Jon the Traveller

After much waiting due to a combination of the Flower Festival and repeated “15minutes” – Thailand seriously works on its own definition of time – we eventually left Chiang Mai for Pai, a town up in the mountains that is a good place to base for treks and chill out for a while.

Minibuses really do suck by the way. Cramped and hot is the politest way I can describe the journey in one of these, although as an alternative to the non-air con local buses with non-existent suspension, I can see some merit in using them in particular area’s. Still don’t like them though.

Pai itself is a very small town, about 20 minutes walk across, so it is possible to get a feel for town in no time at all. It has a serious amount of bungalow operations, many by its small river which you can float down on tubes should the whim take you, as well as innumerable guest-houses dotted around town. There are plenty of bars, however they never all get busy, its more of a case that one does and when that closes people occasionally move on, or due to it being damn cold at night here, they go and find a bonfire to huddle round. Playing with fire is great when its cold.

To be continued…