A Slice of Pai

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been doing a mixture of things I’ve needed and wanted to do.

I spent my first week of freedom taking care of some chores that I literally lacked the time and means to accomplish while I was working. I bought a fan for the hot season, and a pad to cushion my wooden bed—if you think I’m joking about the wood, think again—then I enlisted the help of my (highly amused) local motorbike taxi drivers to help me carry it all. I also spent some time in Bangkok, where I took care of visa preparations, bought some work-appropriate clothing and met up with friends.

I spent most of my time in Bangkok with my cousins Jeffery and Prapassaree, who took me to a place called the “Ancient City.” This large plot of land just outside Bangkok featured recreations of famous sites in Thailand, as well as beautiful original works of art. It definitely increased the list of wats I’d like to see in person, since the recreations were only half sized.

After a week of stagnancy, I was ready to travel again. This week I headed back up north with my fellow teacher and Sarah, and had the most laid back and healthy trip I’ve taken so far. We are both very like-minded wanderers, and we agreed this trip would be about eating well and relaxing. We started off in Chiang Mai, where I kicked off my first morning with a yoga class followed by a bike ride around the city. I rolled through ruins, temples and parks, and just soaked up the atmosphere of my favorite Thai city.

In Chiang Mai, Sarah and I kicked off our successful wheatgrass-shot-a-day kick, which we agreed was only possible in the health conscious northland. We finally saw the temple on a mountain, Wat Doi Suthep, which is accessed by walking over 300 steps accompanied by colorful dragon handrails. The next day we embarked on the infamously windy minivan ride to Pai, and I hoped the city would live up to its name as I watched the nauseated woman in front of me vomit into a plastic bag. There had to be a reason why people endured this stomach-turning ride through the mountains, all for this small town called Pai.

The city of Pai comes with a lot of baggage: stories, preconceptions, theories, stereotypes… and plenty of hippie hype. All for good reason. The truth was, we arrived on the low season and I can’t imagine experiencing Pai any other way. I think the hippie culture would have come off as suffocating and false with too many people, but with sparse inhabitants Pai felt was possibly the most relaxing place on earth. Pai people included plenty of farangs and Thais covered in tattoos and dreadlocks, although the population was definitely a mixed bag.


Pai undoubtedly had recurring themes: vegetarianism, original art and jewelry, music, organic teas and smiling faces. Barr and I were hesitant to exert a lot of energy meeting other travelers this time around (this was our trip of tranquility, after all) but we ended up casually striking up conversations with several people with complete ease.

Our first day we naively attempted to bicycle up to a waterfall, and made the mistake of believing a sign that said “Mor Phaeng Waterfall 6km.” What the sign should have read was “Mor Phaeng waterfall 12km straight up hill, painful ride” followed by a small sign warning “by the way, Rochelle, your back bike wheel has a hole in it.” My flat tire lead to several ordeals: plenty of walking uphill, a stop at a local motorbike repairman’s shack, and an Israeli man who took pity on us and offered to take us the rest of the way on his motorbike. The waterfall, of course, ended up being pretty disappointing. But the journey itself was hilarious enough to make the day worth it.


We also made it to the local Chinese village, and a neat spot called Pai Canyon. But to be honest, we spent most of our days eating salads, homemade yogurt and tofu dishes with brown rice, and our evenings in jazz bars and in front of bonfires. And upon our return to Chiang Mai, we didn’t indulge in any expensive tours, ziplining experiences, elephant rides and other exotic experiences that lured European backpackers. We just enjoyed the city we were in, and traveling that way felt really nice.


My next stop (and it’s a long one) is Vietnam. I won’t be back until the end of April, and I suspect I’ll have plenty of stories and pictures. I’ll update if I can, if not, thanks for tuning in.