From link::roryseiter.blogspot
Four hours North of Chiang Mai lies the small village of Pai. It consists mostly of guesthouses and restaurants. A few years ago there were no ATMs, dirt roads, and sleepy locals. Then people like us arrived. We arrived by the thousands. Walking down the streets was like walking through a small Hawaiian town. There were stalls selling anything that you could want. Music was playing out of everywhere, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Marley, and Jack Johnson. 
Every morning, Pai is blanketed in a cold mist. The people of Pai dress as if they are living at Everest base camp. Nepalese looking hats, scarves, gloves are all common in Pai. As the sun makes its entry, it slowly burns off the mist and the days get pretty warm.
Little did we know that we would be arriving in Pai for the biggest event of the year, the “Pai Music Celebration”. This was a festival that was a Vans Warped Tour, country fair, and swap meet all in one. Entry fee = about $1. There was a small stage with a local band playing Thai rock music. Then there was a big stage of a Thai band playing Bob Marley covers. 
There isn’t much to do in Pai, but that is the appeal. The most popular things are trekking, elephant riding, and white water rafting. The trekking consisted of overnight camping for a couple days and we were only there for one night. The white water rafting was in a river that looked toxic. Brown and slow moving wasn’t appealing, so we opted for the elephants. Very happy that we did!
From link::roryseiter.blogspot
Other links::Nina the Lone Explorer!
About Pai - Thailand
5/08/2008
Do nothing in Pai
Party Of Five
We had a couple days to kill in familiar Bangkok before the girls arrived. After re-aquainting ourselves with the over-stimulation that is Khao Sarn Road, we dropped off a couple kilos of excess backpack weight & had an amazing Italian feast at Chatree's place, got to know modern Bangkok downtown at the malls, & lay out at Lumphini Park in front of a pond full of massive lizards that we initially assumed to be either anacondas or snakes (hey, you never know in Bangkok).
An era ended & a new chapter began when the girls joined us on the other side of the world- we officially went on a vacation from our vacation. Conveniently we decided not to acknowledge Tara & Mindy's jet lag & on their first day we dropped them at the Royal Palace, took an hour long cruise of the canals, squeezed all five of us into one tuk-tuk across town where we weaved our way through hectic chinatown, explored the uber-modern central world mall, & then head to the train station where we hopped on an overnight train bound for Chiang Mai.
Immediately after checking into our hotel we called up the same massage parlor we'd visited during our first whirl through town & arranged for them to pick us up ASAP. After being chauffered, we all changed into those same orange pajamas & sipped pandanus tea in a row while our feet were scrubbed clean. The former-inmates/current queens of massage lay us out on floor cushions & introduced Tara & Min to what Thailand really has to offer... tiger balm & all. We spent the rest of the day & into the evening perusing the Sunday walking street that had erupted outside the salon unbenounced to us. Every street inside the moated area of the city had closed down & been completely taken over by vendors offering up a unique selection of food, art, & souvenirs. It seemed nearly every person in Northern Thailand was floating through the maze.
We spent our first day poolside & surrounded by mountains before heading out into town to scope out the perfect spot for Jenny's birthday celebration. At the edge of town we stumbled upon Ting Tong Bar (which means "crazy... but in a good way"), a huge open air bar ran by a lively bunch of locals who promise nightly fire shows & live to entertain. We dropped word of Jenny's birthday to this fun loving bunch & extraordinarily the next day employees donning customized Ting Tong shirts passed out flyers inviting the entire town to join in the celebration of Jenny's 23rd. Strangers were actually stopping the herd of us on the street to wish Jenny a good one. While the girls found a new pool to spread out at, Tara & I spent that afternoon playing alone in a nearby river with a couple loveable elephants. We rode bareback through the countryside & got repeatedly dumped into the river as our new friend plopped himself over repeatedly. Tara had been waiting a long time to hang out with a real elephant & the experience could not have been more ideal.
That night, after a candlelit pregame with appetizers on our bungalow patio, dinner at a local restaurant, & a quick bar crawl for some cocktails & live music, we made it fashionably late & spent a memorable night at Ting Tong. Another unique 23rd birthday in Southeast Asia!
Are you Ting Tong?
Yet another chapter begins....
From link::In The Land Of Smiles
Other links::Hippyland, Thailand
Living with Lisu Hilltribe
UtoPai
From link::2headedturtle.wordpress
They’ve got Bird Flu in Vientiane: a woman and a young girl died recently. Chickens are generally to be avoided there: Much of our time in Laos was spent barely avoiding them as they dashed across the roads.
The presence of Bird Flu may in fact explain the psychology of the suicidal road chicken, a common phenomenon across SE Asia. These silly birds dart across the road as traffic approaches, usually barely avoiding rubber in their determination to get to the other side. Why? Are they sick, depressed?
How bad, I wonder, is the incidence of suicide among Burmese chickens, now that Bird Flu has again broken out in Myanmar?
The chickens were healthy and not the least depressed in Pai, in northern Thailand, where we spent a few days (too few) before returning to Bangkok. A much greater concern in Pai is the Westerner on a motorbike.
The sidewalk eateries of Pai’s main streets are lined not with chickens awaiting the worst moment to cross a crowded street, but with wounded white people nursing bandaged heads and arms in slings, trying with difficulty to see their breakfasts through puffy, bruised eyes. A reminder of the dangers of navigating the roads and alleys in an alien driving environment – if we needed any reminder after six weeks in this motorbike-crazed part of the world.
It is said, though I don’t believe it, that five accidents a day occur in Pai – a town of little more than 4,000 – caused by Westerners who can’t handle their Vespas.
There are some mishaps, certainly. But the pathetic wounded notwithstanding (or standing at all) I figured there was no better time to learn to ride: Pai is a small, chilled-out town and the roads are generally open, and wide enough, all things considered. Also I’m very safe on the roads, as all who know me will agree. So we rented a motorbike one day and tooled around town, a first for us both, and had no mishaps besides once almost falling sideways off a bridge.
The countryside around Pai is normally dry this time of year, but this season the aridity has reached drought proportions. Dust and the smell of burning are everywhere. We buzzed up to a waterfall several kilometers outside of town: only a trickle of water spilled over the edge of the rock. Rafting trips, one of Pai’s chief industries, have been cancelled until rain comes – supposedly in April, but no one is confident anymore that that will happen. To the south, Chiang Mai is in a state of emergency because of the health-hazardous dust.
Zooming haphazardly around the sidewalk-like roads of Pai, ignoring the dust, was the most we accomplished in six days. We also mustered the energy to get a massage. It’s a nice town, admittedly overrun by touristic types but ideal for lazing around and eating well – and cheaply. Also for improving your talent for haggling: but all of SE Asia has honed that ability in us.
Not everywhere afforded us a chance to learn to pop wheelies down main street while scattering chickens, roti vendors and crippled Swedes.
Ha, ha. Kidding. About the Swedes.
Pai was a great place to relax after Hanoi, Land of Honking Horns. In an upcoming post we’ll tell you all about our adventures in northern Vietnam, mostly on four feet. In the meantime keep your wheels on the ground and your knees in the breeze. Like they do in Pai.
Places we recommend in Pai: Breeze of Pai Guesthouse; Na’s Kitchen (best food in town); Phu Pai, for coffee and great music nightly; and Bebop, for great atmosphere, and music, nightly.
From link::2headedturtle.wordpress
Other links::Chang Mai- Pai (Thailand)
5/06/2008
The life of Pai
From link::cactuschild.blogspot
There seemed to be more people eager to leave Pai than were arriving : had a struggle finding my way off the bus through the crowds getting on! I also had a struggle finding somewhere to stay within my price range : i must have wandered around Pai's traveller-filled streets for about an hour and asked in about 20 guesthouses, all of which were full. I finally settled upon one (The Swan guesthouse) a little over my budget of 200THB per night but as i basically have my own apartment (missing any kind of furniture in what should be the lounge!) then 250THB isn't bad considering!
Once i had settled into my accommodation, i took the east road out of Pai, to reach the temple on the hill (Wat Phra Tat Mae Yin) in time for sunset. There are several guesthouses, eateries and quality handicraft shops you pass on the walk out, which are well worth checking out. The view from the temple, of the surrounding valleys, is pretty awesome, especially if you catch it just at the right time as the sun is disappearing behind the clouds, giving the sky a wonderful orange hue.
Today i decided to make the 8km (i'm sure it was more than 8km!) journey up to Nam Tok Mo Paeng waterfall, and stop of at a Lahu and Lisu village on the way back. I'm very relieved now that i decided to hire a bike for the experience, as although it was all uphill on the way there (i ended up pushing my bike for much of the time!), it was a breeze on the bike on the way down! I had to keep my hands on the brakes for the majority of the journey to prevent myself from tumbling rather violently into the nearby rice field!
I'm not sure the waterfall was worth the physical effort it took to finally reach it, but it was a pleasant place to do a spot of sunbathing (you can also swim in the pools if you remember your costume, which i didn't!) and the scenery along the route up was beautiful : lots of rice fields, banana trees and sugar cane plantations in lush green valleys. I failed to locate the Lahu village and there were more Lisu people in Pai than there were in the Lisu village! Moreover, it wasn't the kind of village prepared for tourists so i didn't feel comfortable playing voyeur and snooping around in these people's lives. So i returned the bike and spent the remainder of the afternoon perusing Pai's art shops.
This evening there was a powercut in town so all the streets were candlelit, creating a lovely peaceful atmosphere. However, businesses continued as normal : shopowners served by candlelight, restauranters cooked by candlelight, the only traders made redundant were the internet cafes! I had a delicious meal, eaten by the light of the oil lamp on the table before me, at Ginger's house, a vegetarian restaurant just off Ratchadamnoen Road. The only sounds around were the odd motorbike passing at the top of the street and the quiet conversation between travellers at the tables beside me. After my meal, as i wandered down to Edible Jazz to savour a nice cold beer Chang whilst writing a few postacards, the power was briefly re-instated. I say briefly because after about an hour the skies opened and it poured with rain! It hasn't rained in Thailand since September! Subsequently, this downpour knocked the power off again, so i continued to write my postcards in candlelight while i waited for the rain to stop. It didn't, and the ground was still wet this morning . . .Pai RecommendationsPai corner. Owned by a Thai/German couple. Cool, chilled out atmosphere and the best green curry i've tasted to date. Perfect consistency, perfect spiciness, perfect almalgamation of flavours, and they serve it with sliced banana which compliments the spiciness of the dishGinger's House. Owned by an Australian guy. It's a vegetarian restaurant, all dishes served with brown rice (which makes a refreshing change), the veg/fruit juice mixes sound really tasty (unfortunately i couldn't try one due to the powercut), and the food is delicious. The place has loads of character and all seating is on the floor Japanese style.Edible Jazz. Lovely setting just off the road and surrounded by bamboo gardens. Chilled out staff, chilled out atmosphere, chilled out tunes.All About Coffee. Huge variety of real Thai coffee, as well as teas, the iced variety of both, and fruit & yoghurt shakes.Mitthai Art Shop. Quality and unusual postcards and prints and customised handmade t-shirts & pants. The shop next door (the name escapes me) sells much of the same, and both are well worth a look.Final thoughts on Pai
Pai, in my opinion, isn't the place to come if you want to do anything particularly constructive (the treks offered are pretty much the same as you'd get in Mae Hong Son and Mae Saraing but with many more tourists (so i'm told!)). However, if you want to spend your days perusing art galleries and sipping coffee (and it's real coffee, none of that nescafe s**t!) or fruit shakes and watching the world go by, or sampling some of the tastiest food in Thailand and soaking up some real music (Pai has an excellent live music scene) then pay Pai a visit and you may end up staying longer than you'd planned.
Photo is of the sun setting over the valleys outside Pai, viewed from Wat Phra Tat Mae Yin
From link::cactuschild.blogspot
Other links::Pai In The Sky
Pai - Riverside Lodge
5/04/2008
Thailand's most relaxing town, Pai, Thailand
From link::Thailand's most relaxing town, Pai, Thailand
Pai is a sleepy little town nestled in the mountains in the far North of Thailand. The Northern area is famous for its hill tribes, spectacular scenery and relaxed way of life. On the day I arrived it was pissing down and covered in cloud so I didn’t really see much in the way of scenery, but the friendliness of the locals was immediately apparent.
Wil had already been in town for over a week and was more or less settled into a guesthouse already. There was a spare room so I joined him there. Ting Tong guesthouse is quite small with only four rooms, a shared kitchen, and a living area complete with TV and DVD player. The others in the guesthouse were Chessy, an English travel writer in Pai for a few weeks already, and Francesca, and Italian photographer for Armani in Thailand to photograph local and traditional fashion (or something like that). The owner of the guesthouse- Tu, and his brother Chuwawa were possibly the nicest people I’ve ever met. They also owned a bar across town where we spent most evenings.
Straight away I fell in love with Pai. The feel of the place is so laid back and everyone (foreigner and local) are so cool and friendly. Just about every Westerner I met there had come for a week and stayed for a year!
In the week I spent in Pai I mostly sat around watching episodes of Oz, or cruised around of the scooter I hired. In the evening we’d go out for a drink at Ting Tong bar or to one of the Thai Whiskey bars across town. Then retire with a few beers at home with a DVD.
In the last few days there were torrential rains in North Thailand that caused widespread flooding and did a fair bit of damage. Only weeks earlier there was a serious deluge in the region that Pai was only just recovering from, so fresh floods were the last thing they needed. But is the spirit of the Thai’s the whole community got stuck straight into the clean up and repair job and after 2-3 days most of the work was done.
As our time in Thailand was drawing to an end we forced our selves to say a sad goodbye to Pai and all our new friends there, and made the trip back to Chiang Mai to prepare to cross into Laos.
Laters
Roh
From link::Thailand's most relaxing town, Pai, Thailand
Other links::Pang Mapa, Thailand - Cave Lodge
Just chillin in Pai, Pai, Thailand
5/03/2008
pai map
for look Guest House, Resort, Bungalow, Restaurant, Bar, Pub, Cafe, Live Music, , Coffee Shop,, Bike for rent, Souvenir, Clothing, Artshop, Bookstore, Internet Service, Elephant Camp, Bus Station
Nina the Lone Explorer!
From link::by Christina Smith
We had a great time yesterday with our cookery class. It was just the two of us so we were happy that we wouldn't look like fools, especially me with not knowing what any vegetables are! First of all she took us to the market and showed us all the different ingredients and then we went to the kitchen and started preparing our masterpieces!
We chose to make spring rolls, pad thai, thai green curry, sweet and sour chicken and a coconut and chicken soup. We did really well and I think the pad thai was one of the best I have had, even if I do say so myself! There was only one funny incident when she told us to squeeze the limes into our soup and mum admitted that she had already thrown hers in the soup about 5 minutes ago. The teacher found it funny to point out that you don't usually boil limes as they are pretty bitter!
The spring rools were the most fun and we were very impressed with all our dishes. There will definately need to be a thai style party when we are both back. We were so stuffed afterwards that we couldn't eat another thing for the rest of the day.
That night we went to the night market and managed to resist buying anything which was good. We were knackered from a whole day of activities and the heat makes you so tired all the time so we just had some drinks back at the room and got totally sucked into watching braveheart until 12:30am even though we couldn't understand a word that the scottish people were saying!!
This morning we got a minibus for 4 hours to Pai (my fav town) and it has become mum's fave town too. Its a real hippy place and nobody bugs you to buy hings so we are very chilled out. It has actually rained a bit today which I have loved as it has meant the weather has cooled down loads. I might actually be able to wear my trousers today which is very exciting. Tomorrow we might be going for an elephant ride as long as we can find one that has a proper seat because mum won't go on it otherwise.
I'm thinking there might be some buckets tonight so keep an eye out on facebook for drunken pics!
Lots of love,
Neen and Julie xxxx
From link::by Christina SmithOther links::Chiang Mai -water festival
So this is where all the other farang are
Living with Lisu Hilltribe
From link::AsiaAdventure
While in Pai I was in close proximity to many of the colorfully attired hilltribe villages living in the area. I had noticed flyers advertising homestay opportunity with one of the Lisu hilltribes with the chance to learn a little bit about their culture and lifestyle. They also had a very nice website describing their village while explaining and describing the various classes offered in the village. Several of the classes offered which interested me included learning Lisu style massage as well as the chance to meet with their village shaman/medicine man and learn a little bit about their healing work and spirituality, primarily a combination of animism and Buddhism. Other classes including learning about Lisu arts and crafts, jewelry making, meditation, detox, etc.
While it is strange enough that a seemingly primitive hilltribe village would be technological savvy enough to have their own website, it turned out to be the creation of an American expat living in the village, married to one of the Lisu women. Albert, in his 60's, has been living in Thailand for 5 yrs and in the village for several yrs. He is married to Susanan, a Lisu woman in her 40's. Together they take care of the majority of the services provided by the homestay experience. Albert takes care of the meditation, detox, jewelry making classes, etc, while Susanan the primary person instructing about Lisu arts and crafts, Lisu massage, hikes into the hills and forest to identify medicinal plants and herbs, etc.
The drive from Pai to the village of Nong Tong, near Soppong, was an extremely picturesque and windy route over a mountain pass and down into the next valley to the village of Soppong. I drove the route to Soppong and the village the day before I joined the homestay on a motorbike. Took a little over 1 hr each way and was comparable to driving Independence Pass in Colorado. The scenery was beautiful driving through the the mountains on steep narrow roads, seeing the ricefields, workers in the fields, cattle on the roads, and everything else common to the area. The next day I took a bus back to the town to start the homestay for 3 days. Wasn't sure exactly what to expect but seemed like an interesting way to experience authentic Thai life while getting away from the masses. Also hoped to learn something new and exotic while studying Lisu massage.
I was able to practice Lisu massage the day after I arrived with Susanan. It was described on the website as a meridian and energy balancing technique with acupressure. While it was a nice massage, I didn't find anything exotic or particularly different about it than I had learned in the past. It was in some ways quite similar to shiatsu which I had learned in the past. However, there didn't seem to be a focused emphasis on balancing out energy and meridians in the body. Susanan's English speaking was ok, but not good enough to be able to communicate about balancing energy and sensing nuances in people's bodies. To me it seemed quite similar to a clothed shiatsu massage that followed a routine on the body with possible focus on real tight or troubled areas of the body, of which I didn't really have any. It employed a few Thai style stretches but otherwise didn't take much from Thai massage.
I was able to receive several times from Susanan and another woman in the village, possibly a relative of hers although she didn't speak any English. Then I went through the routine myself. I had been planning on perhaps working with them for several days on learning Lisu style massage, however after experiencing the work I really didn't find it that necessary. In looking back, I believe I thought that in learning with the village women living in a tribe that they may possess some kind of secret insight or wisdom of the body which I hadn't learned or experienced yet. Perhaps their relative isolation from the modern world would have enabled them to hold onto some ancient knowledge lost from most modern people. However I didn't find this to be so. I thought the website really hyped up the massage, as well as many other aspects of the homestay, as though it would be sometime totally unique and different. This I didn't find to be so although I did enjoy the experience and enjoy taking chances in learning something new.
Another feature advertised on the website is meeting with the village shaman or medicine man and experience Lisu spirituality and healing. In talking with Albert he mentioned that I may be disappointed with the experience. Apparently the shaman speaks no English and translation from other Lisu folk possessing beginner knowledge of English wouldn't help too much. I decided to skip out on this offering of the homestay. It would have been cool if there had been a ceremonial healing or other event involving the shaman that I could have watched and experienced. However during my 3 days there nothing of that nature occurred.
From link::AsiaAdventure
Other links::Pai, Thailand
Pai (but no pie in sight!)
Pai, Thailand
From link::eganstrip
Was feeling better a day after not feeling well after 4 days of the water festival celebrating the Thai New Year. Took too many buckets of dirty water to the face and mouth, likely source being the canal surrounding the old city section where much celebration was occurring. Here lots of filthy and contaminated water flows. The Thais had no problem jumping in it and swimming while also using it as a water source for filling up their buckets during the water celebration.
After a day of rest I took a minivan to the quieter, hippy town of Pai, about 2.5 hrs northwest through the mtns on slow winding roads. Lots of beautiful scenery on the ride which gave me my first glimpse of the rice fields of Thailand. I had heard lots of great things about the town and been planning on checking it and surrounding area out when I got to the Chiang Mai area. It is nestled in a valley with mountains and wilderness surrounding it on almost all sides. Not Colorado sized snowcap mtns but sizeable and majestic enough in themselves. Unfortunately I can't see a super clear view of much of the mtns as the weather is hot and hazy, obscuring some of the clarity. Also lots of landed being burned to clear space for growing crops, sending lots of smoke in the sky. There is a nice river flowing through town but not at its highest level since rainy season ended last fall and is coming up soon in several months. Also nearby are hot springs, some beautiful waterfalls and various caves. A bit too hot for the hot springs at the moment unfortunately as hot as it is.. The river and waterfalls would be awesome during and after the rainy monsoon season coming up soon. Lots of rafting and tubing opportunities available with local businesses. Tons of trekking and other opportunities to visit the hill tribes in the nearby area are also available.
As the weather is currently summertime and in the middle of the hot season, it is hot as hell and the prime tourism season has ended. Very quiet and lowkey here in Pai. Great chance to relax from the crowds and madness of the Thai New Year and the big crowds of the past few months. Kind of a Nederland, Colorado type feel to Pai as it is nestled in the mtns with a sizable hippy contigent. Also similar to Boulder with the amount of healing centers, meditation classes, and vegetarian restaurants around town. There is a big live music and jam session scene thriving in town. I found a cool little cafe serving fresh wheatgrass grown in the front of the store. Also a huge tea selection with all kinds of herbal and medicinal teas available. I got a large bag of very good Chinese herbal tea acclaimed for its healing and immune enhancing effects, exactly what I need at the moment. Can't remember the name of it as I had never heard of it before. Nice place to hang out and meet interesting people traveling from all over the world. Met a beautiful Japanese girl there traveling byself and passing through Pai for the day. I sat with her and another crazy Austrian guy telling wild stories of traveling on the trains and busses in India 10 yrs ago.
Prices are outrageously cheap at the moment as it is the low season and not as many people in town. My first few nights I had a cheap 100 baht a night - $3 - bungalow along side the river. Thank goodness the mattress had a mosquito net as there were huge gaps all throughout the dwelling allowing easy access for anything to come inside. Not worried about snakes entering as much as the nasty centipedes and spiders. I don't need them crawling into bed with me. After 2 nights in that space I upgraded for tonight. Now paying 200 baht for a place I believe would be over 1000 baht during the high season. Still doesn't have an air conditioner but as long as I have a fan i'm ok.
From link::eganstrip
Other links::More Wildlife Wanderings in Pai
Pai, Thailand02
Chang Mai- Pai (Thailand)
From link::kateharland.vox.com
So I left you last time- in Chang Mai, at a nice comfy hotel- along with both of our stomachs! We left 9amish and climbed into a small minibus with a rather loopy driver. Unfortunately, Jamie and loopy drivers do not mix at the best of times and after several hours of THE windiest roads I have seen in my life, he wasn't feeling very happy with himself!
However windy the roads were, the mountains made up for it...so so pretty. We stopped half way for a loo break and I ordered a banana shake which I later came to regret...read on and you'll find out why! I gave Jamie the sea sickness tablets we had for sailing in Barbados, suprisingly, he accepted them and felt much better afterwards...strange that!
We arrived in Pai with slight concern as to what we were actually going to do for a week...a village with 3,000 people only, a hippy heaven...we weren't sure what to expect. So as we piled out of the minibus, we sort of just stood, with our backpacks on, in the middle of the road, just gazing! There were literally dozens and dozens of cafes, restaurants, guesthouses, bars, mexican eat houses in all directions! Things were boding rather well!
We made our way in the 35 degree heat of the day to the nearest bar for a much needed coca cola, and tried ot figure out where to stay. Low budget, whatever we could get I guess. Jamie got chatting to a couple of Spanish hippies who directed us towards a bamboo bridge across the river where we would find a selection of cheap bungalows! Great!
So off we trotted- aggh, face to face with a rather rickety looking bridge...10 bamboo poles in a row again tethered together with little bamboo mats with holes in. Not being a huge fan of these types of bridges, can imagine things going terribly wrong, we slowly made our heavy way across to the other side and for 150 baht (2.60) we received the keys to a bamboo room on stilts with a matress on the floor, a mozzie net and fan, complete with hole in all four sides! Comfortable and would do happily for a night.
I slept like a log, as usual in these rather uncomfortable places, Jamie however was not so lucky and woke up several times with a dead shoulder and leg! Around 2am, leaving Jamie asleepish, I headed out to the shared toilets (they were lit with electricity). As my dad fondly remembers me as a child with my panties around my ankles screaming at the top of my voice with my feet in the air whilsta rather large spider raced at the toilet...he will sit and giggle at the idea of a tarantula doing a similar thing at me, now 19 years of age! IT WAS NOT AMUSING AT ALL! I have never removed my bottoms so fast! This massive spider just came out of nowhere, I literally jumped off the loo, stripped off, then jumped up and down trying to either kill it or scare it away. Then ran back to the hut in my knickers holding the trousers and crawled back into bed shaking next to Jamie! He just sat there and laughed at me- the bugger!
The following mornng, a very quick decision was made that a private bathroom was needed that was totally secure to the outside world. So we upgraded, and now we have a bamboo bungalow complete with tv and a real bed! SPider free...not so, after about 10 minutes of being there, I noticed a smallish one above Jamies head! I pointed out to him and he jumped out of his skin and joined me at the other side of the room. On a ratio of fear, he lost and had to grab a glass and paper to get rid of it outside! hahahaha!
After that, we hit our swimming pool! Yes, for 2 pounds each a night, we have our own swimming pool!! Ice cold, very refreshing! After a few hours at the pool, I began to feel funny...o oh, quick dash back to our bungalow and the beginning of a fun few days began. It turned out that- beingthe only thing that I had and Jamie did not, the banana shake the previous day had been made with local water- straight from the river...well we saw for oursleves and flushed it oursleves what the Thai people pump into their rivers! I do not need to expand on details, but 48 hours later and after buckets of magic pills, I was feeling much better! Jamie looked after me well and made up for leaving me in Chang mai...he is forgiven!
Donning the sunglasses as I had not been outdoors in a while this morning, we headed out for a breakfast of steak sandwich and french fries (or chips as I keep forgetting to call them now). After that, we decided we needed an adrenaline rush- so we hired a 125cc motorbike! Those who know me, and those who know Jamie will realise that neither of us have ever driven a bike before in our lives! Hahahahahaaa! It's perfectly legal out here to drive without a liscense- we have seen children younder than 10 doing it! We were given helmets though- among the few on the road who do wear them...most people are husband wife and 3 children on one bike and whoever sits on the back will get the one and only helmet they can afford to own.
So there we are, teaching ourselves how to drive a bike...Jamie is a natural the lucky thing, he took to it straight away and has decided he wants to get a liscense in the UK...shock horror! Me however, after revving the engine by accident whilst trying to turn it around, I only nearly hit several fences! Corners aren't so great either! I did better on the long run though, Jamie was on the back- I'm getting better at starting off as well, there's only a moderate chance that we'll miss the forward position and hit the ditch instead...maybe I will let Jamie drive tomorrow!
We spent a fantastic afternoon with the wind in my hair (Jamie's is much too short at the moment), and cruised around the country roads of Pai. It is beautiful, forests are similar to ours at home in the UK, only greener and hotter. Roads are full of potholes, and crazy people are always overtaking at horrendous speeds, but rather them than me! Here we actually get to see what they are talking about on the news all the time...the farmers here do not understand what damage they are doing, but they just set fire and to and burn vast parts of the forest down to clear space for agriculture...rice paddies. Fires have been burning on the surrounding hills since we arrived here, it's very sad to watch. We cruised past more elephant camps, actually met one on the road- the same as passing a horse, only 5 times the size and a rather bizarre sight! We stopped off in a roadside cafe for some drinks, it turned out the man lived there, he had a breeze block room which when he opened the door for our change, it contained only mats and blankets to sleep on- that's all he had. Poeple are very very poor over here, even more so than Mexico or Belize. They just spend their days swinging in hammocks waiting for white people like us to come and buy their goods so that they can eat that night...we can't buy everything and I always feel so bad refusing things.
Anyway, returning home, we did the usual, bought more water, climbed into our room, had a cold shower and sat under the fan watching tv cooling off...a lovely end to a lovely day out on the bike! Off for something hopefully edible to eat now. We leave for Chang Mai on 26th March ready to catch a boat into Laos that will take 2 days...from there...we have no idea what it will be like. I will probably update again in Chang Mai, if you do not hear from us for a couple of weeks, do not panick, we are way off the beaten track and the chances of there being normal things like tv, internet, phones...are slim!
Goodbye for now!
Kate and Jamie xxx
From link::kateharland.vox.com
Other links::More Wildlife Wanderings in Pai
Pai (but no pie in sight!)
A Piece of Pai, A Slice of Heaven
From link::www.travelpod.com
A piece of Pai, is like a slice of heaven tucked in between lush green jungled mountains in the North West of Thailand. Pai means "bye" in Thai, which is kind of ironic because once no one seems to go anywhere once they arrive here. A traveler once wrote that "Pai is the kind of place I'd be inclined to despise if there wasn't so much that I liked here." Pai is nothing more than a tic-tac-toe of small streets making up a small village hidden amongst mountains that has become disgustingly overrun with tourists through the years. Generally speaking, I avoid places that are overrun with tourists, and wherever my travel guide book tells me to go, I go the opposite direction. But, after a month of Asia, this refreshing "farang" retreat was just what I needed.
Streets are lined with the typical Thai tourist attractions of river rafting and hill trekking, but more so attractive are the local hill tribes-women weaving purses and hats in brilliantly vibrant colors. Bakeries and restaurants galore offer international cuisine and coffee and internet shops offer a chance to retouch with those back home. The towns' aroma is a pleasant mixture of patchouli oil and Thai curry. Just outside town offers chances to relax in hot springs or visit waterfalls. But more than what this town offers to travelers, is its feeling and spirit which makes it so enchanting.
We settled into Villa de Pai, a lackadaisical little village of straw thatched roof bungalows with outdoor bathrooms on the banks of the muddy, racing Pai River. We arrived the night after a major flood and were welcomed to our bungalow with mud up to our mid-calves. At first, this was a deterrent, but quickly the mud became fun, shoeless we trudged through the area meeting many Israelis on holiday. I quickly re-named the Villa de Pai, the Gaza Strip, and once again felt like a minority. Villa de Pai became a picturesque community of backpackers, strumming guitars, smoking hand rolled cigarettes whilst sharing travel stories and watching the river pass by from our patios. On Sunday evening, a few of the men organized and prepared a community BBQ with fresh meats and vegetables, whisky and beer, and we all gathered around to eat and drink until the wee hours of the morning. It felt like living on a kibbutz.
Always the adventure seeker in me, I had the chance to learn to river kayak down the Pai River. It was my first time kayaking in a river and it was a rush to say the least. An intricate and almost sensual balance of body weight and positioning, I quickly picked-up the basics and off I went down the small rapids. I managed the small rapids while managing not to tip over which brought on cheers of praise from my friends on near-by kayaks. The river flows through the jungles offering stunning views of the outlaying mountains and bamboo huts along the banks. The low laying clouds sit atop the mountains as sprinkles of rain softly land adding to the force of the river flow.
Other links::Pai - Riverside Lodge
Pai, Thailand01
5/02/2008
Pai - Riverside Lodge
From link::www.travelpod.com
After leaving the bitter taste in my mouth from seeing what Chiang Mai had become, I took one of the luxuries of tourist hell traps that I enjoy, expensive door to door tourist minivans, to Pai. On the bus, I met an American from of all places Lincoln, Nebraska. I've been a lot of places around the world and besides Dano, Mark is the only other Nebraskan that I've seen outside of Nebraska. I spent about an hour looking for a nice place 2 chill out before I gave up and just rented motorbikes to cruise around the beautiful valleys and hills around Pai.
Other links::A Piece of Pai, A Slice of Heaven
More Wildlife Wanderings in Pai
More Wildlife Wanderings in Pai
Just thought I'd take the opportunity to do another update between the morning and afternoon session of ,, School!
This morning I learned about different Thai ingredients and made a red cury paste, which I used for a really delicioua penang curry that we ate for lunch. Later we are learning about and making soups and stir fries for tea. I'm also going to get the low down on a desert consisting of Thai sticky coconut rice with mango - because it is to die for ... well almost!
Today, on the course which is entitled 'Let's Wok with Tee', there is me, a German girl called Helena and the teacher 'Tee'. We each make a different dish so that we can learn how to cook lots of different things.
I have a recipe book and detailed notes, so hopefully I can cook up a proper Thai treat for you all when I finally get settled again :o)
Yesterday I hired a very rickety mountain bike and got in some serious excercise peddaling around and about. I think I must hve covered about 20-30km on the bike and also walked about 10km. The scenery is so beautiful. The walk was through the forest and through and along a stream/river in search of a waterfall. Unfortunately I had to give up and turn back before I got to the falls because they were further than I thought and I didn't want to be in the forest after sunset! There were lots of beautiful butterflies but ost of them were too fast for me to photograph.
I saw a snake as I was cycling along the highway back to Pai but it too was quick and had disappeared by the time I had stopped and got my camera out! But I managed to get this chameleon ok. Hasn't he got fantastic colours?!
The rains have come early here this year. It is mostly very hot and dry but every day for about an hour it absolutely hammers down. That' what it's doing at the moment. Hence I don't feel too guilty at being in the internet cafe!
Got quite a packed day tomorrow. Tomorrow morning I plan to go to the hot springs and then Pai Canyon, so will probably hire a bike again. Hopefully I can find one with gears that work this time! At 9pm I'm catching an overnight bus to Chaing Khong, then crossing the river into Laos. I'm then taking the slow boat down the Mekhong to a place called Luang Prabang. The boat trip takes two days, we stop overnight in a small town called Pak Beng and arrive in Laos on Monday evening at about 5pm. So that's how I shall be speing my 35th (ouch) birthday! As a real treat, I have just booked myself into a nice hotel for a couple of nights - check it out! http://www.grandluangprabang.com (This is the website for where I'm staying at the moment by the way http://www.pairadise.com)
It's low season here at the moment (which I didn't realise when I booked). So things are fairly quiet - but in a way that's quite nice. I've still not hooked up with anyone else, but I suspect that is more by choice! I've met lots of nice people but it is all fairly transient and you realise not everyone is on the same wavelength. It's not a problem though, I'm really enjoying the experience and taking each day as it comes.
Well I think that's it for today. I will ask the guys and cooking school to take some photos, since several of you keep nagging me for more pics.
Right I'm off for a coffee :o)
TTFN
Nx
From link::Smiley Nix Big Adventure
Other links::Canyon Land in Pai, Thailand
A Piece of Pai, A Slice of Heaven
Pai, Thailand02
Link::From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pai suffered a huge mudslide and severe flooding in 2005, resulting in major structural damage to homes, resorts, storefronts, and bridges. The town had almost completely recovered by the time the 2006 high season began.
Controversy over Police Conduct
Although it is a sleepy town in the mountains, Pai has over the past decade generated an unusual amount of controversy (even for Thailand) concerning the conduct of its local police, as well as the conduct of Thai drug enforcement police operating there. This is partially due to the proximity of Pai to drug routes from the Shan State in Burma, however given the post-2000 rise in incidents involving foreign tourists, it is evident that other factors are also at work. Some examples of this clear long-term trend in Pai include:
- On December 24th, 2001, the local Pai police arrested and jailed the owner of Bebop bar, with the rather dubious explanation that he was "letting people dance in a place of business not officially licensed as a ‘disco.’"[7] After this event, both Bebob and Mountain Blue received additional discriminatory treatment in the form of illegal, or uneven, application of Thailand's closing-time laws. The so-called "dancing ban" by the Thai Police became a famous and well-known joke which business owners are still talking about in 2008.
- Also in 2001, and again in 2003, Pai district officials and police began enforcing several illegal measures ostensibly aimed at increasing "safety" for the local tourists, specifically "a ‘recommendation’ via illegal denial of permits whereby all guesthouses must have walls made from a solid material, such as wood, gypsum, compressed fibre or cement"[8] rather than the cheaper and more traditional bamboo favored by many guesthouse owners and low-budget backpackers. Most locals suspected other motives were involved, including both a desire to "weed out" low-budget tourists and to encourage higher-priced construction that would generate higher construction kickbacks. Several locals pointed out uneven enforcement of these laws for different businesses, depending on personal relationships with the police or district officials.
- The so-called "War on Drugs" launched in February 2003 by former (now deposed) Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in which "more than 2,000 people in Thailand were killed as the government effectively declared 'open season' on those accused of involvement in the drug trade,"[9], took a heavy toll on Pai district and downtown Pai in particular. Many locals whose family members were murdered without investigation now take an extremely skeptical view towards any police action here.[10]
- In 2006, the Pai Police purchased a new mobile drug testing vehicle, and there have been numerous reported instances of the police entering bars and other establishments and randomly urine-testing foreign tourists. In many of these cases it is apparent that the searches were not performed legally. In Thailand, "when requesting urinalysis for drug identification purposes, at least one member of the Narcotics Suppression Police must be present. Regular Thai police do not have this right, nor do the Tourist Police. Second of all, there must be probable cause."[11]. In most cases, apprehended suspects are detained in Mae Hong Son jail for a few days, then released with a "fine" typically on the order of 5,000-10,000 baht.[12]
- On January 5th 2008, Pai made national and international news when an off-duty police officer, Sgt-Major Uthai Dechawiwat, fatally shot Canadian tourist John Leo Del Pinto, and shot and wounded a second Canadian tourist Carly Reisig, fleeing the scene immediately after the event.[13][14] Nearly all involved believe that both the policeman and suspects were drunk at the time. Official police reports differ widely from eye-witness reports and it is expected that the officer will be acquitted by the Thai Justice system. In an extremely unusual development which highlights the deep integrity issues that exist with the Pai police, reporter Andrew Drummond published an editorial in The Nation where he expressed his regrets for publishing views from all sides of the story in his earlier Nation article because:
"While the facts presented were true, they have been wrongly taken in a malicious way by many...What the journalist cannot convey sometimes is his opinion of whether the witnesses are telling the truth or show immediately what links these witnesses have to the police....I am very concerned at several aspects of this case:
- The police claiming that Reisig was pregnant and this had angered a jealous foreign boyfriend.
- The claims by the police shooter that he had been out of town before the shooting, when other witnesses were saying the officer was drinking heavily that night in Pai.
- The threats to prosecute Reisig for assault on police.
- The automatic bail for the police gunman.
- The fact that local police are investigating themselves.
- The claims that the gun had discharged three times accidentally."
- In a January, 2008 editorial published in Chiang Mai CityLife (submitted in December, 2007),anonymous author "A Tourist" eerily anticipates the January, 2008 shooting in his/her strongly-worded objection to excessive police actions in Pai:
"I have noticed another significant change over the last year, which is the reason for writing this letter. The method of law enforcement in this small town needs to be seriously examined....I accept that changes are necessary. I also agree that noise pollution should be carefully monitored and controlled, as should drug abuse and any other illegal acts or unpleasant kinds of behaviour, but we ought not to be scared to leave our homes (or guesthouses)! ... One Saturday in particular remains in my memory, where several police officers decided to inspect a party at a bar in town. I believe that they were looking for drugs. I along with many other tourists was especially shocked to see that one officer was carrying a machine gun...This kind of behaviour is likely to scare tourists and leave very negative impressions on them with regards to Pai town as a holiday destination...The police are also actively confiscating other vehicles, testing individuals at random for drugs and alcohol abuse, detaining owners of restaurants and bars for remaining open past the agreed time, and generally making a lot of noise in a relatively quiet town that did not appear to have many problems beforehand....The increased police presence is clearly visible and does not, in my opinion, make Pai town look like a place one would like to visit. There is also a general feeling of unrest here and I feel that it is quite obvious to the tourist travelling through. The police are unapproachable and menacing. This has a strong negative impact on the atmosphere here in Pai town. The previously friendly and welcoming town appears to have changed into a place where everyone is afraid to even walk down the street in case they are accused of doing something wrong. Should the police not be employed to protect civilians? Should they not be approachable in case I or someone else requires some help? They are certainly not even close to doing what a police force is meant to do."
