I arrived in Pai on News Years Eve Day (NYED -- whatever
that's called).
The name Pai is pronounced as if there were a half a "b" at the
beginning of it, so
it's
not quite
"bye"
and not
quite
"pie,"
but
something
between the two. It's a small village in the mountains, about 130 km northwest
of Chiang Mai. The road is the twistiest I have ever experienced,
with
678
turns over
100 km (I counted to keep from getting car sick). You do the math.
The village itself is growing in popularity with tourists, but it's still charming
and has a good mix of locals, Thai on vacation, and farang. It reminds me of
an old west town meets an artists community.
Seeing as it was NYED, I was a little like Mary searching for a place to spend
the night and give birth to jesus, though I wasn't pregnant. Fortuna guided
me to a cool lodge near the river and a very exuberant -- if not a little nuts
-- woman said she would put me up for the night on her sofa. She exclaimed
she did the same thing last year to wayward backpackers on NYED. Thankful just
to have a place to put down my pack, I took
it.
About the photos: That bridge over the river...thin bamboo and more rickety
than one of my grandfather's ladders. The orange coffee VW was rad, and the
Singha photo was taken at the coolest tiny bar on the corner of a busy
street, so the people watching was superb. Cute mountain tribe girl playing
next to me. The bars are all cool and they really put
time and energy into making them creative and fun. Loved Mellow Yellow. Midnight
found me in an insanely packed jazz place, and while the music was great, I
was about two buckets out of tune with it all and fled the scene shortly after
the photo was taken.
Woke up and took those photos straight from my sofa. With thick, comfy blankets
I was loving it. Some fine electrical wiring in the shower, traffic on the
way to the hot springs, an art gallery, etc.
