Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Pai, Thailand
762 curves round the mountains later in a minivan (3 hrs), I arrived at Pai, a small hippie town where it is known for nothing and yet totally touristy. Like really, people go to Pai to do nothing.
Dreadlocks everywhere, really hippie shit. But too many Thai tourists which I absolutely couldn't stand because there were too many motorbikes on the streets.
As Pai was a last minute decision, I did not research on where to stay, so I only began to walk around town looking for a gueshouse, which was a bad idea as it was high tourists season and many were full.
I finally found one by the name of Pai In The Sky. How original. 250baht with ensuite bathroom, queen size bed with ugly madras bedsheets, a TV with only 1 english channel BBC which was good enough. But the best thing about this place is the location. Smacked right next to the Bus Station.
I met a Welsh lady named Isla and a Brit named Mark who married a Thai lady and had a little boy named Dominic, who is extremely cheeky and would just play with his food, the soil in the flowerpod, the water in the fountain etc..
So that was day 1. Day 2 I met them again at the same little restaurant and they were heading out to the hot springs. The problem with not being able to drive or ride a bike is that I am stuck in one place. So I decided to chill out at the restaurant with a banana milk shake and read a book. SUSHI FOR BEGINNERS. Haha. Which was a good book, really ditzy and totally not me.
The night markets were full of hilltribe crafts and hippie reggae stuff, neither of which I am interested in. Me as a hippie in Singapore? Wouldn't cut it! But I found 2 tees for 120baht each! Looks exactly like those you can find in Bangkok but for a higher price (updated: I found exact same ones in Bangkok for 100baht each. URGH!).
20 baht rice with omellete.
There were also lots of live performances and street buskers. A really relaxed environment listening to music and watching musicians jam.
This band was really good and many people gathered around to watch them play. This place is a newspaper office in the morning and a bar at night.
Pai is extremely cold now. High up in the mountains, the night gets so cold that I have to wear my motorbike jacket, gloves and scarf to sleep! And it was still chilly. One night I went out without my scarf and gloves and I swear I could have just died.
So after 2 days of doing nothing, it was time for me to head back to Chiang Mai to catch a train to Bangkok. My journey is coming to an end.
