"Where rocking horse people eat marshmellow [Pai]s" or "Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool..."

Pai (pronounced "Pie") is quite a town. The downtown is very small, only a couple of main roads, and each night it turns into a walking street with food vendors, souvenir/trinket stalls, and different types of street performers. According to Lonely Planet and some of the stuff I've heard, Pai used to be a random mountain village. As with all good things, it got picked up by tourists, and it is now a relatively common destination for hippies along the trail. There are probably more dreadlocks per capita here than I've seen since Bonnaroo. In spite of the many travelers in this area, though, the town still has its own unique charm, and it doesn't feel as though the place is being run by travelers.

We booked a small bungalow by the river for our three nights there. It was at a place called Edible Jazz, which is off the main road and run by two elderly Thai hippies and a young Israeli woman. Between the shaded common area, the friendly owners, the great music that played all day, and the pet dogs that roamed around the grounds, Edible Jazz had an atmosphere that left little to be desired:

The grounds at Edible Jazz, our guest house.

Our humble bungalow.

As our guide book readily admits, there isn't a whole lot to do inside the town of Pai except roam the streets gorging oneself on the fried foods and sweets (which doesn't make for a bad day). What truly attracts tourists to Pai is the scenerey of the land that surrounds the town. Rolling green mountains flank Pai on all sides, and there is a lot of great trekking and hiking there. Our second day, we rented some motorbikes and went riding through the outlying areas. We did some really great hiking, visited a waterfall, soaked in a natural hot springs, and climbed Pai Canyon for sunset. I always forget how much I enjoy hiking until I am out doing it again. The views were wonderful, the weather was perfect, and the motorbikes were pretty fun as well:

Me looking like an idiot on a motorbike.

Epic dog.

Pai Canyon before sunset.

Sunset at Pai Canyon.

The next day, we just stayed in town. For a few hours, we went down to the river behind our bungalow. If the Vietnam scenes in Forest Gump had starred Wavy Gravy and Jerry Garcia, this is what the set of that film might have looked like. The guest house owner was bathing the dogs in the water, there were scattered people sunbathing, there was a sunflower garden on a sandbar, and everything around seemed to be made out of bamboo. We had a relaxing time lounging by the river for a few hours:

The walking street is cool, too. If Khao San Road in Bangkok is a crazy traveler's ghetto on speed, it feels like the main roads of Pai have taken a strong sedative. It's very calm and slow. In fact, many of the tourist souvenirs (shirts, stickers, etc.) have slogans like "Slow Down, Save Pai" or "Life is Slow in Pai." And in the few days I spent there, it definitely seemed to live up to that reputation. Here's one photo of the walking street at night:

I very much enjoyed Pai. It's a clean, small, friendly town, and I did not feel like my presence was somehow ruining the economy or the character of the place. Just when I feel that I've gotten off the irresponsible tourist track, though, we turn around 180 degrees and head down to Koh Phangan for the Half Moon Party (I'm in transit currently). It should be pretty fun and crazy. Grant has rented us a bungalow right on the beach, so I expect a very fun couple of days. More to come.

"Be well, do good work, and keep in touch."


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