How is the entire backpacker / hippie experience in Pai ?

[Baron Samedi]

Hi guys !

Can anyone tell me if Pai is worth the trip?

Thx ????

 

[Skallywag]

New experiences always have "worth" IMO .   

[bunnydrops]

I liked the place when I was there. At the time I thought about living there. But that was quite a while ago. I just watched a Youtube about the train trip though VangVieng Lao that I visited about the same time. When I was there it was a small village like Pai, mostly dirt roads. Now about 4 times the size and now "Just another Road Side Attraction".

[Pooreye]

I went there a few years ago, and I am not joking when I say the amount of foreigners probably outnumbered the locals… Hot springs jammed to the brim in the afternoon… so the place must to have something????

[Dante99]

No hippies in Pai, it is not wheel chair friendly and there are too many holes in the sidewalks to get their canes stuck in.

[Pond Life]

Pai, in the past got to popular for its own good & like someone already said, it got overcrowded with foreigners.

With the down turn in tourism, now is probably a good time to visit, as long as your not looking for the party scene.

Pai has something for everyone.

[daveAustin]

Yes. While you won’t experience the ambience of yesteryear (think 50 baht bamboo huts by the river, no 7-11s or traffic lights), Pai still has a stunning location and is always worth a visit. Just avoid Bangkok bank. ????

[Thailand]

Worth a trip now the burning has stopped.

[Mahseer]

There's the jazz & blues fest coming up 8-10 July in Pai which might bring the odd hippie to the surface.

[JustThisOnePostOnly]

17 hours ago, bunnydrops said:

Just another Road Side Attraction

When you find a good place, relish it, because it won't stay good for long.

[Sparktrader]

Tourists outnumbered locals 10 to 1 before. Very touristy even 15 years ago. Nice valley. Nice caves at Soppong 1 hr north.

 

Northern thailand is great for drives.

[bunnydrops]

21 minutes ago, JustThisOnePostOnly said:

When you find a good place, relish it, because it won't stay good for long.

If you find one, don't tell anybody about it! Places that only had one lane rut road 20 years ago now are paved lined with sellers. "Take all the trees and put them in a tree museum". If you really want to destroy a place, make it a World Heritage Site.

[Mac Mickmanus]

I was passing through Pai  recently and stopped off at the bus station for a refreshments and there was a local guy sat outside his shop and he was holding a sign , which said :

  I am from Pai, I was born here , everyone here comes from other parts of Thailand ,  I am one of the few genuine Pai people , everyone else is not Pai , use my shop and hotel*

[Mac Mickmanus]

22 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Tourists outnumbered locals 10 to 1 before. Very touristy even 15 years ago. Nice valley. Nice caves at Soppong 1 hr north.

 

Northern thailand is great for drives.

I was in Soppong recently , or Pang Mapha , as some call it . 

[JustThisOnePostOnly]

6 minutes ago, bunnydrops said:

If you find one, don't tell anybody about it!

We've all learned this too late I'm afraid.  

[Adumbration]

I had an interesting time thereabouts 38 years ago.  Roads are no doubt a lot better nowadays and you can probably also find a place to stay that does not heat its bath water in a rusty old 44 gallon fuel drum.  

 

Hopefully, also, the young backpacker staying in the bamboo hut next to you will not be raped and then murdered when she treks along the river.  But that is another story....

[Sparktrader]

I like north a lot. Not so much towns but countryside. Great. I miss it.

 

Plus northern food is great. Hang Lay and Khao Soy my 2 fav dishes.

 

 

[Sparktrader]

600 baht gets you a nice bungalow in Pai

[siam dreamers]

I lived in Pai for 5 years and just recently went back for a visit. I still think it is well worth the trip .As a side not I took my family to the caves in Soppong (the next town over) It is a beautiful deive and the guided tours through the cave were excellent. 

[The Hammer2021]

Is the OP doing a high school project on Thailand?

Why, may I ask, is the OP opening so many threads all with a broad based open  ended question inviting subjective experiences of no real value. Wikipedia  and YouTube might be more  helpful. Perhaps  the OP could leave his keyboard and  visit  Thailand.

[Sparktrader]

4 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Is the OP doing a high school project on Thailand?

Why, may I ask, is the OP opening so many threads all with a broad based open  ended question inviting subjective experiences of no real value. Wikipedia  and YouTube might be more  helpful. Perhaps  the OP could leave his keyboard and  visit  Thailand.

He sounds like a 21yo bp

[Maybole]

52 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

I like north a lot. Not so much towns but countryside. Great. I miss it.

 

Plus northern food is great. Hang Lay and Khao Soy my 2 fav dishes.

 

 

Seconded!

[Baron Samedi]

32 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Is the OP doing a high school project on Thailand?

Why, may I ask, is the OP opening so many threads all with a broad based open  ended question inviting subjective experiences of no real value. Wikipedia  and YouTube might be more  helpful. Perhaps  the OP could leave his keyboard and  visit  Thailand.

You don't like my threads, you don't participate. Simple as that ????

I tend to value subjective experiences as much as objective information. I use them differently but I use them both to build my conceptual models and figure out what to do next.

I lived in Thailand for 4 years. Bangkok, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

No problem leaving my keyboard (especially if women are around). As a matter of fact I was packing my barrel bag when I got the notification.

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by Baron Samedi

[Sparktrader]

1 minute ago, Baron Samedi said:

You don't like my threads, you don't participate. Simple as that ????

I tend to value subjective experiences as much as objective information. I use them differently but I use them both to build my conceptual models and figure out what to do next.

I lived in Thailand for 4 years. Bangkok, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

No problem leaving my keyboard (especially if women are around).

As a matter of fact I'm packing my barrel bag right now.

 

You lived in CM but never visited Pai?

[Sparktrader]

Baron samedi rum is nice btw

[pomchop]

21 hours ago, bunnydrops said:

I liked the place when I was there. At the time I thought about living there. But that was quite a while ago. I just watched a Youtube about the train trip though VangVieng Lao that I visited about the same time. When I was there it was a small village like Pai, mostly dirt roads. Now about 4 times the size and now "Just another Road Side Attraction".

vang vien has a train?

[pomchop]

6 minutes ago, pomchop said:

vang vien has a train?

i see that it does indeed..i haven't been to VV in long time and didn't know it now has a train,,must have been a big job through some of those mountains

[Hummin]

51 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

Hello Teerak!  Bai Nai?  Where u goooooooo???....

Never seen there, and believe you will be disappointed

[it is what it is]

21 hours ago, bunnydrops said:

I liked the place when I was there. At the time I thought about living there. But that was quite a while ago. I just watched a Youtube about the train trip though VangVieng Lao that I visited about the same time. When I was there it was a small village like Pai, mostly dirt roads. Now about 4 times the size and now "Just another Road Side Attraction".

i was in vang vieng in the late 1990s, really small and cool place. went back 10 years later and it was certainly on the backpacker trail, completely different vibe, much less authentic and laid back, not for me but some people want that.

 

i'm impressed they have built a train line there, quite a feat considering the geography.

[Sparktrader]

17 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

Hello Teerak!  Bai Nai?  Where u goooooooo???....

You baan

Bang bang