Highlight Reel: Thailand, Part 4

While I was in Chiang Mai, I kept hearing people talk about Pai as a top destination in the area. Knowing I had some time before I had to fly out to Vietnam, I decided to give it a go. 

To get to Pai from Chiang Mai, it’s about a three hour drive by minibus. I heard rumors about the drive itself - that it was a windy road that wasn’t for the faint hearted. Not wanting to be the person who threw up in the van (truly there were so many horror stories about that happening), I took some Dramamine beforehand. THANK GOODNESS. This road was not only windy and hilly, but the driver obviously did the route twice a day and was numb to any fear of safety issues. There were times I had to close my eyes because we were so close to an edge or a wall that I was convinced it was how my trip would end. 

I met a couple new friends from the Netherlands while we were en route and found out one would be staying at the same hostel as me. We hopped out of the minibus in a cute downtown area and hiked about 15 minutes to our hostel with our backpacks. Pai is a smaller town with a backpacker/hippie vibe. It’s clearly become more touristy over the years but it was one of my favorite stops on my trip. 

We stayed at Nolo Hub, a popular hostel in Pai. I heard rumblings about it in Koh Chang AND Chiang Mai, and the rumors were accurate. It was clean and fun (a party hostel but little pressure if you don’t feel like it), and it also offered a lot of FREE group activities which most hostels don’t do. 

One of my favorite experiences on my trip was through Nolo Hub when I signed up to do a motorbike tour to see the sunset. There were about 30 of us, and the group was divided into experienced drivers and then non-drivers (ME!). Having only been on a motorcycle once in my life back in college, I was curious how this would work. I was paired up with Joe from Manchester, secretly grateful he was already used to driving on the wrong side of the road. 

The group of 15 mopeds took off into the mountains of Pai. I was glad to be the passenger so I could take in the scenery. Joe and I had great conversation over the wind, and laughed as we barely made it up some of the steep hills on Lil Blue, who had seen better days. The group stopped a couple times at a few different lookouts, including a coffee/noodle place at the top of one of the mountains. We sat with our feet dangling off the cliff while eating and drinking, overlooking the seemingly untouched valley. When it was time to head back to get to the sunset overlook, we traversed a hill so steep that some bikes didn’t make it and passengers had to push up the remainder. But amazingly, not Lil Blue - Joe and I were leaning into the hill as if it would help, and could not stop cheering as we topped the climb. After an epic sunset and buying gas out of a rum bottle at the rest stop, we made our way back as the dark set in - one of the scariest and most exhilarating experiences of my life. Joe, if you ever read this - THANK YOU for being such a good driver and getting us back safely!! 

Other highlights of Pai included walking to the White Buddha, exploring the local town, watching the sunset over Pai Canyon, a day at the local pool, and - OF COURSE - the night market. Every single night, we would walk to the market and feast on the cheapest, yummiest food. Some of my favorite spots included the Khao Soi, mango sticky rice, rotee, gyoza... the list could go on for a while and it’s making me hungry just thinking about it. 

I met such cool people in Pai, too - aside from my driver Joe from Manchester, the ones who stood out to me were fellow solo female travelers. Jenn from New York, who also quit her job to travel. Joëlle from the Netherlands who was just starting her gap year after high school. Mel from Wisconsin, a teacher looking for her next gig. Marlyna from Canada who had some crazy travel stories about police corruption all over the world... Everyone had such different backgrounds but we all came together for our love of adventure and travel. 

I loved Pai so much that I decided to stay a few extra nights. Nolo Hub was fully booked so I moved to its sister hostel, Common Grounds. Aside from a fun bar crawl one night, I didn’t care for the hostel - it wasn’t clean and the bed was super uncomfortable. By the end of my stay, I was ready to head back (again through the windy roads) to Chiang Mai for a few days before I took off to Hanoi.

Stay tuned for the adventure to Vietnam...