Pai

[dtaai-maai]

A mate of mine is visiting Pai, north of Chiang Mai. It looks interesting if you're not fussy about your creature comforts (which he definitely isn't). He doesn't like capital letters or spell-checking, which I find intensely irritating, and ------- is the dreaded virus, which I presume he's fed up with.

i've arrived, after 7 ------ infested (not infeCted) weeks, in pai, north of chiang mai. Now, i may be paranoid, but there appears to be a conspiracy afoot - no masks, no temperature guns, no sprays, no handwash. it's as if ------ does not exist. Now, admittedly, there are lots of young europeans here, with a common theme of putting off the day of return to europe.

as i sit by the riverside, sipping my sundowners cocktail, my daisy dukes consigned to my shack in favour of my respectable evening shorts, the river gurgles, the paddle wheel slops, the footbridge creaks and sways as lovers canoodle, the frogs make a huge din (as lovers canoodle), the local kids emerge from swim upstream at their dam ........... . It's not quite the fearsome adrenalin of swaying bridges over the roaring green, colder than ice, marsyandi, up towards chulu in the himalayas, - e.g. I trusted the green pure, boulder strewn power of the marsyandi, unlike the suspect dull green\brown of the pai river.

But heyho, pai is an idyll, where all the streets seem to peter out into swaying bamboo f'bridges of the most, most basic design, over to the bamboo bungalow strewn field on t'other side. from £4.50pn bamboo shacks with breakers (nescafe and banana) to airconned £40 dishy concrete bungalows (is concrete allowed to be dishy). now let me think, which did i inhabit ?

pai is firmly 'backpackers' , relatively remote in it's northern mountain valley, with a hint of hippies who arrived and never left. spent. 2\5 days at a proper size pool just outta town, food, beer, cocktails all served smilingly on the grass, tables, loungers, or if course in the pool. and soothing pervasive hash hazy music wrapping around all - i even remember this music from 5 years ago.I

and a splendidly comforting 6 degrees cooler by night in these mountains. moved for 3 days to tony's, another bamboo shack but this time up a hill with a breeze, and only £3pn. bizarrely, he offers me dinner free, breakers for £2, and advertised a swimming pool - this turns out to be free entry via his mate into ' fluid ' my big pool of yesterday. my hillside shack has a balcony with missing handrail, 3\4 of a thatched roof, wooden shutter windows which open gloriously to the breeze (but don't close), and a KEY It would be way too optimistic to book it for next year. but he does have some decent rooms, and a plan (until ------ arrived). and, goddamit, free dinner did arrive as we lounged on the the cushions, an acceptable tureen of green curry.

[barrys]

We visited Pai in September/October 2018 - a friend of mine has a guest house there. It's a lovely place, very laid back, with some beautiful countryside. Decent bars/restaurants. Cool evenings. Very friendly locals. Well worth a visit....

[brianks]

Just driving the road from Chang Mai to Pai is an experience in itself. Well over 100 twists and turns in getting over and around the mountains. Also seeing the hill Tribes along the way is colorful.

[Ginjaninja]

Great roads for the bike....