Off the Beaten Track in Pai

Since we’re massively saving money for the house and the potential renovation and the maybe wedding, we decided we won’t be going anywhere this year *sadface* However Bryan did suggest going back to Pai this December and I was happy again.

I was categorizing this blog’s posts when I realised I had prepared these pictures some time back but never got round to publishing it. Here are set 3 of a series of Pai 2009 photos. Series 1 and series 2 are linked here.

about a few kilometres off the main town of Pai you have long stretches of road peppered with coffee places such as this. Very popular with Thais, they serve simple coffee, thai music and a view of the countryside.

Tourists from Bangkok

Postman Pai.

let sleeping dogs lie. next to this huge ass tiffin.

Further east along the hillside we found yet another cafe which served sweet iced teas and warm hospitality. They had a few huts that littered the area so we parked ourselves in one of them. While Bryan read his book, I laid in the hammock and wished the holiday would never end.

Resident cat who decided to join us.

the bandit and his princess.

99 baht stories.

at night, we hung out at a reggae & blues bar. i’ve never had so much fun.

Scootering around Pai

When people ask me to describe Pai, I don’t know what to say. It’s like this little town with lots of small town culture. there’s music, art, design and love. when I say art, I don’t mean traditional Thai art such as woven bags / pouches / scarves but little modern cutesy etsy styled art that mostly centres around that which is Pai. you have local designers whose craft range from the fact that Pai is 3 hours bus ride from Chiang Mai, 6 hours by motorbike, 25mins by plane down route 1095. or little Pai dolls or little monsters or proclamations that as much as you love Pai, Pai loves you too.

One of the shops near our boutique hotel. I stop by it every day to see what new useless thing I could buy home.

one of the many cafes around Pai. they have this huge menu of 101 things to eat, ranging from Thai food to Northern Thai specialties (you can’t find in any restaurant in Singapore) and Western food. Due to the influx of white people in Pai, you get a few shops run by these people who have decided Pai is the place to settle down and never go anywhere again. I don’t blame them. I don’t mind living here.

A shop of hammocks. was tempted to get the rainbow one except I wouldn’t know where to put it. Maybe hang it over my bed. so in case I roll and fall out of it in the middle of the night, I still have my bed to catch me.

There were stray dogs aplenty in Pai, actually most of Thailand. I can’t figure out why (considering stray cats are the norm in Singapore) but I’m not complaining. I’d run up and hug a dog any day but not a cat. This yellow mongrel on the right had his nose on my banana pancakes so he followed us down the streets hoping for a treat.

Just a short drive away were the hills of Pai. we found this little cafe on the way to the waterfall so we stopped by on our way back for a beer. this man, I forgot his name, runs the cafe and the villas with his wife. his dad is actually Teochew so we got really excited knowing our grandfathers probably came from the same village or something, although he spoke not a word of it. He said we reminded him of his children, who were either living in Bangkok or New York or some far flung city. I think it’s pretty amazing that a small town man like him managed to bring up 3 children who are now in big cities doing big city things.

he said I was like his daughter

at another Thai restaurant where I ordered my favourite steam fish (with lime and chili). the seafood here is so cheap and fresh. one fish like that costs about $28 back home. here? it’s only about $6-$8. I CAN SO LIVE IN PAI!

Basil minced chicken MMMMMMM

I lost my heart in Pai

Listen to this while reading: A Kingdom by Karaocake

I realised rather belatedly that I never finished putting up my Chiang Mai pictures from December 2009. So here are some pictures from my favourite place on earth. I’m putting it up now coz I couldn’t get tickets to Pai this year and i’m really upset by it. So i’m looking at Pai pictures instead.

If I’ve never mentioned it before, Pai is my favourite place on earth. I still love New York City and Tokyo but I didn’t find such quiet bliss as I did in Pai. When Bryan suggested visiting Pai, I was a little skeptical about this little town but when I got there, I’m so glad I did. it’s the prettiest little town I’ve ever seen. It’s quiet, colourful and friendly. Except for the occasional european tourist or two that make too much noise at night pounding in between rooms at our hotel (photo above), everything else was perfect.

Pai is a three hour bus ride from Chiang Mai. there is a little stop over hut along the way for bathroom breaks and smokes. I’m actually adverse to bus rides since I get motion sickness really easily but as you can tell from the picture on the left, I was surviving like a little trooper.

Pai had many stray dogs, something I noticed that’s prevalent in Thailand. this one followed us coz I was holding onto a dish of nibbles and his nose (and tummy) called me its best friend.

The northern part of Thailand borders Laos so many of its exports could be found here. I bravely drank from the bottle and ate from the many street stalls. Here I think I’m eating banana pancakes. That whole week, between Bryan and I, we visited the potty close to 30 times. but what’s adventure without a bit of germs?

A stall that sold everything plastic.

This was one of my favourite sights in Pai. The dude on the far right is one of Pai’s illustrious policeman. I don’t know what he does in the day time coz I don’t see him, but at night, he joins this musical duo and they become a trio. I think they were singing Beatles songs. It was very funny.

An old fashioned van converted into a mobile coffee joint. You see why I love this place so much??

This is my favourite place in Pai. Pai Post. I think it’s a post office by day, but at night, this lady with the big hair turns it into a blues bar. funnily, blues is really big in these parts. we were all seated on little stools and wooden chairs facing the entrance of the bar looking in while the band sit inside. there are 2 guitars, a drummer and the lead singer. at the side they served beer and cocktails. she sang a few familiar tunes like Tracy Chapman before handing the mic over to another guy. I hugged myself tight, beer bottle in hand while I enjoyed Pai’s chilly winter while getting warm inside from the soulful sounds of Pai.

Scrapbooking: I love Pai

I Love Pai

Created: 22 August 2010

Our first trip together to Pai, Chiangmai in 2009. a 3 hour vomit inducing bus ride later, we reached the place and i loved it. it’s my favourite place on earth.

Decided to play around with the theme of blue and brown/gold. i took a piece of paisley covered paper and painfully cut out each of the paisley patterns you see here.

the words CHIANGMAI are made of gold and brown glitter, while PAI were foam baby blue. the LOVE word had mounting tape under it.

this picture was taken outside post bar probably, sipping on a bottle of beer.

This was at a little hut along the hill which had 2 cats. we spent the afternoon in hammocks listening to someone play the guitar as we lazed the day away. i think of the place and the longing to go back begins.

We traveled the whole of Chiangmai and Pai on a scooter called a Fino. at one point, the hill was so steep we actually stalled, because Bryan was too heavy. it’s a holiday i wouldn’t normally go on but I’m glad i did.