I love Pai

cocosandswimwear
Feb 8, 2017
5 min read

Yes, you read that right and it is not a typo (although I love pies too!).

There are certain places that many love or hate for the same reasons, and Pai, in Thailand, is one of those places. We decided to visit this charming town after our time at the permaculture farm. Any accommodation after living in the farm seemed to exceed our expectations. Pai is known for its hippie culture. It has been a place visited by hippies or others interested in having some happy shakes, happy pizzas, and many other happy edibles.

This charming town consists of a main walking street, where tons of little food carts, shops, and local vendors set up their shops to lure in all of the “farangs”. You can find any type of food you like, from vegan choices to meat lovers, the wide variety food includes falafels, burgers, lasagna, chicken hearts, kabobs, pancakes, ice cream, and so much more. The clothing stores were filled with elephant prints, or bohemian/hippie choices with a lack of large or extra-large choices. (If you have a bum, Asian clothes is not for you or me lol) There are also many handmade items, including shoes, boots, scarves, art pieces, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings (which you may see soon in our store!). The list of shopping items you can find in such a little town is endless and I wanted to buy them ALL…ALL.

We stayed at a cozy guesthouse called Sawasdee Pai River Resort. It had beautiful bungalows close to the river and a common area with hammocks and tables where you could do yoga in the mornings (like my friend Lizzy from The Peanut Chronicles) or just hang out in the evening to enjoy a beautiful sunset; make sure to wear bug spray if you’re doing the latter.

Some of our permaculture friends from the farm came to Pai with us; three awesome Aussies. They had been in this little town previously and pointed us to the best places to visit.

For Food:

You CANNOT miss the falafel lady! I have had many falafels in my life but there was something special in her homemade falafels that got me addicted to her product.

The “brownie lady” has one of a kind brownies as well. Believe it or not, you can find these gems in Thailand too! She’s a super sweet Muslim lady and the only one that sells these delicious treats.

You have to try the fruit shakes in town. There are many places that sell them, just make sure they use real fruit instead of concentrate or syrups.

For crepes, or "rotti", as known locally, make sure you visit the lady pictured below. She managed to make them equally delicious every single time.

My favorite ice cream place happened to be a really nice boutique too, where the owner handmakes all of her dresses and most of the jewelry in the colorful, fun, bright boutique. (Can you tell I LOVE hand-made things?) You may see some of these in our site soon!

Things to do:

Thai massages. Yes! You cannot pass up original Thai massages for less than $10! These tiny, sweet looking ladies will surprise you and crack every bone in your body. They definitely know what they’re doing; you will feel super relaxed and on cloud nine.

Restaurants and Bars: Nothing like a little live music and food to spend an evening with friends. We visited Edible Jazz and had a relaxing time with the crew. Yellow Sun Bar was a cool place with good music too. There are many other bars and restaurants not to miss. One of our favorite local food restaurants was Penn’s Kitchen. She just opened her business in Spring of 2016. It is one lady with her family or friends and it feels like visiting a friend and getting a delicious home-cooked meal. If you’re looking for imported beers, visit Jekko Bar. It is a tiny place full of good vibes and fancy beers.

Pai Canyon: One of our best days was spent getting lost in Pai Canyon with the crew. We purposefully decided to visit mid-day to avoid the sunset crowd. We felt ready to conquer this place and our adventurous spirit took us a little further than what I had originally envisioned. We started going up the canyon through the main entrance which is built with steps. It seemed like it would be fairly easy, until we strayed from the “tourist” route. We continued going through very narrow areas, with nothing but the abyss on either side, no railings, no safety measures. In order to make it, you have to go fast and not think about it too much; I also advise not looking to the sides. After we went through this patch, we started to go downhill. The ground was very dry and loose. Half of the crew was barefoot in order to have a good grip on the ground, while Angel and I kept our hiking boots which didn’t help much in this situation. We were butt-scooting most of the way down until we finally found some wet soil. Water! It was the end of rainy season so the creek was mostly dry. We tried to track its path but got nowhere and had to return the same way we came down. (I died a little when I realized this). The way back up felt a bit easier but my quads were on fire. I got stuck at one point in between the rocks; the way was so narrow there was no room for my legs to push me up and my arms were my only option. Well the problem was my arms aren’t the strongest part of my body. I managed to get enough strength to push myself out of the hole after screaming for help, but I made it!

After a long sweaty hike, close to passing out from the heat and exhaustion, we stopped at the top to take in the views and the beauty of this town. The majority of Pai is full of mountains and beautiful greenery. It is home to many farms and local villages.

Waterfalls: You can visit multiple waterfalls in this town, some a little closer than others, but all equally beautiful. The one pictured below allows you to slide down this natural water-slide, the giant rock. We were a little hesitant to try it, until one of our local friends did it.

Hotsprings: Pai is full of natural hot springs. While we didn’t visit any, we drove by a site where the hot water was bursting from the ground. The water is so hot you can boil an egg and eat it. We decided to support the local business of this nice lady by buying a few eggs and loading up on some protein, jk, it was just cool to do it and we were a little hungry.

Chinese Village Sunrise: The Chinese Village in Pai is famous for its narrow streets and beautiful sunrises. We woke up at five in the morning to drive up to the place with a couple of local friends we met in town. We waited, and waited, but this was the best picture we got. It was so foggy the sun never came up. Make sure to check the weather before sacrificing some sleep. It was still a good time with friends.

Elephants: This was one of the favorite parts of our trip, spending time with these beautiful, loving creatures. I will dedicate an entire post next time to describe our experience and in case you were wondering, we did some research to try to go to a safe place for elephants. Stay tuned for more!