So We Went To Pai

[chiang mai]

We like to get away every few weeks and this time we agreed on Pai, our first every visit despite living here for almost fifteen years. So why hadn't we been there before you may ask. Well, simply because we'd heard so much about it being such a backpacker haven that we really didn't think it was where we wanted to go, plus we have shed loads of alternate destinations in the North that we really enjoy when we want to get away, those things notwithstanding we gave it a try..

 

When we finally arrived in Pai we were slightly disappointed, whilst the drive there was a two hour endurance test of never ending twisting winding roads, peppered with outstanding mountain scenery, Pai itself didn't strike us initially as an amazing place that we might fall in love with. Twenty four hours later however we began to really like the place. Laid back, charming, excellent scenery, inexpensive (in low season), really friendly people and some excellent food to be had.

 

The burger house does a simple yet excellent burger, Go O sells amazing quality cakes and pastries and the food stalls near the river sell a unique combination of foreign and domestic food inexpensively.  Our hotel was a naff affair, a decent room and pool with a free tuk tuk service down into the centre of town, the food there was dire with breakfast being the most seriously dire - our guess is that near down town hotels in Pai can't compete with what in town food vendors have to offer hence they don't try very hard, if at all. It's the rainy season so it rained non-stop, not a problem for us - seems like it would be great for a get away weekend in the drier season, lay next to a pool and just relax. Chinese Village offered Mrs CM a chance to practise her Mandarin, we both surprised at the extent of the Chinese community there.

 

Spare time/things to do: not much really, it's a lazy get away that involves little effort, friendly and laid back, minimal exertion required, we actually agreed we like it a lot as we were ready to leave, we will go back.

 

High points: eating cake at Go O, the scenery, the prices. Lo Points: hotel food, a lot of rain that we weren't completely prepared for and helping a family out of an overturned pickup on a bend during the trip up there, an oncoming car on the wrong side of the road being to blame, everyone safe and OK.

[pgthompson]

15 years and never been to Pai! Your name suggests that you are from Chiang Mai but you got there in 2 hours? That is some speed! It takes me around 4 hours.

 

I agree, Pai is a great place for a break and great scenery. Not a place I could live but a brilliant place for a break.

[kekalot]

curiosity, did you go there during the week or the weekend?

it's especially busy on weekends and holidays.. I have lived there 3 weeks last year and didn't like how gridlocked it became (place is small after all)

 

after seeing the pai canyon, the big strawberry, one of the two waterfall (not the nice one) and driving around quite a bit.. the favorite thing for me was the hot springs.. not the actual tourist trap hot springs but some other place that I couldn't even tell you how to get there (someone drove us there in the back of a pickup).. they had two pools, a small one that was hotter and a big one that was a bit colder.

 

pretty cool stuff even tho I ended up with some kind of headache (overheating is my guess).

 

I would love to go again, I actually made more friends there in the three weeks than I made other places.

[pgrahmm]

It's laid back place to wile away time....2.5 hours from CM is about right....

 

Some good food can be found once you've gone a few times....

 

Nothing stiringly adventurous but we go up a few times a year....

 

The Pai'radise Inn is a good place close in but away from town with some solid breakfasts.....In town there are also some places that make a good breafast....But we eat there before wandering about.....

[moe666]

I goti Pai on the way to Mae Hong Song, 15 to 20min. long enough for me

[chiang mai]

5 hours ago, pgthompson said:

15 years and never been to Pai! Your name suggests that you are from Chiang Mai but you got there in 2 hours? That is some speed! It takes me around 4 hours.

 

I agree, Pai is a great place for a break and great scenery. Not a place I could live but a brilliant place for a break.

 

I live in Mae Rim, North of CM so a slight mileage advantage over CM residents.

[metisdead]

A troll post has been removed. 

[chiang mai]

9 hours ago, kekalot said:

curiosity, did you go there during the week or the weekend?

it's especially busy on weekends and holidays.. I have lived there 3 weeks last year and didn't like how gridlocked it became (place is small after all)

 

after seeing the pai canyon, the big strawberry, one of the two waterfall (not the nice one) and driving around quite a bit.. the favorite thing for me was the hot springs.. not the actual tourist trap hot springs but some other place that I couldn't even tell you how to get there (someone drove us there in the back of a pickup).. they had two pools, a small one that was hotter and a big one that was a bit colder.

 

pretty cool stuff even tho I ended up with some kind of headache (overheating is my guess).

 

I would love to go again, I actually made more friends there in the three weeks than I made other places.

 

We went Sunday through Tuesday and it was seriously quiet both on the roads and in town, a real low season event, a great time to go as far as we're concerned.

[villagefarang]

We don’t typically do destination holidays and prefer road trips.  Starting from our home in Chiang Rai, Pai has been on our route a few times but we only spent a night or two.  From high season to low season the atmosphere changes dramatically.  We find there are things to like about both but generally I prefer traveling during the low season as driving is easier and accommodation doesn’t need to be booked in advance.

[Thailand]

Love the place, prefer low season, very laid back and relaxing.  

Have a couple of dogs and have found a few places that are pet friendly so they have a great time also.

Try and squeeze in another trip before the high season.

[cloudhopper]

Pai is at its best in the rainy season. Except for New Years Eve.

[augustwest]

Went to Pai about 1 1/2 years ago and the road was under new construction most of the way. Hard going and dusty with potholes everywhere. Has the road work been completed cause I'd love to go up again.

[chiang mai]

7 minutes ago, augustwest said:

Went to Pai about 1 1/2 years ago and the road was under new construction most of the way. Hard going and dusty with potholes everywhere. Has the road work been completed cause I'd love to go up again.

 

It's a great road surface, all the way there, and back also.

Edited September 14, 2016 by chiang mai

[augustwest]

 

It's a great road surface, all the way there, and back also.[emoji3]

Thanks for the rapid response. Great that the construction is now completed. Was a terrible trip last time and should go soon before the road starts to deteriorate

[mankondang]

Pai is fine, apart from the "plastic hippies" who seem to be reacting a lifestyle their grandparents lived there two generations ago. I enjoy the drive, but haven't bought the tee shirt! Surprise to find out that the Japanese built it during WW2, inc the bridge in Pai. These days we drive through it on to Mae Hong Song or villages further north. The other route via the Doi Ithanon range is also a pleasant drive.

 

I also find Mae Sa Long, the Chinese village, up the mountains,  passed Tha Tong to be a nice short stay. It's history, scenic view, food and green teas are excellent...my opinion of course.

Edited September 14, 2016 by mankondang

[bubba]

At least for me and compared to the first time I visited there too many years ago to count, Pai has gone way over the top as a tourist trap. Walking down the high street, you can get a tattoo, buy souvenirs and t-shirts, have burgers or pizza, take some yoga lessons or maybe just relax and watch the parade of tie dye and fisherman pants or perhaps the hordes of Chinese tourists stopping in the middle of traffic for selfies. The souvenir stands and traffic start all the way out at the old bridge, where there are now perhaps 20 stands, followed by tacky coffee shops, clusters of bungalows and almost nothing resembling the former traditional village it once was. Little wonder it has earned the moniker of Khao San Road of the North.

 

I'm with mankondang...keep driving. Take the bypass before town so you don't get stuck in traffic or risk an accident with a Chinese scooter driver. Head on to Soppong for something more natural, quiet and traditional, the beautiful Shan village of Mae Lanna or on further to Mae Hong Son town which really is a charming place that still retains that unique Mae Hong Son/Shan culture.

 

And regarding the old bridge to the east of Pai: yes, there is a well-circulated urban myth that it was constructed by the Imperial Japanese Army using the deconstructed Nawarat Bridge in Chiang Mai. Some say the story was invented to entice tourists, but it remains a false myth.

 

For the last several decades, Pai locals and tourists alike have visited the so-called "Japanese WWII Bridge," an old steel truss bridge that crosses the Pai River right alongside main highway 1095, about 4km south of Pai in the hot spring village of Tha Pai. However, as this document will reveal, the bridge is most definitely not of Japanese origin. In 2007, in order to elevate its status as a tourist attraction, the bridge was renovated and repainted, and a new and permanent public display was added at the southeast approach. The new display corrects the story somewhat, admitting that the steel truss bridge was erected not by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII, but rather by a Thai government entity around 1976. However, the new display claims that the bridge spans come from the old Nawarat Bridge in Chiang Mai (which was removed around 1966 to make way for the current reinforced concrete structure). As this document will clearly show, this is also not the case!

 

http://allaboutpai.com/bridge/

[AsianExport]

No interest, why going so far when there is as nice or better closer ?

[chiang mai]

5 minutes ago, AsianExport said:

No interest, why going so far when there is as nice or better closer ?

 

It's called variety, some of us who have lived here for many many years have seen those places that are closer and we want to see somewhere new and different.

[Thailand Tom]

I've riden there twice on a bicycle, 6 hours riding time plus stops.  The ride is amazing but the place doesn't thrill me.  Probably OK for couples but not for solo travellers.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2016 by Thailand Tom

[camble]

Visited once, would like to return 

 

See my pictorial:

 

 

[mic59]

First time I went to Pai I took the mini-bus and spent 2 days in a guest house bed with acute car sickness. The next time I went I took the public bus which costs less and takes a much less winding route. the scenery is much better but you would want to take a cushion and some food and drink. 

[bubba]

The old orange buses are no longer in service and they have all been replaced by mini-vans. But they did take the same route to Pai as the mini-vans did, which is the same route they do now (1095).

[kjhbigv]

Best way to Pai is on a motorbike (done it on a PCX), go to Samoeng, hang a right, follow part of the old "elephant trail" to Pai, great scenery! Wouldn't recommend it in the wet though with standard road tyres!

 

[JaseTheBass]

I enjoy staying at the Reverie Siam in Pai. Nice rooms, good restaurant (albeit a limited menu), decent pool and attentive service.

[chiang mai]

FWIW we stayed at The Quarter, walking distance to town, next to the hospital - OK/good rooms, nice pool, free transport down the street into town but terrible food.

[Johpa]

18 hours ago, chiang mai said:

 

I live in Mae Rim, North of CM so a slight mileage advantage over CM residents.

 

Even from Mae Rim, two hours is quick and requires some luck relative to traffic. Pai is a convenient stop when leaving in the afternoon.  My son, who loves Pai, will sometimes takes off after work or even early evening.  But I prefer going the extra distance to Mae Hong Son and then return via Mae Chaem to make a loop. To return to Mae Rim from MHS you can now loop back to Samoeng from Mae Chaem via the now completely paved road from the Mong village of Mae Hae at the end of the 1013 over to Bo Kaew and the 1349.  It will all make sense if you get the MHS Loop map from GT-Rider, a required read for anyone living in CNX who needs to get out of the city on occasion.  And that same road now makes for a great paved full day loop, an expanded Doi Suthep/Samoeng  loop: Mae Rim, Samoeng, Bo Kaew, Mae Hae, Sanpatong, CNX (or reverse).

 

For those thinking of going to Pai via Wat Chan, the last 30 or so kilometers to Wat Chan remain unpaved and a bit bumpy, best suited for pickups and motorcycles, but worth the effort.  There is also a very scenic back route to Papae on the 1095 via North Samoeng, off the 4021, that is now mostly paved.

[DSJPC]

I have been told, by friends who visited Pai recently, that there are many Muslims who are moving up from the south, buying up land, shops and houses and Muslim women running around with their burkhas on the streets...any truth to that???

[bubba]

Just now, DSJPC said:

I have been told, by friends who visited Pai recently, that there are many Muslims who are moving up from the south, buying up land, shops and houses and Muslim women running around with their burkhas on the streets...any truth to that???

 

 

There were always Muslims in Pai. They are Chinese Haw Muslims who were horseback traders and arrived many, many years ago and some became settled. 

 

"Muslim women running around with their burkhas on the streets"? What are you getting at? Some sort of Muslim hysteria? But yes, many of the Haw women there dress traditionally, just as many Lisu and Lahu women do in the area. I haven't seen any of them running around on the streets, except maybe when it it starts pissing down rain with a thunderstorm. The Haw also have mosques and live there harmoniously with the Buddhists, who have their wats. 

 

The people "buying up land, shops, and houses" are Thais from Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

[Johpa]

30 minutes ago, DSJPC said:

I have been told, by friends who visited Pai recently, that there are many Muslims who are moving up from the south, buying up land, shops and houses and Muslim women running around with their burkhas on the streets...any truth to that???

 

There are many towns up north with long established Muslim communities such as Thaton, Pai, and yes, even Chiang Mai. Given the typical garb seen being worn in downtown Pai in the evenings, Muslim women wearing burqas and selling roti to westerners wearing even more ridiculous garb only seems fitting. I mean in Pai, everyone is in one costume or another.

[bitcoinforever]

just for your information Pai is the most ethically diverse towns in all of Thailand . you have the KMT Chinese ,Lisu ,Laha ,Akha, Karen, Hmong hilltribes ,Shan from Myanmar ,  Thai's, and the Muslim community, and of course the foreigners. The villages surrounding Pai are great places to explore.