Pai pretty much surprised me. Though I was curious as to what to really see here, I did not expect to truly like our one night sojourn in this tranquil place. Located in the northern province of Mae Hong Son, three hours from Chiang Mai, Thailand, Pai is a hilly town surrounded by nothing but mountains and lush greens.
From Ben’s Guesthouse where we spent the night before in Chiang Mai, we hired a tuktuk to take us to Arcade Bus Terminal for THB 100. We secured our van tickets at THB 150 each, leaving for 8:30 AM.
We scoured the area for an easy breakfast and found this hawker’s style restaurant serving rice meals starting at THB 35. We ordered our all-time favorite Hainanese Chicken with rice. We left the terminal at the exact time. It was an uneventful ride to Pai with one stop-over for quick meals and restroom break. There was nothing much to see except greens on all sides.
My friend recommended Baan Pai Riverside as our choice of accommodation. Its pictures online were not really good but I instantly fell in love with it the moment we stepped foot at the property.
We were given this cute hut to sleep in. It was just a fan room but the greeneries served as our natural air-conditioning. Fresh and cool air to breathe that was totally comforting.
Pai was just a simple town made famous by its quiet side and of its more adventurous activities. We did not visit any falls nor did any caving. We just took a stroll around town and took photos of the charming shops and artsy restaurants.
We even saw Captain Jack Sparrow! Or so we thought. I went shy when my friend suggested I take a picture with him though. 🙂
The next morning, we dropped by at one of the travel agencies and checked if we can just choose several sights to visit for a decreased price. They agreed and we chose Coffee in Love, Chinese Village and Strawberry Farm.
Coffee in Love
Chinese Village
Strawberry Farm
We had a nice time in Pai. I was glad we included this as our quick side trip. We left for our flight back to Bangkok at 2 PM.
