Sunday 22 December 2013

Adventures in PAIradise


On top of having the hippest food, drink and social scene, Pai also offered a huge variety of outdoor activities to keep you busy. One important thing to note about this place was that EVERYONE rides scooters. For about 5 bucks  a day you can do this and visit all the gorgeous natural sites that surround the city. I was at first pretty hesitant about renting one, as i've heard a number of horror stories and had seen a number of people hobbling through the streets or with legs all bandaged up. Our friend Jon convinced me to rent one with him and after my initial crash into his leg and bike (no need to go into to much detail here...) it turned out to be pretty fun. I won't pretend like i ever really felt comfortable however, Danielle ended up mostly driving the one i rented and i would hop on the back of Jon's. Better safe than sorry? Let's go with that.


The first day we rented them Danielle, Jon and myself rode about 25 minutes past fields of flowers, elephants and crazy Thai drivers, to the Pai Hot Springs. For 200TB ( 100 TB if you have a student card, or only 20 if you are a Thai citizen) you could go boil an egg in the 80 + celsius hot spring, or have a soak in the cooler but not-at-all cool spring pools. The hot springs are insanely mineral rich and your skin felt fantastic after just 20 minutes. 

The next day, i hopped on the back of Danielle's scooter and we drove about 30 minutes to the Mo Paeng  Waterfalls. I have to give a huge shoutout to Stringer for maneuvering this ride with me on the back. We ended up on the highway which was pretty frightening, but she killed it. This waterfall had free entry  and was hardly busy, we practically had the entire park to ourselves at some points. We had heard of people sliding down the rocksides into the ponds of water at the bottom, but had also heard of a death of a backpacker that had occurred this past may so decided to just enjoy the scenic views and squeeze in a little tanning time. 


On Jon's last day in Pai, the two of us drove out about 40 minutes (after two pretty big detours) to the Pam Bok waterfalls. These were also practically empty and just as stunning. This waterfall was more of a canyon that flowed between two rock faces right through the jungle. We went for a pretty chilly dip then hopped back on the scooter and stopped for lunch at a local resort that had perhaps the most gorgeous view of the rolling hills in Pai. 

Myself and Danielle's next two days in Pai were spent just chilling with friends at the hostel, playing with puppies at the pool, and getting tattoo's (so casually) before our 27 hour journey to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was pretty sad saying goodbye to this place and to all the cool backpackers we met. Pai will always have a little spot in our hearts, and now also on our fingers ;). 


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