Why We Fell In Love With Pai, Thailand

Leaving on a minibus from Chang Mai around midday, we were previously warned how the route is full of twist and turns however even after the pre-warning we never expected it to be as extreme as it was. The constant up and down hills followed by sharp hairpin corners never appeared to end, we would certainly say this is not to be taken lightly if you get travel sick, therefore make sure you’re armed with your travel sickness tablets and try and get a window seat or sit over a wheel (apparently it helps).

We arrived early evening, the sun had started to set but it was clear from arrival, this is a small town geared to the travellers and like-minded people. Regardless where you fall on the spectrum from being a first time traveller to someone who wants to escape all reality, Pai has you covered. They have everything; bar’s, group tours, hostels, hotels, temples, moped hire and the best street food you could ever want. It will not take long for anyone to settle in and even quicker to fall in love with this tiny Thai paradise.

Our trip started on the second day after spending the first evening exploring the local streets and devouring as much of the local street food we could find. We would always recommend trying the local food but if that’s not to your taste or you’ve been in Thailand for a while and fancy a change there is plenty of other options.

The adventure started out with moped hire. At just 100 baht per day it really is a no brainer as the easiest and cheapest way to get around. Standard advice for hiring anywhere, make sure you agree fuel policy and take lots of pictures especially if there is a pre-existing damage. We never personally experienced any problems with this, but when you’re on a tight budget, it pays to be extra careful with these things. Finally and something we will always say when hiring mopeds… get helmets, you might think they’re uncomfortable or haven’t seen anyone else wearing them but be the smart person and put one on.

Straight from the moped hire shop we headed to Chedi Phra That Mae Yen, which is hard to miss from the drive into Pai as it’s a huge Buddha set in the hills. The Buddha itself in our opinion wasn’t overly impressive, it is similar to most others we had seen, however it is still more than worth a visit to capture the view facing the opposite way at the top of the stairs, looking out over Pai and rural Thailand.

What to see in Pai: Day 1

On our first evening we were handed a tour leaflet with a list of places to visit which we decided to use somewhat as an itinerary list, we zipped down to Bamboo Bridge which is a series of bridges built over rice fields, the drive was something special, up and down beautiful hills through a couple of the local villages. Upon arrival we decided to watch from a distance, as beautiful as they are there is an entrance fee of 30 baht which we decided not to pay and instead admired from a distance, however it did appear there was a cafe on a higher platform so if you’re looking for a place to relax it would certainly be a place to check out.

With the satisfaction of putting a tick next to our first completed destination, next stop was Land Split. However we got distracted by the road and couldn’t help admire the beautiful rural landscape of Northern Thailand, it’s a far cry the capital Bangkok. We could have honestly spent so much time sat looking out at the backdrop, full of peace and tranquillity. However with limited time we arrived a short time later at Land Split. Whilst it’s free to visit, the owner of the land grows his own fruit and vegetables and sells them on stall at the entrance (If you can support, please pick yourself up a snack). We were told to go either left or right both leads to the same place.

However it didn’t take long to realise we unexpectedly opted for an advance course, first going through all the fruit and vegetable patches and then climbing up the side of a mud hill to finally bring us to the land split. It was fascinating to see what the power of Mother Nature can truly do, ripping away two parts of land over two separate earthquakes, thankfully there was no damage to property or life.

The following day, waking up at the crack of dawn from our wooden hut we were determine to have an equally productive day.

What to see in Pai: Day 2

Our first point of call was Pai Canyon, we had humorously been told multiple times before it was Thailand’s answer to the Grand Canyon. About a 15 minute drive from the centre of Pai we arrived before any of the tour groups or other tourists and whilst it may not have been as expansive as the Grand Canyon it certainly had its own unique charm and provides a different background to the usually green landscape. From here came the more gimmicky tourist attraction in Pai ‘Love Strawberry Pai’, A strawberry field where they have multiple plastic strawberry’s in front of a ‘I heart Pai’ sign. However they do sell local produced Strawberry jam and the grounds themselves are incredibly impressive so either embrace the cringeworthy’ness or look past it because regardless this place is certainly worth a stop.

Finally came our highlight of Pai, a waterfall! No matter how many we see, how big or small they are, we can’t help but be in awe of their brilliance. This waterfall is called Mo Paeng and has about 3 different levels. You have to scale some rocks to be able to get up, so just take care. It certainly made it easier with two of us being able give foot ups and help pull the other up. As we arrived just after midday there were a few other people there but not massively overcrowded which is surprising considering its beauty.

As we had to return the moped we headed back a short while later and spent the rest of the evening justifying eating way too much food due to how tasty it looked and that they were only small portions. Overall, we thoroughly loved every moment in Pai, it is a perfect getaway for anyone in Thailand that wants to have a chilled couple of days or even weeks away from the larger cities.

We hope anyone reading this enjoys it half as much as we did and would love to hear your own thoughts!