Pai

Pai… Wonderful Pai.

We were driving for hours to get there. Just imagine the scene; backpackers and locals, all together packed in the smallest van in Thailand while our backpacks were piled “steady” on the roof. It was steaming hot but the views made it worth it. We were driving up mountain roads in Northern Thailand, all the way from Chiang Mai to Pai. Every single curve we drove I was sure I would see my backpack falling from the roof into the ditch and all the way doooown the valley. I was terrified.

We were told Pai was the hippiest town in Thailand, but what we found out was that it was not just only the hippiest town – it’s also the scooter accident capital and the food poisoning capital of Thailand. And yes, we got them both.

But that didn’t hold us back from having fun. We loved Pai. It was such a nice little town with a good, chilled atmosphere, and absolutely breathtaking surroundings.

Here’s our hostel. No doors, no windows, just mosquitoes nets and a roof made of leaves. It was great. Except that days were ridiculously hot and you couldn’t escape the heat anywhere, as indoors were what the were… and on the contrary the nights were super cold even though you had three covers and wool socks on. 😀 Oh well! That’s life.

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We were there for over a week instead of four days. It’s one of the chilliest place I’ve ever been to. Everyone kept asking us what on earth did we do there for over a week! “It’s such a small place!” But here’s what; Every single evening you watch the sun set behind the mountains, it looks magical with all the smoke rising from the wood fires in between the dark mountain hills. Then slowly the stars come out in the night. No light pollution, just you and the stars. Maybe some water buffaloes, mooing on the field. It’s absolutely beautiful. Nights go by fast cos you’re just chilling and drinking and smoking at the campfire with your new hostel friends. Why would you ever leave this place?! I’m quite surprised we didn’t stay there for longer!

It’s like there’s no time existing at all in Pai.

You just… are. Days go by, one day you chill on a hammock reading a book the whole day, next day you go drive around with a scooter. We went to the secret pools in the middle of a jungle and later on we drove to the canyon to watch sunset. Here’s how breathtakingly beautiful it was. My photos here are not edited, so you can only imagine how it was live…

The peace.

Here’s the secret pools. Imagine a hot summer day in the valley and you dip yourself in that cool crystal clear water. Ahh. That’s when I fell in love with Pai.

Here we hitchhiked, haha. Great group we had. And it was so much fun!!! We decided not to continue the dangerous dusty roads with our scooters, so we just put our thumbs up and waited for about a minute or two and a local truck stopped and picked us up! So easy! And so great. We were so happy. 😀

Pai is definitely my favorite place in Thailand, no place else has the same kind of atmosphere as in Pai. I will always return to those beautiful nights at the campfire in my memories. Sky full of stars, someone playing guitar or ukulele. Oh, memories.

Hope to see you again one day.

Take care xx