Pai - Days 164-166
Day 9.2
Here we go, about to start our drive to Pai. I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit nervous given my motorbike resume consisted of the one day in Ao Nang. No better way to get acclimated then to jump in head first, amiright?!
There was one matter we had to address though. We had read on a number of blogs there was the potential of getting pulled over by some Chiang Mai police and being asked to present an international drivers license, which we did not have. From what we read, they’re mostly just trying to pull over tourist for any reason to get some cash/bribe in return. So we planned as best we could. We had six drivers and each of us would pair up to have some back up. Each pair needed to have a phone with data in case we got split up for direction/communication and we’d only carry 200 baht on us for a bribe with and extra 200 baht stored in a secondary pocket in case they insisted on more.
Yes, I understand we over planned for this.
We didn’t get stopped on our way out of Chiang Mai and once we hit 1095 the ride started to get super fun. Weaving in and out and leaning into curves, I’m sure you could see the smiles on our faces from kilometers away. Our pack of six bikes could really open up on the straight aways and I think i topped out at about 60 miles per hour (~100 kmh). Our decision to bike was only reaffirmed when we’d pull up to a tour bus full of sad passengers. They were either green with envy or green with motion sickness. I’d like to think both. 672 curves later, I guess you could say I’m into bikes now and want my friend Kat who works at Harley-Davidson to teach me the ropes. The ride into Pai was truly surreal. At one point, I even had an elephant in my rear view mirror and Ben was telling me he got a kick out of seeing Ilya and I (n00bs to the motorbike game) lean into the curves.
Three hours on a bike can hurt the tush though, especially for the three bikes that had Sally, Laur and Lauren as passengers, so we made some stops along the way. First stop was at Orange Box Coffee, which had a pretty sweet outdoors seating/loft area. The crew was particularly fond of this location because it had 3 cats roaming around. We
named them after a few of our crew that had to leave the trip a little early, grabbed some coffee and hit the road. Next stop was at Kong Gnam Viewpoint for a quick stretch and our final stop was at the Pai Treehouse Resort from some pictures.
At this point, we were all starving, looking forward to our next meal. The Treehouse resort’s food looked mediocre at best and not to waste a meal on something subpar, we looked online and found a solid Thai place in town called Karsa Long.
Once in town, we devour our food at Karsa Long. I honestly don’t remember what I had. I was so hungry I probably didn’t even look at it but I remember it being good. From there, we grab a coffee at Art in Chai next door to relax before we headed to Sunset Bakpakers Hostel in Pai. Yes, they spelt backpackers incorrectly and I’m not sure if it was on purpose. We settled in, grabbed a drink at the bar and then took the free shuttle into ‘downtown’ Pai. The Pai Night Market was happening on the walking street so we grab our various street foods of choice along with some walking Changs and end up at a no-frills bar called Blah Blah Bar to play some Cheers Governor and get a little tipsy. Unfortunately, we needed to head back to catch the 11pm shuttle or else we were walking home. Thankfully, we made it back in time but not without grabbing some beers for later at 7-Eleven and having a nightcap on the side of a small creek running through our hostel. One by one, we called it a night and head to bed.
Day 10:
So Monday Night Packer Games equal Tuesday Morning Packer game in Thailand, so I wake up to watch a little bit of the Packers vs Lions. Always fun to watch a game in a vastly different timezone but we give up hope for a victory and headed into town to a place called Coffeestains for breakfast. Ben, Aaron and Taylor were looking for a low key
day so they choose to stay back but the rest of us come up with a plan for the morning/afternoon. We started by heading to Mor Paeng Waterfall for some waterfall “slides.” The internet told us this is a place were the waterfall have created some natural slides that the locals use to cool off in the water but they looked a bit dangerous so we decided to jump from various cliffs into various waterfall pools instead. Probably just as dangerous, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. After cooling off, we headed to Yup Lai Viewpoint, a Chinese village to the west of Pai, for some solid views. The 20 baht entrance fee even included some green tea to enjoy with our sightseeing.
When we successfully filled our day, we headed back to hostel to meet up with the boys, saddle up our bikes and leave for Pai Canyon to take in the sunset. When we arrived, Taylor jets off to find the best vantage point. I don’t think I’ve known anyone infatuated with a sunrise/sunset as much as Taylor. For something that happens 730 times a year, you’d think he’d be slightly desensitized. ;) More power to ya, Tay.
Walking around the canyon was slightly dangerous, especially in flip flops, but we make our way through the crowds and enjoy a good view. Turns out Sunset at Pai Canyon is a pretty common idea as we weave through the slew of people. At one point, I had to walk through 2 hippie girls meditating on a very narrow path on the cliffs. Unfortunately, they didn’t see my epic eye roll due to their poor location choice with their eyes closed in meditation.
After we soaked it all in, Ben request some more Khao Soi so it’s back to Karsa Long for dinner. After we ate, we took a lap around the night market for some Thai fried ice cream for dessert and grabbed some future Changs for back at the Hostel, calling it a night.
Day 11:
Today’s another early day. Taylor heads to Yup Lai Viewpoint to catch the sunrise while Lauren, Ilya, Laur, Sally and I head to the Sai Ngam Hot Spring for a morning bath. The hot springs are maybe a little more lukewarm than hot but at least we got there early to beat any crowds. When we’re hot spring’ed out, we head back into town for food, eating at Lemon Thyme, per recommendation from Taylor. Food was awesome! Laur and I opted for some shakshuka while others went with one of the many benedict options. Once again, we fuel up our bodies and our bikes and start our 3+ hour bike ride back to Chiang Mai and now that I feel a bit more confident on a bike, I add in a headphone to listen to some tunes on the drive, definitely elevating the experience.
On our drive back, we attempt to stop at the tourist attraction Witch’s House coffee only to find it closed for the day so we settle for 32 Coffee Hill, which had some very nice bathrooms. On the drive, we even passed a google street view vehicle. Free drink on me to any reader who goes through the drive on Google Street View and finds our group riding past. Here’s a clue: It was within the first half of our ride on 1095.
We made it back safely to Chiang Mai, without even having to use our checkpoint strategy. Arriving at the airbnb, I introduce Bunky Town to Taylor and Aaron and we settle in after our long ride. Hey, it turns out it’s Wednesday which is the NightOut Market again by Maya Mall. We head back for some tasty street food and souvenirs and enjoy some last chance Khao Soi. Once we’re full, it’s back to the patio for some Changs and a planning session to iron out the final legs of our trip. Once we have a game plan, we schedule some uber rides for the morning and call it a night. Some of us have a flight the next morning at 7:20am so we’ve got another early start.
Time to say, “See ya later” to Thailand cause we’re on our way to Siem Reap, Cambodia.