hut and cabin style private rooms and a large garden and pond area to walk around. We were kindly upgraded to a large hut with a small terrace, large bed and lovely bathroom space. The accomodation was up a steep hill and a kilometre or so from town however the accomodation offered a free shuttle service to and from town at scheduled times throughout the day which was super convenient.
HOW TO GET AROUND PAI?
Grab wasn’t available in Pai which made it a little difficult to get around. You either had to book and pay through the nose for taxis, walk or ride a scooter. The main attractions were a heck of a walk so I knew I wanted another alternative and I got it in my head that I WANTED to ride a scooter. I felt like if I could do it, this was the place to since the roads were less chaotic. We had no experience riding a scooter so we had to take a “lesson” with a motorbike rental company who offered lessons. Piki wasn’t keen on driving and was not happy when I forced her to take a lesson with me. What can I say, I can’t help myself. Why should I have to do it on my own?!
I wouldn’t exactly call what we did, a “lesson”. It was us and one other young British girl, they chucked us on some bikes and made us ride (if you could even call it that. It was more like us rolling after slight acceleration) around a miniature dirt track for about 30 minutes and finished with us feeling relatively less confident!
But hey, we now knew how to turn the bike on, accelerate and brake. I was adamant I would ride while I was in Pai. We ended up renting a scooter and adrenaline must have kicked anxiety out of the way because I managed to get the hang of it pretty bloody quick. I wasn’t the most confident, I still barely knew what I was doing, but I stuck to the VERY left and went slow. In my defence, it is so bloody hard to ride with the weight of someone else on the back and my feet could barely touch the ground when coming to a stop, how was I suppose to support the weight of two and keep the bike upright!? I had one accident on the bike (I was at a standstill on an incline and toppled over) not involving anyone else, just my pride. A few scratches and bruises later, I was back on, all was well.
Having a scooter ultimately made it easier to get around and I doubt we would have had the same positive experience without one. Driving around was freeing and so convenient. We could drive out to the rural areas, relax and come back when we wanted. No sense of rushing on a booked tour or turmoil knowing we had the long walk back.
WHAT IS THERE TO DO IN PAI?
Here is a list of some of my favourite experiences in Pai:
-Walk Pai Canyon
-Walk the Bamboo bridge
-Try as many cafes and restaurants as you can
-Visit Two Huts viewpoint and cafe
-Tipsy Tubing
-Hit up a bar for Happy Hour
-Participate in Songkran
Pai is most certainly well known for its “Tipsy Tubing” activity. It is essentially a large party where you pop your swimwear on, BYO alcohol and tube down the river with hundreds of other travellers, stopping off at 3 different party stops alone the way to eat, drink and dance. Sounds fun right? It definitely was but I’d also say it’s heavily overrated. It is flooded with 18 year old Brits and drugs. It was sickening to see but I was there with good company so I enjoyed myself regardless. It’s what you make of it but if you’re travelling alone and expecting a great social scene, it’s below average.
Pai Canyon is a must do when visiting. It is the Grand Canyon of Pai and walkable. It is not for the faint hearted as there were incredibly steep and narrow paths and involved some coordinated climbing effort. I was shocked I managed to do it in all honesty. I am not a coordinated gal. The views were incredible and if not for the views, do it for the exercise.
SONGKRAN FESTIVAL
Unbeknownst to us at the time, we would be in Pai for “Songkran” which is the Thai New Year celebration. The Thai celebrate “Songkran” with a massive, 3 day, water fight in the streets. Locals, tourists and children gather their water guns, they’re sold in almost every shop in the lead up! Barrels and eskies of water are planted out the front of shops and on the back of Utes and everyone just goes crazy. No one is safe! You will be drenches for 3 days straight! Scooters and Utes are driving through the streets with locals on the back splashing bowls of water onto every passerby. Shop owners and children are standing at the front of their stores, hoses at the ready to drench you as you walk by. I have never seen anything like it and it was magnificent. It was so humbling to be apart of something so genuine and fun. Where people of all ages get involved and laughter flows through the street.
Pai was a top destination for us. We originally booked two days and ended up extending to a week, that’s how much we loved it. It was simply A VIBE. I would return in a heartbeat.
