"You can't go to northern Thailand without going to Pai!"
"You totally have to go to Pai."
"You're going to Pai, right?"
The amount of times I heard similar statements in my preparations to head north got so excessive that I feared Pai was being over-hyped. That is, until I arrived in the tiny, three stop light boasting, hipster town and began contributing my voice to the chorus of Pai-lovers.
What once was a tiny market town tucked away in the hills of the Mae Hong Song provence has turned into a tourist's mecca filled with free live music (which plays nightly), a wide range of unbeatable eats from cafe's and restaurants to evening markets, accommodations to fit any budget (read: $2 a night dorm bed), mountains to trek through or ride around on a rented motorbike, waterfalls to cool off in and a "chill vibe" long-term travelers come in search of. Many such-a-traveler ends up staying for indefinite periods of time.
It's as easy to get lost exploring the seemingly endless surrounding landscape as it is being sucked in to do nothing more than sit in a little cafe for hours chatting with the people seated at the table next to you.
My three-day planned trip turned into a six day stay, before I held an intervention with myself. It would have been all too likely I'd become a Pai statistic otherwise, unable to find my way out.
"You totally have to go to Pai."
"You're going to Pai, right?"
The amount of times I heard similar statements in my preparations to head north got so excessive that I feared Pai was being over-hyped. That is, until I arrived in the tiny, three stop light boasting, hipster town and began contributing my voice to the chorus of Pai-lovers.
What once was a tiny market town tucked away in the hills of the Mae Hong Song provence has turned into a tourist's mecca filled with free live music (which plays nightly), a wide range of unbeatable eats from cafe's and restaurants to evening markets, accommodations to fit any budget (read: $2 a night dorm bed), mountains to trek through or ride around on a rented motorbike, waterfalls to cool off in and a "chill vibe" long-term travelers come in search of. Many such-a-traveler ends up staying for indefinite periods of time.
It's as easy to get lost exploring the seemingly endless surrounding landscape as it is being sucked in to do nothing more than sit in a little cafe for hours chatting with the people seated at the table next to you.
My three-day planned trip turned into a six day stay, before I held an intervention with myself. It would have been all too likely I'd become a Pai statistic otherwise, unable to find my way out.
1 comment:
Whew! Good thing that intervention went well. Pai looks and sounds wonderful.
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