Journey to the World

January 27, 2007

The bus to Chiang Mai is the only budget option to get from Chiang Rai to Pai. The ride lasts three hours and there are a few buses going there including a VIP bus, air-conditioned or non air-conditioned with or without toilet inside. Prices range from 90 to 260 baht.

Bus from Chiang Mai to Pai

I got on the 7:45 AM bus to Chiang Mai and took a mini van to Pai at 11:30 AM from the central station in Chiang Mai, The price for a mini van is twice the price for a local bus (150 baht for a bus ticket).

The ride lasts three hours (four hours on a bus) while you can go on with the mini van to Mae Hong Son. Three more hours and you have to pay extra 250 baht. We stopped on the way for a refreshment.

Pai

Pai reminded me of Vang Viend in Laos. A small town, few streets, one main road, lots of motorcycles, and the Hebrew language is heard everywhere. After an hour wait a Honda Wave R 125cc was available for rent in the almost single rental service in the entire town, AYA. The price for renting a motorcycle range from 80 baht for a light motorcycle to 500 baht for a heavy motorcycle. I paid 100 baht and extra 80 baht for accident and theft insurance. As of January 2007 the agency offers six hours extra free hours for those who show their brochure available at the bus station.

First bungalow

My first bungalow made of bamboo, not completely sealed. Inside a mosquito net, on the floor a mattress and a down blanket against the cold at night. There’s one lamp, two electric sockets and that’s about it. Toilet and showers with hot waters are shared outside. The place is peaceful by the river. Price is 200 baht. In other places the price can jump to 500 baht and even more. It’s tough to find a good place to stay at Pai especially at the season in which I came. It’s even harder in weekends when Thai people come for their vacation.

 

In Pai you can find two banks open up to a late hour (10:00 PM), a post office to send packages, and even a small hospital which I didn’t check. Many guest houses, restaurants, pubs and almost everything a traveler might need.

Around Pai before nightfall and dogs temple

Even though it was almost dark, I went on my motorcycle for a quick ride at the area near Pai. I visited a temple where a monk welcomed me. There are two dogs from stone guarding the temple. Live dogs are walking inside. Although the monk didn’t speak English at all, he managed to surprise when he agreed to take a photo with the local cat inside the temple. I went out of the temple and drove as far as I could away from Pai so I could back just before it’s completely dark.

Pai’s night market

At the evening I visited the local night market. Pai’s night market is very nice. There are many food stands which offer all kinds of food. Indian food, Thai food, Arabian food, Israeli food and even special food like quality ice cream at Da Vinci where they make the cone on the spot (50 baht) or a cheddar with vegetables pancake (25 baht). I’ve also seen there interesting stuff like live Jazz shows, art shows and more.

 

This article was originally written in Hebrew and translated to English at a later time.

 

This article was published at 27-01-2007 Time: 11:05 and belongs to categories Motorcycle, Far East Travel Journal 2007, Temples, Monks, Pai, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, North Thailand, Markets, Thailand. You can follow comments to this article using the feed RSS 2.0. You can post a comment, or trackback from your website.