Pai

Pai is a small, but amazing village in the mountains of Nothern Thailand. It's one of the favorite destinations for people who live in Chiang Mai and also for tourists. People say that you can come there for three days and stay for three month.

Now I can confirm that it's true. The village is tiny, just a few streets, but it has a happy relaxed atmosphere that you just want to stay longer. The food is great, the accomodations are good and rather cheap, the nature is amazing!

To get to Pai you need to take a minibus from the second terminal of Arcade bus station in Chiang Mai. It'll cost 150 baht. The road is taking about three hours and has 762 (!) turns on mountain roads, so the motion sickness pills can be very usefull.

Me

The main street, where the night market takes place

The guy, who sells amazing teas in bamboo tubes

Tons of restaurants and vintage shops - you can find lots of great dresses here, but the prices can vary. Also here's me, enjoying Leo beer and the open mike night at Edible Jazz. Wearing the vintage dress from the stall on Chiang Mai walking street Sunday market

 


Koi fish floor tiles at our guest house and my feet)
The view from our terrace at 6 a.m. - we were just about to caught a bus back to Chiang Mai

Where to live:

- Pai Country - we stayed here and we loved it - the rooms are very cute and clean, and you also have a very big and pretty terrace, perfect for relaxing with a glass of vine in the evening

Where to eat:

- The Witching Well - amazing place with great food. I especially recommend their 'wicked omelet', pasta salad and 'love potion' tea. I've also heard great things about coconut shakes and tempura burgers there. 

- Good Life in Pai - I'm not sure if everyone will like it in here, but it's one of a very few places in Thailand where you can find some very authentical Ukrainian dishes. They also have great kombutcha tea in bottles and wheatgrass shots.

- Pai Country - it's not just a place to stay, but also a restaurant. The 'perfect storm' fruit shake is amazing.

- Edible Jazz - a lovely place where you can have a few drinks in the evening, as well as the food. They also hold very cool open mike nights here.

Where to shop:

- Night market - lots of jewelry, bracelets, dresses, scarfs, iconic 'I survived 762 turns to get this T-shirt' tees. I've bought one (to act like a tourist for once)), as well as lovely grey pashmina, turquoise ring, a few boxes of organic lip balm and a watch necklace.

- Tons of vintage and organic shops - they usually have very nice selection of cool things.

What to see:

great mountain nature, waterfalls, lovely quiet streets and beautifly decorated houses.

I will definitelly return to Pai in the future to relax and have a great time in this creative place.