From Chiang Mai, I caught a 3-hour mini-bus ride to the heavily hyped town of Pai. People warn that Pai is such an incredible place, it is easy to get lost in the “Pai-hole” and not resurface for weeks. After discovering the best adventures in Pai, I understand why backpackers are obsessed with this small town in the northwest of Thailand.
Why go to Pai, Thailand?
Pai is an adult playground for backpackers. There are numerous sites to visit that are close by. Most backpackers rent mopeds for 5 USD a day and caravan together from one Pai adventure to the next. The town is cheap, scenic, and chill. The food is tasty, there is a bar scene, and the town even hosts a nightly food market.
I explored Pai in the company of my incredible travel mates, Britton, Caroline, and Harry, whom I had met recently in Chiang Mai. Out of all my Pai playground adventures, my two favorites were the Pai Canyon sunset hike and Tham Lot Cave excursion.
Off-Roading at Pai Canyon
Pai Canyon is a popular natural attraction that draws significant tourist traffic, especially during sunset. I expected to see a canyon akin to the canyons in Arizona and Colorado, deep gorges worn between cliffs. Instead, Pai Canyon is a forested valley dissected by elevated, snaking, narrow paths. From afar, these raised paths look like giant dinosaur tails. Even though the trails are narrow and the drop-off to either side can be more than 35 meters (115 feet), the trail is not dangerous, assuming you stick to the main path…
Harry, Caroline, Britton, and I weren’t in the mood to stick to the main path. Instead, we set off an our own trail, hoping to discover our own private sunset viewing platform. After 20 minutes of walking along a path, that appeared less and less like a genuine trail each minute, we abruptly came upon a steep drop-off. We voted to go Free Solo and work together to make the climb down. It was a trust exercise, and with a little teamwork, the four of us descended without major injury.
We nearly lost Harry when he went to rescue Britton’s flip-flop. Luckily, with his powerful, rickshaw-driver calves, he scrambled his way up the steep canyon wall, and we heaved him to safety. Nice work Harry!
By the time we returned to the main path, decorated with a few new minor scrapes and t-shirt tears, a small audience greeted and congratulated us on our successful but somewhat idiotic adventure. Apparently, from afar, a small crowd had witnessed our off-roading adventure with “ooohhhs” and “aaaahhhs”. I do not recommend following our example and wandering off the main path at Pai Canyon. But, if you cannot resist, please do so with extreme caution.
Tham Lod Cave Excursion
Tham Lod Cave is a an enormous 1,666 meter (5,470 ft.) long cave system. The caves are located a 1.5 hour scooter ride from Pai. A local guide, who is likely to barely speak a word of English, will give you a tour of the cave, lighting the way with an old fashioned paraffin lamp (kerosene-fueled lamp). The cave is jam-packed with oddly shaped stalagmites and stalactites which have formed over thousands of years. Tam Lod Cave possess a truly unique feature; the Nam Lang River snakes through the cave. Cave visitors are able to take a guided bamboo-raft cruise down the river.
One Motorbike, Five Passengers
Our travel crew embarked on a full day excursion to Tham Lot Cave. To arrive at the caves, we rode our motorbikes through the Pai countryside, weaving our way up and down the mountainous terrain of northern Thailand. We followed the twisting roads and took in the stunning scenery. We encountered more motorbikes on the roads than cars. In Thailand, few locals own cars, they instead rely on motorbikes for transportation. It was not uncommon to see an entire family, with as many as five people, whizzing past, all sitting atop just one motorbike! The family often sits in order of height, with smallest family member propped up on the handle bars, followed by a son, daughter, mother, and lastly, the father, bringing up the rear.
After our enthralling motorbike ride, we arrived at Tham Lot Cave. We signed up for a 225 baht (7 USD) per person walking and bamboo raft tour through the caves. Then, we divided into groups of two, and little old Thai ladies led our groups into the caves. It impressive that these Thai women are able to carry these heavy lanterns up hundreds of stairs. During the tour, I guide would point out a stalagmite and say, “look like popcorn!”. One of us would respond, “did you say popcorn?”; she would look at us and respond with a confused shrug. I loved it: some experiences are better when left less refined.
After exploring different levels of the cave system, we arrived at the river mouth for the start of our boat tour. With care, we climbed onto a wobbly bamboo raft, Thailand’s version of a gondola. Our boatman stood, impressively balanced, at the raft’s stern. The boatman began our journey by gently poking a bamboo pole against the riverbed, propelling us steadily forward.
Man-Eating Fish and Horcruxes
We floated forward into the dark of the cave’s underbelly. The guide’s lantern emanated the only light; its beams just powerful enough to illuminate a small fraction of the raft and water. Within this sphere of luminescence, we could spot thousands of alarmingly large bottom-feeding fish. At one point, there were so many fish, I wondered if there were more fish than there was water. I panicked, suddenly convinced it was my mission to enter this ominous cave and navigate across its murky man-eating fish infested waters in order to destroy the horcrux! Oh wait, calm down Tanner, you aren’t Harry Potter. The mutant fish weren’t the only creatures to tag along on the expedition. Even though we couldn’t see them, thousands of bats shrieked and taunted from above.
On the return trip to our hostel, trying to fit in with the locals, and now more confident in our motorbiking abilities, the four of us sped daringly along the paved roads, leaning our way into and accelerating our way out of a myriad of hairpin turns.
Honorable Mention Pai Adventures and My Pai Food Recommendations
- Mae Yen Waterfall hike is a quiet, under-rated 14.5 km (9 mile) hike. The hike is hidden in the jungle and you must cross a river 30 – 40 times, both there and back! At the beginning, I helplessly wandered around struggling to find the start of the trail. The path was finally revealed when a local drove his motorbike straight into the river and up onto a small embankment on the other side. While on the trail, I pretended I was a master in parkour. I jumped, climbed, and ran, through various trail obstacles in the quickest and most efficient manner possible. I treated each river crossing like a puzzle, committed to finding the best way to cross without getting wet. Halfway through the trail, I slipped and fell into the river. Ooops! It was a lovely afternoon solo adventure.
- The Pai Hotspring Resort is another under-rated Pai spot worth your time. Britton and I paid 350 baht (11 USD) for a one-hour massage and full-day access to the geo-thermal heated resort pools. Talk about a deal!
- My favorite spots to grab Thai grub were: the night market, OM Garden Cafe, and, my local hidden gem, Dang Thai Food.
Bizarre Experiences in Pai
In Pai, I was introduced to a smattering of new and bizarre experiences. To start off, my hostel in Pai, Deejai Pai Backpackers, was a super bizarre establishment. On our first evening at the hostel fire performers lost a grip on a flaming torch and it flew into the crowd singeing someone’s pants! I’ve never attending a fire performer circus act in the front yard of a hostel. On one occasion, I opened my hostel dorm room door to let in three roommates banging on my door. They had decided it was a good idea to take shrooms for their first time and then explore caves. They were freaking out all night long. Their moans, mixed with the moans from the Dutch guy having sex in the bunk below me, kept me up most the night.
Deejai Pai Backpackers was an odd place with odd people, but it did have some sweet perks. The hostel offers free yoga classes ever morning. I loved waking up and attending yoga, while overlooking the rice paddies. Free yoga with a view of rice fields, not bad for 7 USD a night.
In Pai, I was exposed to petrol vending machines for the first time. Do these exist anywhere else in the world? Sometimes, these machines would play a Thai tune while you pumped your gas: petrol vending jukeboxes, how bizarre. On my first night in Pai, I noticed that many of the locals were selling glass bottles in their backyards. At first, I was convinced the these bottles, which appeared to glow absinthe-green, were filled with some bathtub-concocted alcoholic beverage. I soon discovered the locals were selling petrol at inflated prices, in case tourists ran out of gas and weren’t close to a vending machine or petrol station.
Ready for my Next Adventure
I was not as obsessed with Pai as many of the backpackers I exchanged travel stories with while traveling through Southeast Asia. Some backpacers had spent weeks, and even months, in Pai. To me, the town felt too much like a giant backpacker community, flooded with more backpackers than locals. When my six days in Pai were up, I was ready to move onto the next adventure.
It’s Important to Match Your Frame of Mind with Your Travel Destination
I had a great time in Pai, but looking back, I realize that I wasn’t in the appropriate frame of mind to get the most out of my Pai experience. Pai is the perfect place to adventure if you are in the mood to spend more time with backpacker friends and less time absorbing local culture and meeting locals. Pai makes you feel like you are back in Uni, surrounded by your first year hall mates. There is nothing wrong with taking a short travel hiatus while enjoying the company of new travel mates; just, don’t get lost in the Pai-hole, there is too much else to see in this beautiful world.
