Thailand: Pai, a sleepy village with a twist- Day 4 & 5
Pai, a sleepy little village in Mae Hong Son province of Northern Thailand. How long it’ll stay sleepy is anyone’s guess given the influx of Farang
Late yesterday we rode into Pai, looking like a dirty and dusty version of a bikie gang on holidays. Our modified exhausts on the bikes making throaty growls as they bounced off the walls of the houses and shops as we cruised into the narrow sleepy streets of Paii, looking for a watering hole to quench our thirst, crack some heads and strike terror into the hearts of Pai locals. Heads turned and stared; mothers ushered their children away to safety and old people stared in distain as the HiVolt Moto Tours gang rolled into town. Delusional, yes I know, but it did feel pretty good to roll into town and the throaty after-market exhausts did reverberate everywhere
A tough Biker beverage refuelling at the end of a hot dusty day of riding- iced cold Mojitos really hit the spot
But what I was greeted with wasn’t ‘terrified’ Thai locals but rather a sea of Farang. Riding down this sleepy street it was literally impossible not to run into ‘white westerner’ tourists, they were everywhere. Pulling up at our watering hole I was surprised and disappointed at the same time. Having just spent 3 days in the jungle where we were the odd ones out, I was hoping for more of the sleepy Thai hospitality that I had grown accustomed to. But alas not even the bar tender was Thai from the look of it as he greeted me in perfect English.
Red’s fancy G&T and Pa’Lah enjoying a well-earned beer and i do mean well earned.
Yes, Pai is best described as a sleepy village with an undercurrent of change on the horizon. A population of around 3000 in Mae Hong Son Province of Northern Thailand. It’s often referred to as a major stop on the Mae Hong Son Loop, which takes Route 1095 from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son, then Route 108 back to Chiang Mai. (Another bucket list adventure to do on very twisty roads). Sleepy aside it’s infested with Farang tourists and well, if you are going here to escape from Farang tourists then you would best avoid this place
And of course, on the other side of the coin threes Bad boy Biker fuel for the morning as well. So strong it bends spoons!
Having said that I can see why the Farang come to this village, it’s Thailand’s version of Byron Bay without the beaches or maybe Nimbin might be a better comparison but less hippy, but that is debatable too. Pai at present is a sleepy idyllic town, time seems to stand still here. OMG it’s so picturesque with the surrounding jungles, rice fields and quintessential Thai village life. But sadly, you can see the undercurrents of change that come from being discovered by the tourists. There are resorts popping up and infrastructure going in to accommodate the growth in tourism. But all this will inadvertently destroy the appeal of this place. I saw it happen to Byron Bay when I was a lad and it leaves me feeling that dread now.
Pai comes alive at night, take a meander through the night markets and enjoy surrounds. go during the Loy Krathong lantern festival for the added bonus of the lanterns
At night this place comes alive, there are the famous night markets that cater for the tourists, I mean they sell absolutely everything you can imagine from knock off Ray-Ban glasses to curios to street food vendors. You walk up and down this street and it’s really chilled. The vendors smile nicely (everyone does here) and say hi to you. But they don’t hassle you to purchase like other places. There’s Bars with live music but none of the shadiness that you can encounter in other places of Thailand. I really felt safe and relaxed here. So, if you are coming to Pai then this is definitely a must
Exploring Pai with a lazy meander through the village after breakfast
We were at Pai to recharge the batteries and give the body time to rid us of the saddle soreness. Wash our clothes and the like and that is exactly what we did, eat, be merry and generally unwind., it’s that kind of place.
Okay, Okay! I may have been a little harsh on Pai here because it really is a lovely place to meander and there’s heaps to do around the village of Pai, just do it now before the winds of change come. We were only supposed to be here overnight with a day of rest but as always, the universe has a way of amending plans as I found out to my demise when I tried for a single-track adventure when opting for a ride to a nearby waterfall and hot springs. Needless to say, I never made it, but that’s for next week’s blog, so stay tuned for the long awaited ‘how I nearly killed myself and orphaned my children’ blog
Pai village life, the wet season washed away the local footbridge, but it didn’t take long to hastily buld a new one
