My Slice Of Pai

Tucked in a broad-gentle valley between Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai, surrounded by ravines of endless mountains, PAI, a small-town in Northern Thailand is an island escape without beaches. Here, nature becomes your best buddy and, perhaps, the art of doing nothing could be your second closest buddy.

Spend a little time in Northern Thailand and soon you’ll start thinking this postcard-perfect little town has its own time zone. In recent years guesthouses have started popping up everywhere and are already outnumbering the residential homes in the downtown area, a travel agency or an eatery is never more than a few steps away. Evenings in Pai can get noisy with loud music and partying. A host of natural, lazy outdoor-activities, vibrant art scenes, courses and holistic therapies are  all tailored to the flood of visitors who make the journey out from Chiang Mai.

We began our little road-trip from our guesthouse in Chiang Mai at 7:30 a.m., an air-conditioned mini-van from Click To Go, the tour company that we booked the day trip picked me and Ilyas, and drove off towards the north of Chiang Mai. It was a steep-winding drive, with 762 curves – up and down, and side to side – two hours passed and we were like on a roller coaster. Finally, we stopped at a roadside café for a toilet break and to have a little snack. We continued our drive for another hour until we reached our first attraction of the tour.

Pai Treehouse Resort

A hotel located 7 kilometers from Pai, featuring 3 tree-houses, all guest rooms were equipped with fan, cable TV, refrigerator and WiFi, and some rooms with private bathrooms. There was a massive swinging “cocoon” to fancy a few selfies and a café for its guests and visitors to enjoy local cuisine and try its famous strawberry yogurt smoothie while watching Elephants pass by. The pet-friendly resort provides free parking space. It also has a spa, a sauna and a beauty parlor.

The site is one of those ridiculously Pinteresting places that is gorgeous and fairy-tale-like all around, and indulging in nature down by the river was actually one of the most overwhelmed moments that I have ever been by beauty. We spent about 15 minutes before we moved to the next attraction.

The Memorial Bridge

Located 9 kilometers south of Pai at kilometer marker 88 on highway 1095 on the Chiang Mai – Mae Hong Son road, near the Myanmar (Burma) border, the Pai Memorial Bridge is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Thailand. During World War II, the Japanese army desperately needed a route from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son to transport armor and provisions to Myanmar which was a colony of the United Kingdom then. In 1941, an iron bridge was built to establish the route over the Pai River (Tha-Pai river) using elephants to drag logs from the jungle and forcing village residents to work. By the time the war ended, the Japanese fled and burnt down the bridge, leaving the residents vulnerable because the bridge was already an essential part of their daily life, but a wooden bridge was built and replaced it. Today, it used by pedestrians and visiting tourists, there are vintage samlors (three-wheeled bikes) around the bridge used to pose for photographs and selfies. There are also hotels and several local markets by both sides of the bridge selling food and beverages and souvenirs. Down on the river banks, local businesses run daily rafting activities along the Pai river.

Pai Canyon

Located 8 kilometers from Pai along the road to Chiang Mai, an elevated slippery trail, extremely narrow, along razor-sharp ridges with sheer unprotected drops on either side of the path is not a place for casual strolls and for the faint-hearted to look over high rock cliffs and the Pai valley. Erosion on either side of the path drops as deep as 30 meters has caused the forest level to drop dramatically with only the tips of the plants rising above the level of the path. But, a journey to the top is totally worth as it gives unparalleled views of the surrounding landscapes and the densely forested canyon—especially during late afternoons if the light is good. There are plenty of free parking space and there are vendors selling food and beverages.

Love Strawberry Pai

If your girlfriend is addicted to hearts, stars and other cute shapes, then you’re at the right place! Although Love Strawberry Pai does not offer the super stunning views that Pai Canyon does, it had an insane amount of strawberry-flavored beverages and snacks. Take selfies on big, bright over-sized plastic strawberries, a memorabilia enough to last one’s lifetime. Grab a delicious strawberry smoothie along with a strawberry muffin, or try a glass of strawberry wine, vodka, shake or ice cream, or have a seat on the strawberry sculptures and admire the tolerance of the number of Instagram boyfriends capturing photos of their strawberry-tinted girlfriends. It’s such a random place and that’s what makes it so unique, I doubt you have visited somewhere like ‘Love Strawberry Pai’ before. My advice? Embrace it and take advantage of all the kitschy decorations.

Pink House

The Pink House in Pai Waan Resort is another haven for women, as the name itself describes, for its pink interior and exterior décor. Its located in the Mae Hong Son Province, 400 meters from the Pai Night Market. The property provides its guests free WiFi for its guests, bath amenities and in-room slippers, also offers a free shuttle service and private parking space. Free use of bicycles are also available as the area is popular for hiking. The property seemed quite famous among Chinese tourists as there were many of them taking pictures.

The Heart of Pai

Santichon Village

Located 5 kilometers outside Pai, the Santichon Village is a Yunnan Cultural Village with traditional Chinese clay houses, and is among the most renowned attractions in Pai. This is not a typical Chinatown we see around the world during our travels and it is mainly inhibited by Yunnanese people whose grandparents crossed the China-Thai border to escape the Chinese Communist Party back in their glory days. It is also one of three Chinese villages in northern Thailand populated by the Yunnanese people. There is a huge rock at the center of the field and a dragon creeping up a pole, around the field, there are several souvenir shops and Yunnan Chinese restaurants selling Chinese tea and authentic Yunnanese food, and many other shops selling traditional Yunnan dress.

Tourists can experience the Yunnanese way of life here. It was originally built by the villagers as a culture center to attract tourists, and later the Thai Government transformed the village into a tourist attraction.

Mari Pai Resort

Nestled on a beautiful hillside landscape, the Mari Pai Resort is a jewel. The hotel provides private rooms with scenic views and are among the best mid-range accommodations in Pai. The signatures of the resort are the RV chalets and the swing attached to the giant tree, guests and visitors find the location among their top spots for photography in Pai.

Coffee In Love

A European-style café with breathtaking views of northern Thailand, if you love photography and coffee, this is the most ideal place in Pai.

This concluded our tour, and we headed back to Chiang Mai traversing back through the 762 curves. While many of the attractions we visited during our day trip were photo orientated stops for tourists, there are more incredible places to visit and see in Pai, and one day is certainly not enough to explore the beauty of this northern Thailand town. This was my first visit to Pai and hopefully it will not be my last.