Pai in the sky
Late in the afternoon, as the travellers rose from their afternoon slumbers and the heat dissipated I sat beside the small Pai river while it quietly gushes through Northern Thailand’s most chilled out destination, and reflected on a week of doing nothing but relaxing.
As the sound of Tracy Chapman softly drifted over from the nearby bar I sipped a cool fruit shake and tried to read, but the atmosphere was just too distracting. A pair of hippie backpackers in their fisherman’s pants and cotton tunics came by, crossing the small bamboo footbridge in the distance, pausing to admire the row of quaint bungalows lining the river and the young rice in the paddies beyond. Another couple were engrossed in a game of chess, sitting cross-legged in the small floor-level restaurant while here and there lounged a few more, silently studying their Lonely Planets, as travellers tend to do these days.
I come to Pai a few times a year. It’s a wonderful escape from the traffic and noise of Chiang Mai and often I meet others who are regulars up here, like Lonely Planet’s author Joe Cummings who plays guitar in a local bar. Then there are the permanent locals, a small crowd of friends who get by on the odd freelance writing and other work. There’s always someone in Pai, even during the wet off-season when only long-term travellers stay on for weeks. In fact it gets so crowded with wanna-be bohemians during the season that I barely show my face here until after February.
Pai is one of those special places that developed its own distinct character which is built on an atmosphere rather than anything special. Sure, the trip over the mountains is great, as it winds over ridges that offer spectacular vistas and a cool climate among the dense and lush forest, but the town itself sits in a flat and often dry valley that could be any rural farming community in Northern Thailand. It certainly is remote, miles from anywhere and not far from Mae Hong Song, which is one of Thailand’s Northern-most towns and on the edge of a vast untouched interior of Burma’s off-limits Shan states. Up here you really feel like you have escaped the world.
So, why do I come back to Pai again and again? Perhaps it’s the rustic bungalows beside the refreshingly cool stream, maybe it’s the new age character and chilled out people. I certainly don’t miss the tuk tuks and go go bars. There’s few up market resorts and expensive restaurants to make you feel cheap and uncomfortable. And the tourists who come here are free spirited travellers, content with basic facilities and humble services. Maybe it’s just the thought of floating down the river on rubber tubes, with my head in the clouds, that appeals to me.
Actually, there is more to Pai than simply sitting around smoking the green stuff. Several activities are offered by local agents, such as white-water rafting, trekking and enduro motorcycle excursions. Then there are the ‘do it yourself’ day trips to places such as Pai Canyon (hardly Grand but interesting), and the waterfall to the Northwest of the town. Or you can rent a bike and follow some of the roads that meander up the valley. The less adventurous never make it past the public swimming pool across the river but if you go a little further, following the road back down the valley, there’s a small elephant camp, and hot springs which are ideal for the chilly winter mornings.
The Thais love Pai too. It’s just the romantic kind of destination that Uni students get to on their Vespas, complete with camping gear loaded on the back. Occasionally a big tour bus barrels through the town on its way to Mae Hong Son. In fact, if you’re a first time visitor, completing the entire ‘loop’ and returning via the southern approach to Chiang Mai through the Doi Inthanon national park is a great way to truly experience Northern Thailand. The caves at Soppong, half way to Mae Hong Song are particularly interesting.
Pai has grown significantly in the past eight years. It’s one of those places that made it into the guide books and backpacker lore and now steadily attracts more and more of the ‘right’ kind of people. Locals have thrived, building guest houses, opening restaurants and bars and setting up tour businesses. Of course a few outsiders arrived to help them and the whole success is built on the distinct atmosphere it has created. No one has rushed into snap up the river front property and build an internationally managed hotel. Perhaps the devastating floods of August 2005 had some positive effect on keeping commercialisation out of Pai.
There’s talk of extending the runway to capitalise on its potential but thankfully no one has been silly enough ruin a good thing. A few controversial town planning directives have created some unfortunate ‘rules’, but by and large Pai remains ‘Pai’. Some say it’s just not what it was a few years ago, and every time I come I notice new places have open, while others have closed. But a first time visitor will not be disappointed with the slow atmosphere, the traffic-less streets, quaint guest houses, relaxing massage shops and cheap restaurants. And by night the town can sometimes come alive with live music at places like Bee Bop and Edible Jazz. It’s no wonder that quite a few Thai and foreigners come to Pai and just don’t seem to leave.
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