I arrived in Pai 3 days ago. I had heard so much about the journey here, some people describing it as 'the scariest drive of our lives'. It's a steep and winding road, with its 762 turns. It's about 120 kilometers from Chiang Mai and takes approximately 3 hours with a minivan. Many people take motion sickness pills before they get into the minivan, from what I have heard it's quite common to throw up during the ride.
So let's just say I was prepared for the worst, haha. It was busy at the bus station in Chiang Mai, with 5 minivans leaving for Pai at the same time (departure is every hour throughout the whole day so you can imagine this destination is popular). But they managed to get everyone on the right minivan (I assume) and I got the front seat that I had reserved (traveling in Thailand is in my experience always very organized). My suitcase went on the roof (yes I'm traveling with a suitcase this time since I'm not planning on moving around too much).
I'll just cut it short; the journey wasn't bad at all. I didn't take any motion sickness pills before the ride and I didn't get car sick, and the driver didn't drive like crazy. It just felt quite long and repetitive, with all the turns. We had a short food and toilet break kind of in the middle of nowhere (pictured above), which must be good for their business because all the minivans stop here.
I had dinner here on my first night in Pai. It's at the end of the walking street and night market. It might look quiet but the restaurant was very busy.
It's very busy in Pai at the moment. But I was prepared. In the city center (which is tiny) there's a night market every night, with lots of food stalls (and other things). Along the walking street, there are also plenty of bars that are open until the early morning hours. It goes without saying that it's loud throughout the night and I wanted to avoid that so I booked a place about 15 minutes on foot from the center.
The place where I'm staying is nice, overall. There's a road just outside though and I didn't expect it to have so much traffic. But I have adjusted now. It's a small place, they have 3 rooms (you see the building to the right in the picture above). Right next to it, there's a smoothie bowl place (some people say they serve the best smoothie bowls in Thailand). It's the same owner so coffee and tea are included and I have a discount on the smoothie bowls. They are very good, I have to say. Very filling. But it's quite cold here in the mornings (hoodie and socks needed) and I have found smoothie bowls to be too cold for my system. But they also have vegan, gluten-free pancakes and this morning I went for that instead. I must say they were amazing 🙂
I have been exploring my close surroundings on foot so far but today I'll rent a motorbike. Everyone kind of does since there's no public transport or taxis here. The most popular attractions here though are so crowded so my plan is to drive there early morning. But mainly I want to explore the peaceful countryside and I have been given some tips on where to go.
Below are some pictures from my walk 2 days ago.
On walking distance from where I'm staying, there's a very nice laid-back vegetarian cafe/restaurant, called Thai-Zen Organic Farm And Cafe.
I had some very nice vegan pasta there and afterward, I treated myself to a cappuccino with oat milk and a vegan chocolate cookie. (I'm so happy they have oat milk now in Thailand, I couldn't find it 7 years ago). There's a lot of vegan food here in Pai, even most 'regular' Thai places have vegan options. Food seems to be cheaper here compared to Chiang Mai, but accommodation seems more expensive.
I also had a really nice talk with a French woman who came in to drop off some jewelry and organic skin care products that she was selling there. She has lived in Pai for 3 years now.
Pictured below is the road to the city center from where I'm staying.
A small bamboo bridge that leads to the city center.
Here I'm crossing the bridge (pictures taken on different occasions).
All in all it's been a good start here in Pai. Last night I went to a small Thai restaurant just across the road and ended up talking for hours to another French woman who had just arrived the day before. She lives in India and has just been to a meditation retreat here in Northern Thailand. Some people you just connect with instantly 🙂
On Saturday I'll drive and visit a German woman who lives here in Pai. She does Human Design readings and we have been in touch for some time already (we had a very nice phone call last week). I'm very interested in working with her since I had such a strong reaction during and after our call. I could feel myself expanding so much. So I'm really looking forward. (She will not do a reading on Saturday, we will just hang out 🙂).
Thanks for reading 🌸
Wishing you a lovely day 💚