Pai

Pai is a small town a few hours drive away from Chaing Mai. We got a bus which we arranged with our hostel in Chaing Mai, which cost 250 Thai Baht. Some people do hire scooters and tackle the drive that way. The drive is a good 4 hours and the road is a myriad of twists and turns so I'd take this into consideration beforehand. 

As soon as you arrive in Pai you immediatly get a sense of how chill and relaxed it is. It's surrounded by beautiful lush green hills and the streets are lively and active but not crazy busy like Bangkok. The main streets are full of cafes, taxi ranks and tour guide stands and at night they comes alive with restaurants and bars. There are a lot of live music sets in most of the bars which I loved (Yellow Sun and Boom seem to be the most popular). There are also lots of stalls selling jewellery, clothes, art work and street food.

WHERE WE STAYED 

We stayed at a hostel for one night called Circus (or The Circus Hostel Pai) which we heard a lot of mixed reviews about. They do free yoga most days and they also offer circus lessons. The idea is you go and take the opportunity to practise Circus tricks and there are people around to teach you, but when we got there there was a lot of equipment like hula hoops and juggling batons as well as a tight rope strap but there were no scheduled lessons, it was basically pick what you want to try and give it a good go.

Most people are just hanging out with each other or alone reading, chilling and doing thier own thing. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. There is also an amazing infinity pool with beautiful views of the hills. 

We had a great time in the day just hanging out and trying new things, but night time was where I struggled. The dorms are all basic huts, which is fine, but you have to walk to the bathroom and showers which are in separate huts and the amount of insects that are around made this unbearable for me. They were everywhere!! On the floor, in the toilet, in the sink! Argh!

I would describe my stay at Circus as an experience. It's ideal if you want to try something new and different. (And if you can put up with the amount of insects that are around. And toads. I saw two toads.)

For our final two nights we stayed in a hostel called Common Grounds, which was brilliant! A few people we met in Chaing Mai were staying there but we found everybody so friendly including the staff. They also have different activities on every night like quizzes, pool and beer pong and they made everybody feel involved and welcome. I was really sad to leave! 

WHAT WE DID 

Like most places in Thailand one the of best ways of getting around is by scooter. We rented one for just a day and visited two waterfalls and the big white Buddha. The drives were beautiful and it's one of the best ways of seeing Pai. Most places are easy to find. If you don't feel confident on a scooter, you can ask the place you hire from for a quick lesson, but these can be very hit and miss so it would be better to try and find somebody you meet in a hostel to teach you (if they can drive well!)

We also did an organised day tour which covers Lod cave, a popular Pai viewpoint, some natural hot springs and a place called Canyon which also gives amazing views. It was a full day so if you only have one or two days in Pai then I'd give this a miss and rent a scooter instead to explore at your own will but if you have a bit longer then definitely do this tour. The Cave was amazing, full of natural wonders and going inside was both eerie and exciting. Canyon gives brilliant views of Pai so ending the day there was perfect but you have to be prepared to navigate some narrow paths and do a little bit of clamoring and climbing. It's well worth it. 

WHAT WE ATE 

Pai is pretty much one of the only places in Thailand where it's acceptable to get Western food because they do it so well. There's plenty of burger places but the best one by far is called Burger Queen. They do a good few vegetarian options and you can also order it as takeout, which we did at our hostel Common Grounds.

There was a bit of hype around Lasagne from one of the street stalls. The best is called something like "The best world famous Pai lasagne", I never got around to trying it but if you love Italian food then hunt this stall down. 

They also do amazing crepes in big banana leaves ❤

If you are travelling Thailand and find yourself in Chaing Mai or even just in the North try to set aside a few days to visit Pai. It's been my favourite place so far, I loved everything about it, especially the beautiful surroundings and relaxed atmosphere. Travelling can get pretty hectic so if you want a few days of chill downtime then Pai is the place to go. 

Grace xo