Pai

The chilled out, hippy town - Pai

A few days after watching the greatest game of the football season (Spurs beat Chelsea 2-1 and lift the Carling Cup), I leave Chiang Mai and head North-West to the small town of Pai. Pronounced more like the English word "bye", Pai lies close to the border between Thailand and Myanmar (Burma). The windy four hour drive takes you up high into the mountains before you reach a valley where Pai suddenly emerges.

Pai is unique. The population is small (about 3000) and everyone, from locals to backpackers, are completely chilled out. The two main roads with a few interlinking streets that make up the town are filled with shops that you would expect to see at London's Camden Market and the atmosphere is similar to that found at Glastonbury Music Festival. Pai is a hippy paradise. No-one here pushes you to buy anything or attempts to rip you off at every oportunity simply because you come from the west, you can just relax here.

Although I only have a few days in Pai, it's now easy to understand how many travellers you meet have ended up staying for months and longer, most of which perform in many of the live music bars. You hear about Pai from travellers long before you reach the north of Thailand. Everyone recommends it although they try and keep the secret away from the tourists who could quickly take over and ruin everything that makes this place special.

Only a short distance outside of Pai and your up in the mountains. I took a trek through the mountain Jungle, stopping at a number of hill-tribe villages (namely the Lahu hill-tribe who originate from China and the Karen hill-tribe who came over from Burma 250 years ago). The trek saw us pass through farmland, jungle and river setting and through some small caves where bats flourish.

I also took an elephant ride. The animal is incredible - it's shear power and size are phenomenal. The ride was an hour and a half, stopping in a nearby river where the elephant took great pleasure in hurling me off into the water. It loved to play and became mischievious at every opportunity. The ride was well worth it - even if my bottom says otherwise.

After completely chilling out for the last few days, I leave Pai and Thailand tonight. I'v spent 3 amazing weeks in the country but I'm now heading off to Laos. I will be back in Thailand in a few months however, to experience the beachy south, but first I'm off to explore Thailand's northern neighbours (Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia). My 3 day trip across land and slow boat to get to Laos leaves soon and so I'm off to get ready. So, until then......