The small town of Pai in the far north of Thailand has a name that just begs to be word-played with and the businesses here do so wantonly with names such as Pai in the Sky
, Pai Corner
and Pai-radise
. The latter is perhaps the most fitting.
Having only been here for a few days I am convinced that this must be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The town is in a valley surrounded by jungle-covered hills. Walk for five minutes in any direction from the town and you are in rural Thailand – rice fields, small villages with a mixture of rude and modern dwellings, colourful wats that sparkle in the sun and people who do not seem to let anyone pass by without offering a broad, friendly smile.
Pai town is a Western traveller’s oasis. All types of food seem to be available here from scrambled eggs on toast to schnitzel, burgers to bangers’n’ mash as well as a wide variety of local foods sold both in restaurants and street markets.
We are staying with Tony – a friend from back-when in England – who came to Pai at the beginning of last year and who now owns a restaurant cum guesthouse near the end of one of Pai’s two main streets. Meeting someone you know in a foreign land is a strange and joyous experience. Meeting Tony was not as strange as the classic Dr. Livingstone, I presume
but I bet the response Stanley got was less joyous than Fancy a beer?
So a few beers were had over greetings before we considered food. Just prior to food I had my first smoke in six weeks. I ended up in bed leaving Liberta to enjoy the pleasure of a curry while I enjoyed the pleasure of an immaculate stone. Woooooooooow! 
Up reasonably early the next morning, we walked around the town to get our bearings. It didn’t take long to find out how tiny but also how replete Pai is in shops and services. We found a place across the road from Tony’s that has a swimming pool and offers a single use for 50 baht – so we took advantage of it to cool down. It is very hot here even at 8-10am.
After the pool we made the 2km walk to the Temple on the Hill. Yes, it is a temple. Yes, it is on a hill. And damn it was hot by the time we got there – the direct midday sun is exceptionally fierce. We were both drenched in sweat by the time we got to the top. The main temple was closed but the prayer hall was open to the public with its impressive, large, golden, reclining Buddha and the ubiquitous wall paintings depicting events from the life of the Buddha. We spent a most peaceful time there drying our clothes and catching a little sun. Despite being so close to Pai, no-one else came to visit the temple. Only one car and a local couple on a motorcycle even came up the hill. It will be a useful place to meditate.
That night we ate at Tony’s restaurant. It caters for the more sophisticated traveller – those who are prepared to spend a little more for high quality food. My rump steak was good and Liberta reported that her pasta was also good.
The next day we planned a longer walk. I was rather concerned about spending time in the sun as I had almost burned the day before. Sunscreen applied, water supplies acquired and me wearing a teatowel for a headscarf we struck out for the closest hot springs to Pai – about 7km away. Damn it was hot – although there were clouds threatening to block the sun at any point they just didn’t seem to get far enough so I availed myself of whatever cover I could from the trees along the road.
The hot springs were a little disappointing only because they were hot enough to boil eggs in (which people had clearly tried before if the NO BOIL EGGS
sign is anything to go by). I suspect the resort next to the springs has baths like the ones we used in Malaysia but neither of us were particularly keen to go there as we were getting hungry.
We walked a further 2k to the Cafe del Doi which advertises itself as having a panoramic view. They are understating. From the cafe area one can see over most of the Pai valley. We had a good, cheap meal with a few beers and watched the distant rain caress the valley from hill to hill. My word skills cannot do justice such magnificent beauty and I suspect my photographs will be lifeless in comparison to the real thing.
Fortunately, by the time we started heading back to Pai the clouds had covered the sun which eliminated the danger of burn but not the sweating! We made it back for around 6pm just in time to relax with some coffee before engaging in the nightly ritual of cheap food and cheap beer.
Today was a lazy day. Liberta continued her Qur’an reading (marking passages with coloured markers according to topic) while I sat quietly smoking cigarettes. Liberta had her local cooking course booked for 3:30pm and wanted to get some swimming done at another, larger pool we discovered on our long walk. While she went off to swim I took over the Qur’an reading and marking – a relaxing, interesting and amusing pastime. I met up with her at Ginger’s house and enjoyed a wonderful home-cooked
meal, Thai-style. Joy!
There’s more but I want a beer!