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We were apprehensive about the journey to Pai and we had every right to be. Famously known as the '762 curves to Pai' we had been warned. It turned out to be an uncomfortable mountainous journey, a little sickly, but mostly made worse by the Chinese girl throwing up into a plastic bag behind us. Gross! We arrived and I was immediately sceptical. It was a very touristy village selling pizzas and burgers on the side of the street and full of the kind of hippies that tried too hard to be different- but all end up looking the same (tattoos, piercings, tie-die, dreadlocks and unwashed faces). Our accommodation had a nice pool area where we spent the first day looking over rice terraces and a giant white Buddha perched on the hill. It made for a nice countryside escape 10 minutes walk from Pai itself. We hired a scooter the next day and set off for a hotspring. It had pools of different temperatures ranging from 30-39 degrees and then an extremely hot stream and another pool where they were boiling eggs! We stuck to the 34 degree pool shaded by the trees. We left and headed for a different route back, past the Pai Canyon, a very hot open area with walking trails around the edges of the canyon. Oli braved a part of it for the sake of a photo but I stayed well away from the edge admiring the views. We stopped off at 'Coffee in love' for a huge slice of cake and a frappe, and then another World War Two bridge... The bridge over the river Pai- or so we called it! That night we sampled some of the other street food stalls, especially the one selling Indian curry dishes and samosas.
The next day we headed to Chiang Rai, so all the way back through the 762 curves to Chiang Mai and then another hairy 3 hour ride to Chiang Rai from there! After not particularly thinking much of Pai itself I was happy to be going to a much less touristy city, one that most flashpackers miss out. We stayed at a fairly rustic but clean guesthouse recommended by the lonely planet. We visited the hilltribe museum, a very interesting place indeed, learning about the different hilltribes in the area, their origins, problems and their association with opium. Then after a long day it was dinner time which started with a local dish of pork scratchings with a pork and chilli dip, and Khow Soi from the Night Bazaar. You knew the food was going to be good as all the locals also ate there too. We followed our very thai meal with a not-so-thai caramel fudge icecream sundae from the american chain Swensens.
After not setting an alarm we still woke up at half 8 and caught up on an episode of Breaking Bad. We headed out for a breakfast croissant at a bakery that donates money to the local orphanage and mapped out our temple spotting route for the day. 5 Wat's in one day plus a trip to the 'morning market' turned out to be a great day, walking the streets of the very un-touristy city of Chiang Rai. I especially liked visiting the Wat's as they are so peaceful, in particular the one that housed the Jade Buddha- a replica of the Emerald buddha in Bangkok (even though the original came from Chiang Rai). We also got chatting to a burping monk in the museum who mid sentence would belch so loud it echoed through the entire museum, and then he would continue to talk. Later that day we ate at the Night bazaar again but with some backpackers from the guesthouse and then introduced them to the icecream sundae world of Swensens.
Our last day was spent on a tour run by Tom, a member of the Karen hilltribe. We seemed to visit every attraction around for 80 miles. A monkey cave, an ancient city, the burma border, the black house and opium museum but the best parts were the following:
White Temple- The famous opulent Wat still being designed, built and paid for by a local artist. It was like no other temple. For starters it was white with silver mirrored tiles. It had the strangest painting on the walls inside where there would usually be pictures of buddhas; like batman, twin towers, the man from saw, terminator, michael jackson, mobile phones, George bush and Osama bin laden. It even had the most expensive public toilets to build in the whole of Thailand! The best temple yet!
Golden Triangle- the border of 3 countries. On the top of a hill overlooking the Mekong you can see Laos to the right, where we would be going the next day, and Burma to the left. We were pointed out by our guide 'Laos-Vegas', a huge Chinese casino town that would one day hold 1 million Chinese people.
Hilltribe village- or the Human zoo. Our guide explained as we went around the village that these people could only stay in Thailand if they wore their traditional clothing for the tourists. For the Karen longneck's that meant women wearing brass rings around their neck. It was once a sign of beauty to have long necks, but it pushes down their collarbone so they have a weak chest and neck. It was very sad walking around the village. The villagers would desperately try to sell you their homemade tat out of the front of their makeshift homes. It was difficult because they need your money but at the same time you are contributing to this horrible way of life that has been set up for them by rich Thai's, exploiting their culture and their desperation to live in Thailand. In the end we settled for pity and bought a bracelet, purse, scarf and put money in the Akha tribe pot for showing us their local dance. A very eye-opening experience but one I don't want to have again.
Stats:
Travel sickness: 0
Temples visited: 6
Icecream sundaes at Swensens: 3 (each!)
Malaria tablets taken: 2
- comments
Mum What an interesting few days you've both had! The temples sound amazing if a little strange (the White one anyway! ) And a burping monk, he must have reminded you of a typical meal at home!! Your photos are lovely. Keep up the good work, it's great reading the blogs. Enjoy your time in Laos xxxxxx
Debbie Omg a burping monk, that's so funny, I certainly couldn't of done the 762 curves either.. Love all the pictures , the white temple is beautiful , Is it just painted white or carved out of something? . Glad your eating well, and funny that In between all the culture and simple life that you find an amercian ice cream parlour . The weather has just turned the last few days , it's now down to 10c and pouring. Anyway enjoy xxx
Siobhan Hi. My boyfriend, also an Olly, and I are heading to Chiang Rai tomorrow and wondered if you'd recommend your accommodation, and if so what is the name? Hope your having a great time! Your blog is very informative and helpful :)
Charlotte Hi Siobhan! Glad to hear you are liking the blog! We stayed at Baan Bua guesthouse (300baht) which was clean and other backpackers were staying there too so it was a friendly place. It's also less than 5 mins walk to the night bazaar but we walked around the whole city by foot anyway as everythings so close together! Do you have a blog too?