I Heart Pai

It’s been just over a year since the next part of my story. On February 7, 2011, we left early in the morning and boarded a bus from Chiang Mai to Pai. This bus trip was nothing like the last—this was no double-decker coach bus with snacks included. The bus was sort of like an old school bus in the US. Instead of AC, actual fans hung from the ceiling, and they were much needed—it was hot! The seats were hard and uncomfortable and the bus was crowded. Since we were heading further north and a little bit to the west, close to the Myanmar border, the bus stopped at a checkpoint and Thai military officials came on board to check passports. I was nervous at first, but they barely even looked at ours—it was enough that we were white and clearly tourists. They weren’t concerned about us.

When we arrived in Pai, I didn’t immediately recognize its charm. It was a very small town—the bus station was merely a parking lot squeezed between two buildings. It wasn’t clear where our hostel was, and some men on motor-taxis were busy trying to convince us that it was too far away to walk. Eventually, we figured it out, and headed across a rickety bamboo bridge and up a hill to the Darling View Guesthouse. Looking back on the trip, this was one of my favorite places. The Guesthouse was amazing. Up on a hill, it overlooked the valley and mountains beyond. It was facing the west, and each evening we were privy to amazing sunsets. As hot as it was during the day, it cooled down beautifully at night—it was one of the only times that we needed long pants and sweatshirts.



Our first night in Pai, we stayed in a dorm-style bedroom, with large, comfy mattresses on the floor. It felt so good to sleep in those beds, with the cool mountain air coming in through the window. The porch outside of our room was filled with hammocks and lounge chairs. We sat on the porch in the afternoon sun, relaxing and reading, and eating lunch. We took time to explore the town, then raced back up the hill to watch the sunset from the porch, and in the darkening night, headed back down the hill to town to eat dinner at what would become our favorite restaurant. I ordered the same meal nearly every time we went there: a Mango Delight fruit shake—made from mango, the reddest strawberries you’ve ever seen, and lime—and a sandwich of roasted eggplant, red peppers, and other vegetables with fresh greens and feta cheese. I would go back to Pai just to eat at that restaurant again!


Pai was a very hippie, very touristy town, and I’m not surprised that people traveled there to stay for long periods of time. There were many white people around, and many local businesses catered to tourists, which probably helped me ease into the completely different culture. That night, we walked around the night market, where Lisu Hill Tribe women sold handmade change purses and a local artist sold hand-painted postcards. Of course, there were also the cheap, touristy souvenirs, but there were certainly some beautiful handcrafted items.

Our first visit to Pai was brief, but we soon realized that we wanted to return. We left Pai the next morning after a breakfast of crepes with honey, watermelon, scrambled eggs, tomato, and pineapple juice. (I really ate big breakfasts while I was in Asia—it definitely gave me the energy I needed for a full day of traveling/touring/trekking.) Before we caught our bus to Soppong, I walked a mile to the post office to mail my first letter to Scott and a birthday present to my mother. The people at the post office were very helpful, but it was a new experience—I actually tied my package shut with a piece of string! It was my first of many visits to post offices in Asia so that my love letters could travel all the way to Culver Lake, New Jersey…