A Peace of Pai

A Few Treats Before the Ride
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March 13, 2006

From Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai to Pai, we bussed and bussed and bussed.  Just a short layover in the Chiang Mai bus station, and we boarded the silver and pink bullet bound for Pai.  This would complete our 12 hour triangle of travel for the day.  We watched the green hills grow into mountains and roll away below us as we mounted a high peak, only to be swallowed back up descending on the other side.  Day slipped into night with little fanfare, and the winding bus ride continued.  As we neared our destination, we saw a recent accident of a truck that had missed a turn, plowed through the measly guardrail, and plummeted the 150 feet to the woods below.  Everyone on the bus marveled in horror, as we tried to convince ourselves that our driver was better than that, and our squealing brakes weren't a bad sign.  In the distance giant serpents of fire slowly devoured the already slashed hillsides.  They snaked their way nearer, and their smokey breath filled the bus.  We pulled into the burgeoning mountain town of Pai late in the evening.

Deep in the Northern Mountains

Ot Showing Off for the Camera
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March 15, 2006

Pai is a cute, little Thai-Burmese village with an international hippy town sitting on top of it.  Herbal shops of all kinds line the streets, and stores display hand-tied, twisted, and woven goods to make any self-proclaimed hippy happy.  A utopia of bars, (legitimate) massage parlors, and tattoo studios abound, and the range of activities offered in town includes everything from cooking classes, to soap carving, to crystal healing.  The only thing missing from Pai are the drugs, since the Thai government has been cracking down on local growers and sellers (Thailand has a shoot to kill policy regarding suspected drug traffickers).  The not-so-local locals have turned to the drink instead, and there are inevitably fist fights in the bars almost every night.  Most notably, the Beebop Bar draws the attention of the police, who have threatened to close the place down due to their rowdy clientele.

View from Above
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We had a wonderful time in and around Pai, though we must admit, we have some mixed feelings about it.  The self-centered population of foreign locals, many of whom have relocated to Pai as a refuge from the all-too-normal Western world, often exude a sense of superiority to the less extreme looking tourists that visit the town for a short time.  We felt a bit unwelcome, at times, by their judgemental attitudes, but always had friendly encounters with the native local population.  The ex-pats do not seem to spend much time outside of the actual town, which is a shame because of the beautiful, mountainous surroundings.  Tourists may often have a more authentic experience, getting out of this bizarre place and exploring the countryside on locally led tours.  Pai does offer visitors a peaceful and relaxed retreat, where the variety of affordable activities and good food are more accessible than in other larger cities.  Most travelers can't help but sigh with longing at the mention of this little mountain town.

Romping in the River
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One of the many activities around Pai is a visit to an elephant camp.  Our original hesitation regarding this employment of elephants was quickly put to rest upon our arrival at Thom's Elephant Camp.  We were introduced to three lovely, healthy ladies, who weighed more than three tons each and were happy to eat treats and cuddle with us before our ride.  Ot, meaning tadpole, is the name of the elephant we rode, and she is two years our senior.  She has been with Lek, the inherited owner of the camp, her whole life.  Lek is a third generation elephant handler, whose grandfather and father used these giant beasts to log the jungle for teak, until just after it was outlawed by the government in the 1970's.  Lek's father began the tourist elephant camp as a means for supporting his family and the mammoth pachyderms, who consume 200 to 500 kilos of plant matter a day.  Lek took over the business and renamed it Thom's after her favorite elephant from childhood.  It was immediately obvious how closely she is bonded to the elephants, who roam freely on the mountainside every night after work.

Our Fellow Riders
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Ot hoisted us up onto her back with her trunk, where we sat just behind her huge, flapping ears with nothing between us and her rough, prickly skin.  We rode to a deep section of the Pai River and "gave the elephants a bath".  This misnomer actually consisted of the giant creatures thrashing about in the water, trying with all their (impressively controlled) might to knock us playfully off their backs.  After about a half hour romp, we left the river dripping onto the back of our grinning elephant.  Ot let out a low rumble of pleasure from her belly that sounded like a proportionally large purr.  Back at the barn we dismounted onto a platform and Ot handed us our shoes with her nimble trunk, leaving a little souvenir of elephant snot for us to remember her by.

How Did This Happen?
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After our terrific elephant ride we headed off to the Pai Canyon for the sunset.  There we met our Aussie friends, Sam and Dave, from the slow boat out of Laos, who just had a delicious soak in the muddy hot springs a kilometer down the road from the elephant camp.  The canyon was a series of gulches on a mountainside dropping off from a narrow rim.  The four of us watched a beautiful sunset, and we motoed back to town while there was still a bit of light left in the sky.

Money Shot
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March 18, 2006

We spent two of our days in Pai on a jungle trekking and camping excursion in the surrounding mountains.  We got along well with our three trek mates, Joanne and Susie, outdoor education majors from Ireland, and Raz, an officer in the Israeli army.  It was a fairly fast paced trek, crisscrossing streams, climbing up and down steep terrain, and resting only occasionally for lunch and some water.  We stopped at a beautiful, three-tiered waterfall along the way and refreshed our tired bodies in the frigid water.  Much of the land around us was slowly being devoured by the "controlled" burning that we had seen from the bus on the way into Pai.  Huge stumps smoldered still, with giant lines of grey ash stretched out before them.  The fire serpent had lit these massive trees as a sacrament, much like the thousands of incense offerings we have been witness to in the temples.

Elephant Bios
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We learned the secrets to cooking delicious jungle meals, with sticky rice and a satisfying main course, prepared, served, and eaten with pots, dishes, and cutlery made entirely from freshly machete-cut bamboo.  We sat around a nice campfire with good conversation, endless tea, and a little moonshine whisky late into the night.

We spent our night in the jungle under a bamboo lean to, with only banana leaves as our sleeping pads and roof.  The cold mountain air kept us awake much of the night, except for Raz, who was much more ambitious.  At around 3:00 AM he dragged himself out of bed, built a fire, heated some large stones he had found in the river, dug a large hole, buried the stones, and finally slept well on top of the warm earth.

View from Pai Canyon
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The second day's hike was filled with more incredible, if hazy, scenery, as we trekked through teak forests, bamboo groves, and once again spent much time crossing the river.  On one of these crossings, Caroline slipped on a slick rock and fell into the river and spent the rest of the day drip-drying but cooler than the rest of the trekkers.

We returned to Pai in time for some St. Paddy's Day festivities.  We went out to the bars with our new Irish friends and had an "authentic" celebration.