I've just come back from one of the most beautiful places I've ever been - Pai, a small town, north of Chiang Mai. I set off on Friday for the 3 hour mini-van journey which is an experience in itself. The road weaves through some absolutely jaw-dropping scenery, up and down 2 mountains and into rural Thailand.
After finding a guesthouse I headed out for something to eat. At the time I was experimenting with being a vegetarian for a week in order to be healthier and balance out all the boozing and late nights that are inevitable when you're travelling. It's quite easy to do here as there's lots of variety of veg food, but I fell off the wagon after 3 days and had something with meat in it I'm afraid. After my meal I had a bit of a walk around Pai. It seemed very quiet and I was a bit worried I was in for a dull weekend. I was very wrong!
Eventually I came across a bar with people inside so I went in. I met up with an English guy who gave me a few tips about what to do and where to go in Pai. It seemed that everyone does the bar 'circuit' at night, which came about because they all shut at different times and when one shuts everyone speeds off to the next one. I say 'speeds' because although Pai is quite small, it's not that small so a moped is needed to get around. I was a bit shocked at first to see so many people drink driving, but after a pretty drunk Scotsman gave me a lift to the next bar I understood. Firstly drink-driving doesn't seem to be at all illegal in Thailand, secondly the mopeds are so easy to ride that a monkey could operate one (even a drunken monkey I suspect), and thirdly there's really not a lot you can crash into in Pai.
During the evening that followed I hung out with the aforementioned Scotsman, Ally, and 2 American guys called James and Tom. I met so many people on top of these that it would be impossible to write about them all (even if I did have a perfect memory of the night!). Pai is one of the friendliest places I can ever remember being. It's like a little community. Locals, ex-pats and short-term backpackers mingle and everyone gets to know everyone within a day or 2. The atmosphere is lovely.
The night finished back on the porch of Ally's bamboo hut by the river. It was spectacular watching the sun come up to reveal the picture-postcard surroundings of the mountain tops shrouded with clouds and the river babbling past.
Obviously seeing the sun comes up takes it toll on the day time and I was still in bed at 3pm the next day, but after a nice American breakfast at 4.30pm (so back on the meat now) I managed to get myself sorted enough to get a scooter. After a very comprehensive training course (turning in a circle and driving 20 feet down a deserted road!) I had my wheels.
Since I'd had no real respite from the heat for the last few weeks I decided to head straight up to the nearest waterfall, about a 20 min ride away. The ride up there took me through some very beautiful countryside. I'm going to have to use the word 'beautiful' a lot when talking about Pai - there are simply no other words to describe it. There were mountains, dry paddy fields and a few traditional looking houses. Once I got up to the falls it was even more beautiful. The water was cascading down a mountain into a pool of a size that you could swim in it. Then it continued down to 2 or 3 smaller pools that were perfect for just laying in and cooling down. There were quite a few people in the bigger pool at the time so I just settled for laying down in a smaller one. The water was crisp and cool; perfect after the sweaty ride.
After my nice refreshing waterfall bath I drove back down to the town and headed out for the evening. I drove round to the pub to meet up with the guys but Ally didn't make it. It seems some Scotsman can't handle their whisky after all! James, Tom and I met up with a Polish couple and took them over to Bebop Cafe, to listen to some live music. I wasn't quite ready for passengers yet so the others took them! There were some old westerners playing that night but they weren't too bad and even slipped in a bit of Kaiser Chiefs. Soon it was closing time and it was time to get back on 'the circuit'. James had disappeared for a while so I now had to take a passenger. It was certainly a baptism of fire taking a 15 stone Pole on the back of my little bike, but we survived and I felt like my riding skills were now on a par with Evel Kneivel, Streethawk and Ghost Rider all rolled into one!
We all ended up staying at the Fubar until the early hours. It's a great location over the river and it's built mainly from bamboo. The owner is also an Englishman so we could talk about football, sausage and mash and the like! Also, everyone who you see through the day and earlier part of the night eventually ends up at Fubar so it's got a great meeting place atmosphere. It's like going into your local at home when you know half the people in there.
The next morning I got hold of a map of Pai. I spotted more waterfalls, some hot springs and an elephant conservation centre which were of interest to me. I decided to do a little tour of the waterfalls. I drove off to the first one at Pam Bok which was about 12km away (7.5 miles) apparently, but it seemed much further when I drove it. Perhaps it was because the roads are so windy where they meander through the hills and moutains. It doesn't really matter how far it is though as the drive there is more than half the fun, the scenery and surroundings are so lovely.
Once I got to Pam Bok though it was a little disappointing. It's quiet place to chill bit not really much good for swimming in. I took a walk up to the pool and then decided to leave. At the bottom of the hill I'd seen a sign pointing to another waterfall 3 km away. I reasoned that the more of the beaten path a place is, the more peaceful and untouched it would be. I hopped back on the bike and sped off to find it. The roads were a lot of fun to begin with, up and down mountain with steep drop-offs and no barriers! I came across a few villages too which was interesting to see. I wondered how people could live in such a rural place, but then I looked around me and realised how idyllic it really was. Then the roads started to get a little bit bumpy. Big potholes started to appear and soon the road was just one big series of potholes. I imagined I was a contestant on Kickstart and ploughed onwards! After 1 1/2 hours I started to think perhaps the sign had been a little bit misleading. Or perhaps this waterfall had dried up long ago. Either way, it was time to head back so I retraced my route all the way back up to Pai and headed up to the waterfall I'd been to the day before.
I was heading back the next day so I resolved to get an early night... unfortunately resolve is not one of my strong points when it comes to denying myself some fun! The night followed a similar pattern (er, pretty much identical actually!) to the nights before and I ended up hitting the hay at around the same time the birds were waking up. I had to check out at 11 am so I woke at 10 and decided to my morning shower should be of the natural variety. I got straight on my bike and drove up to the waterfall. I got up to the car park (not really a car park, just where everyone leaves their bikes) and there was not another vehicle to be seen. It couldn't be deserted could it I thought. I hurried down to the water and YES! It was totally empty. I had an entire waterfall to myself. I swam in the pool and stood under the water coming down the rocks. The view down the mountain through the river valley was spectacular. It was perfect.
I didn't want to leave the waterfall but my bus back to Chiang Mai was leaving at 2pm so I had to head back into town. After a one last ride around I took the bike back and got in the mini-van. Once on the bus I realised that perhaps river water is not a completely effective substitute for a shower with soap! Ah well I thought, and fell asleep for most of the journey back to CM.
After finding a guesthouse I headed out for something to eat. At the time I was experimenting with being a vegetarian for a week in order to be healthier and balance out all the boozing and late nights that are inevitable when you're travelling. It's quite easy to do here as there's lots of variety of veg food, but I fell off the wagon after 3 days and had something with meat in it I'm afraid. After my meal I had a bit of a walk around Pai. It seemed very quiet and I was a bit worried I was in for a dull weekend. I was very wrong!
Eventually I came across a bar with people inside so I went in. I met up with an English guy who gave me a few tips about what to do and where to go in Pai. It seemed that everyone does the bar 'circuit' at night, which came about because they all shut at different times and when one shuts everyone speeds off to the next one. I say 'speeds' because although Pai is quite small, it's not that small so a moped is needed to get around. I was a bit shocked at first to see so many people drink driving, but after a pretty drunk Scotsman gave me a lift to the next bar I understood. Firstly drink-driving doesn't seem to be at all illegal in Thailand, secondly the mopeds are so easy to ride that a monkey could operate one (even a drunken monkey I suspect), and thirdly there's really not a lot you can crash into in Pai.
During the evening that followed I hung out with the aforementioned Scotsman, Ally, and 2 American guys called James and Tom. I met so many people on top of these that it would be impossible to write about them all (even if I did have a perfect memory of the night!). Pai is one of the friendliest places I can ever remember being. It's like a little community. Locals, ex-pats and short-term backpackers mingle and everyone gets to know everyone within a day or 2. The atmosphere is lovely.
The night finished back on the porch of Ally's bamboo hut by the river. It was spectacular watching the sun come up to reveal the picture-postcard surroundings of the mountain tops shrouded with clouds and the river babbling past.
Obviously seeing the sun comes up takes it toll on the day time and I was still in bed at 3pm the next day, but after a nice American breakfast at 4.30pm (so back on the meat now) I managed to get myself sorted enough to get a scooter. After a very comprehensive training course (turning in a circle and driving 20 feet down a deserted road!) I had my wheels.
Since I'd had no real respite from the heat for the last few weeks I decided to head straight up to the nearest waterfall, about a 20 min ride away. The ride up there took me through some very beautiful countryside. I'm going to have to use the word 'beautiful' a lot when talking about Pai - there are simply no other words to describe it. There were mountains, dry paddy fields and a few traditional looking houses. Once I got up to the falls it was even more beautiful. The water was cascading down a mountain into a pool of a size that you could swim in it. Then it continued down to 2 or 3 smaller pools that were perfect for just laying in and cooling down. There were quite a few people in the bigger pool at the time so I just settled for laying down in a smaller one. The water was crisp and cool; perfect after the sweaty ride.
After my nice refreshing waterfall bath I drove back down to the town and headed out for the evening. I drove round to the pub to meet up with the guys but Ally didn't make it. It seems some Scotsman can't handle their whisky after all! James, Tom and I met up with a Polish couple and took them over to Bebop Cafe, to listen to some live music. I wasn't quite ready for passengers yet so the others took them! There were some old westerners playing that night but they weren't too bad and even slipped in a bit of Kaiser Chiefs. Soon it was closing time and it was time to get back on 'the circuit'. James had disappeared for a while so I now had to take a passenger. It was certainly a baptism of fire taking a 15 stone Pole on the back of my little bike, but we survived and I felt like my riding skills were now on a par with Evel Kneivel, Streethawk and Ghost Rider all rolled into one!
We all ended up staying at the Fubar until the early hours. It's a great location over the river and it's built mainly from bamboo. The owner is also an Englishman so we could talk about football, sausage and mash and the like! Also, everyone who you see through the day and earlier part of the night eventually ends up at Fubar so it's got a great meeting place atmosphere. It's like going into your local at home when you know half the people in there.
The next morning I got hold of a map of Pai. I spotted more waterfalls, some hot springs and an elephant conservation centre which were of interest to me. I decided to do a little tour of the waterfalls. I drove off to the first one at Pam Bok which was about 12km away (7.5 miles) apparently, but it seemed much further when I drove it. Perhaps it was because the roads are so windy where they meander through the hills and moutains. It doesn't really matter how far it is though as the drive there is more than half the fun, the scenery and surroundings are so lovely.
Once I got to Pam Bok though it was a little disappointing. It's quiet place to chill bit not really much good for swimming in. I took a walk up to the pool and then decided to leave. At the bottom of the hill I'd seen a sign pointing to another waterfall 3 km away. I reasoned that the more of the beaten path a place is, the more peaceful and untouched it would be. I hopped back on the bike and sped off to find it. The roads were a lot of fun to begin with, up and down mountain with steep drop-offs and no barriers! I came across a few villages too which was interesting to see. I wondered how people could live in such a rural place, but then I looked around me and realised how idyllic it really was. Then the roads started to get a little bit bumpy. Big potholes started to appear and soon the road was just one big series of potholes. I imagined I was a contestant on Kickstart and ploughed onwards! After 1 1/2 hours I started to think perhaps the sign had been a little bit misleading. Or perhaps this waterfall had dried up long ago. Either way, it was time to head back so I retraced my route all the way back up to Pai and headed up to the waterfall I'd been to the day before.
I was heading back the next day so I resolved to get an early night... unfortunately resolve is not one of my strong points when it comes to denying myself some fun! The night followed a similar pattern (er, pretty much identical actually!) to the nights before and I ended up hitting the hay at around the same time the birds were waking up. I had to check out at 11 am so I woke at 10 and decided to my morning shower should be of the natural variety. I got straight on my bike and drove up to the waterfall. I got up to the car park (not really a car park, just where everyone leaves their bikes) and there was not another vehicle to be seen. It couldn't be deserted could it I thought. I hurried down to the water and YES! It was totally empty. I had an entire waterfall to myself. I swam in the pool and stood under the water coming down the rocks. The view down the mountain through the river valley was spectacular. It was perfect.
I didn't want to leave the waterfall but my bus back to Chiang Mai was leaving at 2pm so I had to head back into town. After a one last ride around I took the bike back and got in the mini-van. Once on the bus I realised that perhaps river water is not a completely effective substitute for a shower with soap! Ah well I thought, and fell asleep for most of the journey back to CM.
No comments:
Post a Comment