Pai: Not That Great

Upon hearing that I got sidetracked repeatedly while trying to get to Pai, a friend of mine joked that the universe didn't want me to go there. I don't know if that's true but I've discovered that Pai isn't really that great.

Last night I was supposed to go out with some people I met at my hostel but upon hanging out with them for a bit I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to spend more time with them so I went off on my own. I sat down at a restaurant with live music. The music was in Thai and I was the only farang (the Thai word for white people) there. I ended up sitting down with some Thai folks and hanging out with them for the night. They didn't speak much English but it was still fun. After the restaurant, we went to a dance club for a while then I walked back to my hostel.

Making new friends.

This morning, I decided to do some sightseeing. The tourist attractions in Pai (a waterfall, a hot springs, a famous bridge) are pretty far apart so most people rent motorbikes to get there. I've been a bit scared to try out driving a motorbike but everyone I talked to insisted it was easy to learn. I walked to the rental shop and told the guy there I didn't know how to drive a motorbike but wanted to learn. He offered to teach me (which I'm sure was as much for his benefit as it was mine). He showed me the controls and I tried driving up and down the alley. I ultimately decided that it would be a disservice to myself and others were I on the road so I decided to skip it.

I went and got lunch and did a bit of shopping. I went to a secondhand shop and bought a light jacket because I've been pretty cold at night. I paid about three dollars for it.

In a couple months this will probably be covered in patches.

I also bought a little souvenir. It's a little ceramic keychain of the highway markers in Thailand. Each side has the name of a city in Thailand and how far it is from Pai in kilometers. I was able to figure out what the Thai word for Pai looks like while I was hitchhiking and watching the markers go by.

Pai: 0 km

I'm leaving Pai tomorrow but still don't know where I'm going. Now that I know that hitchhiking is possible (and fun!) here, I'm hesitant to take a bus anywhere. I'll take a look at a map and see where I can get from Pai then head out tomorrow morning.